Matthew 5:9

5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children ¹  of God.

Luke 6:35

6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. ²  Then ³  your reward will be great, and you will be sons ⁴  of the Most High, ⁵  because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. ⁶ 

John 13:35

13:35 Everyone ⁷  will know by this that you are my disciples – if you have love for one another.”

Ephesians 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be ⁸  imitators of God as dearly loved children

Ephesians 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be ⁹  imitators of God as dearly loved children

Ephesians 3:9

3:9 and to enlighten ¹⁰  everyone about God’s secret plan ¹¹  – a secret that has been hidden for ages ¹²  in God ¹³  who has created all things.

[5:9]  ¹ tn Grk “sons,” though traditionally English versions have taken this as a generic reference to both males and females, hence “children” (cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[6:35]  ² tn Or “in return.”

[6:35]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the outcome or result. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation at this point.

[6:35]  ⁴ sn The character of these actions reflects the grace and kindness of God, bearing witness to a “line of descent” or relationship of the individual to God (sons of the Most High). There is to be a unique kind of ethic at work with disciples. Jesus refers specifically to sons here because in the ancient world sons had special privileges which were rarely accorded to daughters. However, Jesus is most likely addressing both men and women in this context, so women too would receive these same privileges.

[6:35]  ⁵ sn That is, “sons of God.”

[6:35]  ⁶ tn Or “to the ungrateful and immoral.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[13:35]  ⁷ tn Grk “All people,” although many modern translations have rendered πάντες (pantes) as “all men” (ASV, RSV, NASB, NIV). While the gender of the pronoun is masculine, it is collective and includes people of both genders.

[5:1]  ⁸ tn Or “become.”

[5:1]  ⁹ tn Or “become.”

[3:9]  ¹⁰ tn There is a possible causative nuance in the Greek verb, but this is difficult to convey in the translation.

[3:9]  ¹¹ tn Grk “what is the plan of the divine secret.” Earlier the author had used οἰκονομία (oikonomia; here “plan”) to refer to his own “stewardship” (v. 2). But now he is speaking about the content of this secret, not his own activity in relation to it.

[3:9]  ¹² tn Or “for eternity,” or perhaps “from the Aeons.” Cf. 2:2, 7.

[3:9]  ¹³ tn Or “by God.” It is possible that ἐν (en) plus the dative here indicates agency, that is, that God has performed the action of hiding the secret. However, this usage of the preposition ἐν is quite rare in the NT, and even though here it does follow a perfect passive verb as in the Classical idiom, it is more likely that a different nuance is intended.