Jeremiah 1:18

1:18 I, the Lord, ¹  hereby promise to make you ²  as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in ³  the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land.

Ezekiel 3:8-9

3:8 “I have made your face adamant ⁴  to match their faces, and your forehead hard to match their foreheads. 3:9 I have made your forehead harder than flint – like diamond! ⁵  Do not fear them or be terrified of the looks they give you, ⁶  for they are a rebellious house.”

Matthew 23:13-36

23:13 “But woe to you, experts in the law ⁷  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! ⁸  You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! ⁹  For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.

23:14 [[EMPTY]] ¹⁰ 

23:15 “Woe to you, experts in the law ¹¹  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, ¹²  and when you get one, ¹³  you make him twice as much a child of hell ¹⁴  as yourselves!

23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. ¹⁵  But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’ 23:17 Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 23:18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. ¹⁶  But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’ 23:19 You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 23:20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 23:21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it. 23:22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.

23:23 “Woe to you, experts in the law ¹⁷  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth ¹⁸  of mint, dill, and cumin, ¹⁹  yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You ²⁰  should have done these things without neglecting the others. 23:24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel! ²¹ 

23:25 “Woe to you, experts in the law ²²  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 23:26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, ²³  so that the outside may become clean too!

23:27 “Woe to you, experts in the law ²⁴  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. ²⁵  23:28 In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

23:29 “Woe to you, experts in the law ²⁶  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You ²⁷  build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves ²⁸  of the righteous. 23:30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, ²⁹  we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 23:31 By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 23:32 Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! 23:33 You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? ³⁰ 

23:34 “For this reason I ³¹  am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, ³²  some of whom you will kill and crucify, ³³  and some you will flog ³⁴  in your synagogues ³⁵  and pursue from town to town, 23:35 so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, ³⁶  whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 23:36 I tell you the truth, ³⁷  this generation will be held responsible for all these things! ³⁸ 

Luke 9:51

Rejection in Samaria

9:51 Now when ³⁹  the days drew near ⁴⁰  for him to be taken up, ⁴¹  Jesus ⁴²  set out resolutely ⁴³  to go to Jerusalem. ⁴⁴ 

Luke 11:39-54

11:39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean ⁴⁵  the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁶  11:40 You fools! ⁴⁷  Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside as well? ⁴⁸  11:41 But give from your heart to those in need, ⁴⁹  and ⁵⁰  then everything will be clean for you. ⁵¹ 

11:42 “But woe to you Pharisees! ⁵²  You give a tenth ⁵³  of your mint, ⁵⁴  rue, ⁵⁵  and every herb, yet you neglect justice ⁵⁶  and love for God! But you should have done these things without neglecting the others. ⁵⁷  11:43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats ⁵⁸  in the synagogues ⁵⁹  and elaborate greetings ⁶⁰  in the marketplaces! 11:44 Woe to you! ⁶¹  You are like unmarked graves, and people ⁶²  walk over them without realizing it!” ⁶³ 

11:45 One of the experts in religious law ⁶⁴  answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things you insult ⁶⁵  us too.” 11:46 But Jesus ⁶⁶  replied, ⁶⁷  “Woe to you experts in religious law as well! ⁶⁸  You load people ⁶⁹  down with burdens difficult to bear, yet you yourselves refuse to touch ⁷⁰  the burdens with even one of your fingers! 11:47 Woe to you! You build ⁷¹  the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors ⁷²  killed. 11:48 So you testify that you approve of ⁷³  the deeds of your ancestors, ⁷⁴  because they killed the prophets ⁷⁵  and you build their ⁷⁶  tombs! ⁷⁷  11:49 For this reason also the wisdom ⁷⁸  of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 11:50 so that this generation may be held accountable ⁷⁹  for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning ⁸⁰  of the world, ⁸¹  11:51 from the blood of Abel ⁸²  to the blood of Zechariah, ⁸³  who was killed ⁸⁴  between the altar and the sanctuary. ⁸⁵  Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against ⁸⁶  this generation. 11:52 Woe to you experts in religious law! You have taken away ⁸⁷  the key to knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you hindered ⁸⁸  those who were going in.”

11:53 When he went out from there, the experts in the law ⁸⁹  and the Pharisees began to oppose him bitterly, ⁹⁰  and to ask him hostile questions ⁹¹  about many things, 11:54 plotting against ⁹²  him, to catch ⁹³  him in something he might say.

Romans 1:16

The Power of the Gospel

1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ⁹⁴ 

Romans 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁹⁵  a slave ⁹⁶  of Christ Jesus, ⁹⁷  called to be an apostle, ⁹⁸  set apart for the gospel of God. ⁹⁹ 

Romans 4:1

The Illustration of Justification

4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, ¹⁰⁰  has discovered regarding this matter? ¹⁰¹ 

Romans 4:16

4:16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, ¹⁰²  with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants – not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, ¹⁰³  who is the father of us all

[1:18]  ¹ tn See the note on “Jeremiah” at the beginning of v. 17.

[1:18]  ² tn Heb “today I have made you.” The Hebrew verb form here emphasizes the certainty of a yet future act; the Lord is promising to protect Jeremiah from any future attacks which may result from his faithfully carrying out his commission. See a similar use of the same Hebrew verb tense in v. 9, and see the translator’s note there.

[1:18]  ³ tn Heb “I make you a fortified city…against all the land….” The words “as strong as” and “so you will be able to stand against all the people of…” are given to clarify the meaning of the metaphor.

[3:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “strong, resolute.”

[3:9]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term translated “diamond” is parallel to “iron” in Jer 17:1. The Hebrew uses two terms which are both translated at times as “flint,” but here one is clearly harder than the other. The translation “diamond” attempts to reflect this distinction in English.

[3:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “of their faces.”

[23:13]  ⁷ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:13]  ⁸ tn Grk “Woe to you…because you…” The causal particle ὅτι (Joti) has not been translated here for rhetorical effect (and so throughout this chapter).

[23:13]  ⁹ tn Grk “because you are closing the kingdom of heaven before people.”

[23:14]  ¹⁰ tc The most important mss (א B D L Z Θ Ë¹ 33 892* pc and several versional witnesses) do not have 23:14 “Woe to you experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ property, and as a show you pray long prayers! Therefore you will receive a more severe punishment.” Part or all of the verse is contained (either after v. 12 or after v. 13) in W 0102 0107 ˹³ Ï and several versions, but it is almost certainly not original. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number as well, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations. Note also that Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47 are very similar in wording and are not disputed textually.

[23:15]  ¹¹ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:15]  ¹² tn Or “one proselyte.”

[23:15]  ¹³ tn Grk “when he becomes [one].”

[23:15]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “a son of Gehenna.” Expressions constructed with υἱός (Juios) followed by a genitive of class or kind denote a person belonging to the class or kind specified by the following genitive (L&N 9.4). Thus the phrase here means “a person who belongs to hell.”

[23:16]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing.”

[23:18]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing.”

[23:23]  ¹⁷ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:23]  ¹⁸ tn Or “you tithe mint.”

[23:23]  ¹⁹ sn Cumin (alternately spelled cummin) was an aromatic herb native to the Mediterranean region. Its seeds were used for seasoning.

[23:23]  ²⁰ tc ‡ Many witnesses (B C K L W Δ 0102 33 565 892 pm) have δέ (de, “but”) after ταῦτα (tauta, “these things”), while many others lack it (א D Γ Θ Ë^1,13 579 700 1241 1424 pm). Since asyndeton was relatively rare in Koine Greek, the conjunction may be an intentional alteration, and is thus omitted from the present translation. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[23:24]  ²¹ tn Grk “Blind guides who strain out a gnat yet who swallow a camel!”

[23:25]  ²² tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:26]  ²³ tc A very difficult textual problem is found here. The most important Alexandrian and Byzantine, as well as significant Western, witnesses (א B C L W 0102 0281 ˹³ 33 Ï lat co) have “and the dish” (καὶ τῆς παροψίδος, kai th" paroyido") after “cup,” while few important witnesses (D Θ Ë¹ 700 and some versional and patristic authorities) omit the phrase. On the one hand, scribes sometimes tended to eliminate redundancy; since “and the dish” is already present in v. 25, it may have been deleted in v. 26 by well-meaning scribes. On the other hand, as B. M. Metzger notes, the singular pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou, “its”) with τὸ ἐκτός (to ekto", “the outside”) in some of the same witnesses that have the longer reading (viz., B* ˹³ al) hints that their archetype lacked the words (TCGNT 50). Further, scribes would be motivated both to add the phrase from v. 25 and to change αὐτοῦ to the plural pronoun αὐτῶν (aujtwn, “their”). Although the external evidence for the shorter reading is not compelling in itself, combined with these two prongs of internal evidence, it is to be slightly preferred.

[23:27]  ²⁴ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:27]  ²⁵ sn This was an idiom for hypocrisy – just as the wall was painted on the outside but something different on the inside, so this person was not what he appeared or pretended to be (for discussion of a similar metaphor, see L&N 88.234; BDAG 1010 s.v. τοῖχος). See Deut 28:22; Ezek 13:10-16; Acts 23:3.

[23:29]  ²⁶ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:29]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Because you.” Here ὅτι (Joti) has not been translated.

[23:29]  ²⁸ tn Or perhaps “the monuments” (see L&N 7.75-76).

[23:30]  ²⁹ tn Grk “fathers” (so also in v. 32).

[23:33]  ³⁰ tn Grk “the judgment of Gehenna.”

[23:34]  ³¹ tn Grk “behold I am sending.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[23:34]  ³² tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:34]  ³³ sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[23:34]  ³⁴ tn BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited w. notes by SKrauss ’33) w. acc. of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”

[23:34]  ³⁵ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[23:35]  ³⁶ sn Spelling of this name (Βαραχίου, Baraciou) varies among the English versions: “Barachiah” (RSV, NRSV); “Berechiah” (NASB); “Berachiah” (NIV).

[23:36]  ³⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[23:36]  ³⁸ tn Grk “all these things will come on this generation.”

[9:51]  ³⁹ tn Grk “And it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[9:51]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “the days were being fulfilled.” There is literary design here. This starts what has been called in the Gospel of Luke the “Jerusalem Journey.” It is not a straight-line trip, but a journey to meet his fate (Luke 13:31-35).

[9:51]  ⁴¹ sn Taken up is a reference to Jesus’ upcoming return to heaven by crucifixion and resurrection (compare Luke 9:31). This term was used in the LXX of Elijah’s departure in 2 Kgs 2:9.

[9:51]  ⁴² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:51]  ⁴³ tn Grk “he set his face,” a Semitic idiom that speaks of a firm, unshakable resolve to do something (Gen 31:21; Isa 50:7).

[9:51]  ⁴⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[11:39]  ⁴⁵ sn The allusion to washing (clean the outside of the cup) shows Jesus knew what they were thinking and deliberately set up a contrast that charged them with hypocrisy and majoring on minors.

[11:39]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “and evil.”

[11:40]  ⁴⁷ sn You fools is a rebuke which in the OT refers to someone who is blind to God (Ps 14:1, 53:1; 92:6; Prov 6:12).

[11:40]  ⁴⁸ tn The question includes a Greek particle, οὐ (ou), that expects a positive reply. God, the maker of both, is concerned for what is both inside and outside.

[11:41]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “Give the things inside as alms.” Three different approaches have been taken to the syntax and meaning of this phrase: (1) τὰ ἐνόντα (ta enonta, “the things inside”) is an accusative of respect (“give alms with respect to the things inside”); (2) τὰ ἐνόντα is an adverbial accusative (“give alms inwardly,” i.e., from the heart); (3) the word translated “alms” represents a mistranslation of the original Aramaic term “cleanse,” so the statement urges the hearers to “cleanse the things inside.” According to D. L. Bock (Luke [BECNT], 2:1115) the latter meaning is unlikely because the present verse is independent of Matt 23:26, not parallel to it, and makes good sense as it stands.

[11:41]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this clause has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[11:41]  ⁵¹ sn The expression everything will be clean for you refers to the agreement that should exist between the overt practice of one’s religious duties, such as almsgiving, and the inner condition of one’s heart, including true love for God and the poor; one is not only to wash the outside of the cup and plate, but the inside as well, since as Jesus said, God created the inside too. Religious duties are not to be performed hypocritically, i.e., for the applause and esteem of people, but rather they are to be done out of a deep love for God and a sensitivity to and concern for the needs of others. Then, everything will be clean, both hearts and lives.

[11:42]  ⁵² tn Grk “Woe to you…because you…” The causal particle ὅτι (Joti) has not been translated here for rhetorical effect (and so to the end of this chapter).

[11:42]  ⁵³ tn Or “you tithe mint.”

[11:42]  ⁵⁴ sn These small herbs were tithed with great care (Mishnah, m. Demai 2:1).

[11:42]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “and rue.” Καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[11:42]  ⁵⁶ sn Justice was a major theme of OT ethics (Mic 6:8; Zech 7:8-10).

[11:42]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “those”; but this has been translated as “the others” to clarify which are meant.

[11:43]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “seats of honor.” The term here is plural and is not a reference only to the lead “seat of Moses” in the synagogue, but includes the front seats near the ark.

[11:43]  ⁵⁹ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.

[11:43]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “and the greetings.”

[11:44]  ⁶¹ tc Most mss (A [D] W Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï it) have “experts in the law and Pharisees, hypocrites” after “you,” but this looks like an assimilation to the parallel in Matt 23:25, 27, 29. The shorter reading has earlier attestation from a variety of reliable mss (Ì^45,75 א B C L ˹ 33 1241 2542 lat sa).

[11:44]  ⁶² tn Grk “men.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

[11:44]  ⁶³ sn In Judaism to come into contact with the dead or what is associated with them, even without knowing it, makes one unclean (Num 19:11-22; Lev 21:1-3; Mishnah, m. Demai 2:3). To Pharisees, who would have been so sensitive about contracting ceremonial uncleanness, it would have been quite a stinging rebuke to be told they caused it.

[11:45]  ⁶⁴ sn That is, an expert in the interpretation of the Mosaic law. They worked closely with the Pharisees.

[11:45]  ⁶⁵ tn For this term, see Matt 22;6; Luke 18:32; Acts 14:5; 1 Thess 2:2.

[11:46]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:46]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “said.”

[11:46]  ⁶⁸ tn Here “as well” is used to translate καί (kai) at the beginning of the statement.

[11:46]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “men.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

[11:46]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “you yourselves do not touch.” This could mean one of two things: (1) Either they make others do what they themselves do not (through various technical exceptions) or (2) they make no effort to help the others fulfill what they are required to do. Considering the care these religious figures are said to have given to the law, the second option is more likely (see L&N 18.11).

[11:47]  ⁷¹ sn The effect of what the experts in the law were doing was to deny the message of the prophets and thus honor their death by supporting those who had sought their removal. The charge that this is what previous generations did shows the problem is chronic. As T. W. Manson said, the charge here is “The only prophet you honor is a dead prophet!” (The Sayings of Jesus, 101).

[11:47]  ⁷² tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[11:48]  ⁷³ tn Grk “you are witnesses and approve of.”

[11:48]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[11:48]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the prophets) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:48]  ⁷⁶ tn “Their,” i.e., the prophets.

[11:48]  ⁷⁷ tc The majority of mss list a specific object (“their tombs”), filling out the sentence (although there are two different words for “tombs” among the mss, as well as different word orders: αὐτῶν τὰ μνημεῖα (autwn ta mnhmeia; found in A C W Θ Ψ 33 Ï) and τοὺς τάφους αὐτῶν (tou" tafou" autwn; found in Ë^1,[13] 2542 pc). This suggests that early copyists had no term in front of them but felt the verb needed an object. But since a wide distribution of early Alexandrian and Western mss lack these words (Ì⁷⁵ א B D L 579 1241 it sa), it is likely that they were not part of the original text of Luke. Nevertheless, the words “their tombs” are inserted in the translation because of requirements of English style.

[11:49]  ⁷⁸ sn The expression the wisdom of God is a personification of an attribute of God that refers to his wise will.

[11:50]  ⁷⁹ tn Or “that this generation may be charged with”; or “the blood of all the prophets… may be required from this generation.” This is a warning of judgment. These people are responsible for the shedding of prophetic blood.

[11:50]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “foundation.” However, this does not suggest a time to the modern reader.

[11:50]  ⁸¹ tn The order of the clauses in this complicated sentence has been rearranged to simplify it for the modern reader.

[11:51]  ⁸² sn Gen 4:10 indicates that Abel’s blood cried out for justice.

[11:51]  ⁸³ sn It is not clear which Zechariah is meant here. It is probably the person mentioned in 2 Chr 24:20-25.

[11:51]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “who perished.”

[11:51]  ⁸⁵ tn Or “and the temple”; Grk “and the house,” but in this context a reference to the house of God as a place of sanctuary.

[11:51]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “required from.”

[11:52]  ⁸⁷ sn You have taken away the key to knowledge is another stinging rebuke. They had done the opposite of what they were trying to do.

[11:52]  ⁸⁸ tn Or “you tried to prevent.”

[11:53]  ⁸⁹ tn Or “the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[11:53]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “terribly.”

[11:53]  ⁹¹ tn For this term see L&N 33.183.

[11:54]  ⁹² tn Grk “lying in ambush against,” but this is a figurative extension of that meaning.

[11:54]  ⁹³ tn This term was often used in a hunting context (BDAG 455 s.v. θηρεύω; L&N 27.30). Later examples of this appear in Luke 20.

[1:16]  ⁹⁴ sn Here the Greek refers to anyone who is not Jewish.

[1:1]  ⁹⁵ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁹⁶ tn Traditionally, “servant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ⁹⁷ tc Many important mss, as well as several others (̲⁶ א A G Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï), have a reversed order of these words and read “Jesus Christ” rather than “Christ Jesus” (̹⁰ B 81 pc). The meaning is not affected in either case, but the reading “Christ Jesus” is preferred as slightly more difficult and thus more likely the original (a scribe who found it would be prone to change it to the more common expression). At the same time, Paul is fond of the order “Christ Jesus,” especially in certain letters such as Romans, Galatians, and Philippians. As well, the later Pauline letters almost uniformly use this order in the salutations. A decision is difficult, but “Christ Jesus” is slightly preferred.

[1:1]  ⁹⁸ tn Grk “a called apostle.”

[1:1]  ⁹⁹ tn The genitive in the phrase εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ (euangelion qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as (1) a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or (2) an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself. However, in view of God’s action in v. 2 concerning this gospel, a subjective genitive notion (“the gospel which God brings”) is slightly preferred.

[4:1]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Or “according to natural descent” (BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 4).

[4:1]  ¹⁰¹ tn Grk “has found?”

[4:16]  ¹⁰² tn Grk “that it might be according to grace.”

[4:16]  ¹⁰³ tn Grk “those who are of the faith of Abraham.”