Matthew 1:21

1:21 She will give birth to a son and you will name him ¹  Jesus, ²  because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 9:13

9:13 Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ ³  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 18:11

18:11 [[EMPTY]] ⁴ 

Matthew 20:28

20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom ⁵  for many.”

Mark 2:17

2:17 When Jesus heard this he said to them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. ⁶  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Luke 5:32

5:32 I have not come ⁷  to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” ⁸ 

Luke 19:10

19:10 For the Son of Man came ⁹  to seek and to save the lost.”

John 1:29

1:29 On the next day John ¹⁰  saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God ¹¹  who takes away the sin of the world!

John 12:47

12:47 If anyone ¹²  hears my words and does not obey them, ¹³  I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ¹⁴ 

Acts 3:26

3:26 God raised up ¹⁵  his servant and sent him first to you, to bless you by turning ¹⁶  each one of you from your iniquities.” ¹⁷ 

Romans 3:24-26

3:24 But they are justified ¹⁸  freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 3:25 God publicly displayed ¹⁹  him ²⁰  at his death ²¹  as the mercy seat ²²  accessible through faith. ²³  This was to demonstrate ²⁴  his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed. ²⁵  3:26 This was ²⁶  also to demonstrate ²⁷  his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just ²⁸  and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness. ²⁹ 

Romans 5:6

5:6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:8-10

5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 5:9 Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous ³⁰  by his blood, ³¹  we will be saved through him from God’s wrath. ³²  5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life?

Hebrews 7:25

7:25 So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Hebrews 7:1

The Nature of Melchizedek’s Priesthood

7:1 Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him. ³³ 

Hebrews 3:5

3:5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s ³⁴  house ³⁵  as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken.

Hebrews 3:8

3:8 “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness.

Hebrews 4:9-10

4:9 Consequently a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God. 4:10 For the one who enters God’s ³⁶  rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.

Revelation 5:9

5:9 They were singing a new song: ³⁷ 

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals

because you were killed, ³⁸ 

and at the cost of your own blood ³⁹  you have purchased ⁴⁰  for God

persons ⁴¹  from every tribe, language, ⁴²  people, and nation.

[1:21]  ¹ tn Grk “you will call his name.”

[1:21]  ² sn The Greek form of the name Ihsous, which was translated into Latin as Jesus, is the same as the Hebrew Yeshua (Joshua), which means “Yahweh saves” (Yahweh is typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT). It was a fairly common name among Jews in 1st century Palestine, as references to a number of people by this name in the LXX and Josephus indicate.

[9:13]  ³ sn A quotation from Hos 6:6 (see also Matt 12:7).

[18:11]  ⁴ tc The most important mss (א B L* Θ* Ë^1,13 33 892* pc e ff¹ sy^s sa) do not include 18:11 “For the Son of Man came to save the lost.” The verse is included in D L^mg W Θ^c 078^vid Ï lat sy^c,p,h, but is almost certainly not original, being borrowed, as it were, from the parallel in Luke 19:10. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number as well, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

[20:28]  ⁵ sn The Greek word for ransom (λύτρον, lutron) is found here and in Mark 10:45 and refers to the payment of a price in order to purchase the freedom of a slave. The idea of Jesus as the “ransom” is that he paid the price with his own life by standing in our place as a substitute, enduring the judgment that we deserved for sin.

[2:17]  ⁶ sn Jesus’ point is that he associates with those who are sick because they have the need and will respond to the offer of help. A person who is healthy (or who thinks mistakenly that he is) will not seek treatment.

[5:32]  ⁷ sn I have not come is another commission statement by Jesus; see 4:43-44.

[5:32]  ⁸ sn Though parallels exist to this saying (Matt 9:13; Mark 2:17), only Luke has this last phrase but sinners to repentance. Repentance is a frequent topic in Luke’s Gospel: 3:3, 8; 13:1-5; 15:7, 10; 16:30; 17:3-4; 24:47.

[19:10]  ⁹ sn The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost is Jesus’ mission succinctly defined. See Luke 15:1-32.

[1:29]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:29]  ¹¹ sn Gen 22:8 is an important passage in the background of the title Lamb of God as applied to Jesus. In Jewish thought this was held to be a supremely important sacrifice. G. Vermès stated: “For the Palestinian Jew, all lamb sacrifice, and especially the Passover lamb and the Tamid offering, was a memorial of the Akedah with its effects of deliverance, forgiveness of sin and messianic salvation” (Scripture and Tradition in Judaism [StPB], 225).

[12:47]  ¹² tn Grk “And if anyone”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.

[12:47]  ¹³ tn Or “guard them,” “keep them.”

[12:47]  ¹⁴ sn Cf. John 3:17.

[3:26]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “God raising up his servant, sent him.” The participle ἀναστήσας (anasthsa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Some translations (e.g., NIV, NRSV) render this participle as temporal (“when God raised up his servant”).

[3:26]  ¹⁶ sn The picture of turning is again seen as the appropriate response to the message. See v. 19 above. In v. 19 it was “turning to,” here it is “turning away from.” The direction of the two metaphors is important.

[3:26]  ¹⁷ tn For the translation of plural πονηρία (ponhria) as “iniquities,” see G. Harder, TDNT 6:565. The plural is important, since for Luke turning to Jesus means turning away from sins, not just the sin of rejecting Jesus.

[3:24]  ¹⁸ tn Or “declared righteous.” Grk “being justified,” as a continuation of the preceding clause. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:25]  ¹⁹ tn Or “purposed, intended.”

[3:25]  ²⁰ tn Grk “whom God publicly displayed.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:25]  ²¹ tn Grk “in his blood.” The prepositional phrase ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι (ejn tw aujtou {aimati) is difficult to interpret. It is traditionally understood to refer to the atoning sacrifice Jesus made when he shed his blood on the cross, and as a modifier of ἱλαστήριον (Jilasthrion). This interpretation fits if ἱλαστήριον is taken to refer to a sacrifice. But if ἱλαστήριον is taken to refer to the place where atonement is made as this translation has done (see note on the phrase “mercy seat”), this interpretation of ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι creates a violent mixed metaphor. Within a few words Paul would switch from referring to Jesus as the place where atonement was made to referring to Jesus as the atoning sacrifice itself. A viable option which resolves this problem is to see ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι as modifying the verb προέθετο (proeqeto). If it modifies the verb, it would explain the time or place in which God publicly displayed Jesus as the mercy seat; the reference to blood would be a metaphorical way of speaking of Jesus’ death. This is supported by the placement of ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι in the Greek text (it follows the noun, separated from it by another prepositional phrase) and by stylistic parallels with Rom 1:4. This is the interpretation the translation has followed, although it is recognized that many interpreters favor different options and translations. The prepositional phrase has been moved forward in the sentence to emphasize its connection with the verb, and the referent of the metaphorical language has been specified in the translation. For a detailed discussion of this interpretation, see D. P. Bailey, “Jesus As the Mercy Seat: The Semantics and Theology of Paul’s Use of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25” (Ph.D. diss., University of Cambridge, 1999).

[3:25]  ²² tn The word ἱλαστήριον (Jilasthrion) may carry the general sense “place of satisfaction,” referring to the place where God’s wrath toward sin is satisfied. More likely, though, it refers specifically to the “mercy seat,” i.e., the covering of the ark where the blood was sprinkled in the OT ritual on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This term is used only one other time in the NT: Heb 9:5, where it is rendered “mercy seat.” There it describes the altar in the most holy place (holy of holies). Thus Paul is saying that God displayed Jesus as the “mercy seat,” the place where propitiation was accomplished. See N. S. L. Fryer, “The Meaning and Translation of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25,” EvQ 59 (1987): 99-116, who concludes the term is a neuter accusative substantive best translated “mercy seat” or “propitiatory covering,” and D. P. Bailey, “Jesus As the Mercy Seat: The Semantics and Theology of Paul’s Use of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25” (Ph.D. diss., University of Cambridge, 1999), who argues that this is a direct reference to the mercy seat which covered the ark of the covenant.

[3:25]  ²³ tn The prepositional phrase διὰ πίστεως (dia pistew") here modifies the noun ἱλαστήριον (Jilasthrion). As such it forms a complete noun phrase and could be written as “mercy-seat-accessible-through-faith” to emphasize the singular idea. See Rom 1:4 for a similar construction. The word “accessible” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied to clarify the idea expressed by the prepositional phrase (cf. NRSV: “effective through faith”).

[3:25]  ²⁴ tn Grk “for a demonstration,” giving the purpose of God’s action in v. 25a. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:25]  ²⁵ tn Grk “because of the passing over of sins previously committed in the forbearance of God.”

[3:26]  ²⁶ tn The words “This was” have been repeated from the previous verse to clarify that this is a continuation of that thought. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:26]  ²⁷ tn Grk “toward a demonstration,” repeating and expanding the purpose of God’s action in v. 25a.

[3:26]  ²⁸ tn Or “righteous.”

[3:26]  ²⁹ tn Or “of the one who has faith in Jesus.” See note on “faithfulness of Jesus Christ” in v. 22 for the rationale behind the translation “Jesus’ faithfulness.”

[5:9]  ³⁰ tn Grk “having now been declared righteous.” The participle δικαιωθέντες (dikaiwqente") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[5:9]  ³¹ tn Or, according to BDF §219.3, “at the price of his blood.”

[5:9]  ³² tn Grk “the wrath,” referring to God’s wrath as v. 10 shows.

[7:1]  ³³ sn A series of quotations from Gen 14:17-19.

[3:5]  ³⁴ tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.

[3:5]  ³⁵ sn A quotation from Num 12:7.

[4:10]  ³⁶ tn Grk “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:9]  ³⁷ tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.

[5:9]  ³⁸ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[5:9]  ³⁹ tn The preposition ἐν (en) is taken to indicate price here, like the Hebrew preposition ב (bet) does at times. BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 5.b states, “The ἐν which takes the place of the gen. of price is also instrumental ἠγόρασας ἐν τῷ αἵματί σου Rv 5:9 (cp. 1 Ch 21:24 ἀγοράζω ἐν ἀργυρίῳ).”

[5:9]  ⁴⁰ tc The Greek text as it stands above (i.e., the reading τῷ θεῷ [tw qew] alone) is found in codex A. א 2050 2344 Ï sy add the term “us” (ἡμᾶς, Jhmas), either before or after τῷ θεῷ, as an attempt to clarify the object of “purchased” (ἠγόρασας, hgorasa"). A few mss (1 vg^ms) delete the reference to God altogether and simply replace it with “us” (ἡμᾶς). This too is an attempt to remove ambiguity in the phrase and provide an object for “purchased.” The shorter reading, supported by the best witness for Revelation, best accounts for the other readings.

[5:9]  ⁴¹ tn The word “persons” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[5:9]  ⁴² tn Grk “and language,” but 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.