Psalms 130:7-8

130:7 O Israel, hope in the Lord,

for the Lord exhibits loyal love, ¹ 

and is more than willing to deliver. ² 

130:8 He will deliver ³  Israel

from all the consequences of their sins. ⁴ 

Isaiah 12:1-2

12:1 At that time ⁵  you will say:

“I praise you, O Lord,

for even though you were angry with me,

your anger subsided, and you consoled me.

12:2 Look, God is my deliverer! ⁶ 

I will trust in him ⁷  and not fear.

For the Lord gives me strength and protects me; ⁸ 

he has become my deliverer.” ⁹ 

Isaiah 45:21-22

45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence! ¹⁰ 

Let them consult with one another!

Who predicted this in the past?

Who announced it beforehand?

Was it not I, the Lord?

I have no peer, there is no God but me,

a God who vindicates and delivers; ¹¹ 

there is none but me.

45:22 Turn to me so you can be delivered, ¹² 

all you who live in the earth’s remote regions!

For I am God, and I have no peer.

Jeremiah 23:6

23:6 Under his rule ¹³  Judah will enjoy safety ¹⁴ 

and Israel will live in security. ¹⁵ 

This is the name he will go by:

‘The Lord has provided us with justice.’ ¹⁶ 

Jeremiah 33:16

33:16 Under his rule Judah will enjoy safety ¹⁷  and Jerusalem ¹⁸  will live in security. At that time Jerusalem will be called “The Lord has provided us with justice.” ¹⁹ 

Ezekiel 36:25-29

36:25 I will sprinkle you with pure water ²⁰  and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols. 36:26 I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone ²¹  from your body and give you a heart of flesh. ²²  36:27 I will put my Spirit within you; ²³  I will take the initiative and you will obey my statutes ²⁴  and carefully observe my regulations. ²⁵  36:28 Then you will live in the land I gave to your fathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁶  36:29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and multiply it; I will not bring a famine on you.

Daniel 9:24

9:24 “Seventy weeks ²⁷  have been determined

concerning your people and your holy city

to put an end to ²⁸  rebellion,

to bring sin ²⁹  to completion, ³⁰ 

to atone for iniquity,

to bring in perpetual ³¹  righteousness,

to seal up ³²  the prophetic vision, ³³ 

and to anoint a most holy place. ³⁴ 

Zechariah 9:9

9:9 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion!

Shout, daughter of Jerusalem!

Look! Your king is coming to you:

he is legitimate ³⁵  and victorious, ³⁶ 

humble and riding on a donkey ³⁷  –

on a young donkey, the foal of a female donkey.

John 1:29

1:29 On the next day John ³⁸  saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God ³⁹  who takes away the sin of the world!

Acts 3:26

3:26 God raised up ⁴⁰  his servant and sent him first to you, to bless you by turning ⁴¹  each one of you from your iniquities.” ⁴² 

Acts 4:12

4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people ⁴³  by which we must ⁴⁴  be saved.”

Acts 5:31

5:31 God exalted him ⁴⁵  to his right hand as Leader ⁴⁶  and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ⁴⁷ 

Acts 13:23

13:23 From the descendants ⁴⁸  of this man ⁴⁹  God brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, just as he promised. ⁵⁰ 

Acts 13:38-39

13:38 Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through this one ⁵¹  forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 13:39 and by this one ⁵²  everyone who believes is justified ⁵³  from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify ⁵⁴  you. ⁵⁵ 

Ephesians 5:25-27

5:25 Husbands, love your ⁵⁶  wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 5:26 to sanctify her by cleansing her ⁵⁷  with the washing of the water by the word, 5:27 so that he ⁵⁸  may present the church to himself as glorious – not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. ⁵⁹ 

Colossians 1:20-23

1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, ⁶⁰  whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Paul’s Goal in Ministry

1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your ⁶¹  minds ⁶²  as expressed through ⁶³  your evil deeds, 1:22 but now he has reconciled you ⁶⁴  by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him – 1:23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, ⁶⁵  without shifting ⁶⁶  from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

Titus 2:14

2:14 He ⁶⁷  gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, ⁶⁸  who are eager to do good. ⁶⁹ 

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. ⁷⁰ 

Hebrews 1:7

1:7 And he says ⁷¹  of the angels, “He makes ⁷²  his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire,” ⁷³ 

Hebrews 2:1-2

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2:2 For if the message spoken through angels ⁷⁴  proved to be so firm that every violation ⁷⁵  or disobedience received its just penalty,

Hebrews 3:5

3:5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s ⁷⁶  house ⁷⁷  as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken.

Revelation 1:5-6

1:5 and from Jesus Christ – the faithful ⁷⁸  witness, ⁷⁹  the firstborn from among the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has set us free ⁸⁰  from our sins at the cost of ⁸¹  his own blood 1:6 and has appointed ⁸²  us as a kingdom, ⁸³  as priests ⁸⁴  serving his God and Father – to him be the glory and the power for ever and ever! ⁸⁵  Amen.

Revelation 7:14

7:14 So ⁸⁶  I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” ⁸⁷  Then ⁸⁸  he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They ⁸⁹  have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb!

[130:7]  ¹ tn Heb “for with the Lord [is] loyal love.”

[130:7]  ² tn Heb “and abundantly with him [is] redemption.”

[130:8]  ³ tn Or “redeem.”

[130:8]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew noun עָוֹן (’avon) can refer to sin, the guilt sin produces, or the consequences of sin. Only here is the noun collocated with the verb פָּדָה (padah, “to redeem; to deliver”). The psalmist may refer to forgiveness per se (v. 4), but the emphasis in this context is likely on deliverance from the national consequences of sin. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 192.

[12:1]  ⁵ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[12:2]  ⁶ tn Or “salvation” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[12:2]  ⁷ tn The words “in him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[12:2]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text has, “for my strength and protection [is] the Lord, the Lord (Heb “Yah, Yahweh).” The word יְהוָה (yehvah) is probably dittographic or explanatory here (note that the short form of the name [יָהּ, yah] precedes, and that the graphically similar וַיְהִי [vayÿhi] follows). Exod 15:2, the passage from which the words of v. 2b are taken, has only יָהּ. The word זִמְרָת (zimrat) is traditionally understood as meaning “song,” in which case one might translate, “for the Lord gives me strength and joy” (i.e., a reason to sing); note that in v. 5 the verb זָמַר (zamar, “sing”) appears. Many recent commentators, however, have argued that the noun is here instead a homonym, meaning “protection” or “strength.” See HALOT 274 s.v. III *זמר.

[12:2]  ⁹ tn Or “salvation” (so many English versions, e.g., KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “my savior.”

[45:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.

[45:21]  ¹¹ tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”

[45:22]  ¹² tn The Niphal imperative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose after the preceding imperative. The Niphal probably has a tolerative sense, “allow yourselves to be delivered, accept help.”

[23:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “In his days [= during the time he rules].”

[23:6]  ¹⁴ tn Parallelism and context (cf. v. 4) suggest this nuance for the word often translated “be saved.” For this nuance elsewhere see Ps 119:117; Prov 28:18 for the verb (יָשַׁע [yasha’] in the Niphal); and Ps 12:6; Job 5:4, 11 for the related noun (יֶשַׁע, yesha’).

[23:6]  ¹⁵ sn It should be noted that this brief oracle of deliverance implies the reunification of Israel and Judah under the future Davidic ruler. Jeremiah has already spoken about this reunification earlier in 3:18 and will have more to say about it in 30:3; 31:27, 31. This same ideal was espoused in the prophecies of Hosea (1:10-11 [2:1-2 HT]), Isaiah (11:1-4, 10-12), and Ezekiel (37:15-28) all of which have messianic and eschatological significance.

[23:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his name will be called ‘The Lord our righteousness’.”

[33:16]  ¹⁷ tn For the translation of this term in this context see the parallel context in 23:6 and consult the translator’s note there.

[33:16]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[33:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “And this is what will be called to it: ‘The Lord our righteousness.’”

[36:25]  ²⁰ sn The Lord here uses a metaphor from the realm of ritual purification. For the use of water in ritual cleansing, see Exod 30:19-20; Lev 14:51; Num 19:18; Heb 10:22.

[36:26]  ²¹ sn That is, a heart which symbolizes a will that is stubborn and unresponsive (see 1 Sam 25:37). In Rabbinic literature a “stone” was associated with an evil inclination (b. Sukkah 52a).

[36:26]  ²² sn That is, a heart which symbolizes a will that is responsive and obedient to God.

[36:27]  ²³ tn Or “in the midst of you.” The word “you” is plural.

[36:27]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and I will do that which in my statutes you will walk.” The awkward syntax (verb “to do, act” + accusative sign + relative clause + prepositional phrase + second person verb) is unique, though Eccl 3:14 contains a similar construction. In the last line of that verse we read that “God acts so that (relative pronoun) they fear before him.” However, unlike Ezek 36:27, the statement has no accusative sign before the relative pronoun.

[36:27]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and my laws you will guard and you will do them.” Jer 31:31-34 is parallel to this passage.

[36:28]  ²⁶ sn This promise reflects the ancient covenantal ideal (see Exod 6:7).

[9:24]  ²⁷ tn Heb “sevens.” Elsewhere the term is used of a literal week (a period of seven days), cf. Gen 29:27-28; Exod 34:22; Lev 12:5; Num 28:26; Deut 16:9-10; 2 Chr 8:13; Jer 5:24; Dan 10:2-3. Gabriel unfolds the future as if it were a calendar of successive weeks. Most understand the reference here as periods of seventy “sevens” of years, or a total of 490 years.

[9:24]  ²⁸ tc Or “to finish.” The present translation reads the Qere (from the root תָּמַם, tamam) with many witnesses. The Kethib has “to seal up” (from the root הָתַם, hatam), a confusion with a reference later in the verse to sealing up the vision.

[9:24]  ²⁹ tc The present translation reads the Qere (singular), rather than the Kethib (plural).

[9:24]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew phrase לְכַלֵּא (lÿkhalle’) is apparently an alternative (metaplastic) spelling of the root כָּלָה (kalah, “to complete, finish”), rather than a form of כָּלָא (kala’, “to shut up, restrain”), as has sometimes been supposed.

[9:24]  ³¹ tn Or “everlasting.”

[9:24]  ³² sn The act of sealing in the OT is a sign of authentication. Cf. 1 Kgs 21:8; Jer 32:10, 11, 44.

[9:24]  ³³ tn Heb “vision and prophecy.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[9:24]  ³⁴ tn Or “the most holy place” (NASB, NLT); or “a most holy one”; or “the most holy one,” though the expression is used of places or objects elsewhere, not people.

[9:9]  ³⁵ tn The Hebrew term צַדִּיק (tsadiq) ordinarily translated “righteous,” frequently occurs, as here, with the idea of conforming to a standard or meeting certain criteria. The Messianic king riding into Jerusalem is fully qualified to take the Davidic throne (cf. 1 Sam 23:3; Isa 9:5-6; 11:4; 16:5; Jer 22:1-5; 23:5-6).

[9:9]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew term נוֹשָׁע (nosha’) a Niphal participle of יָשַׁע (yasha’, “to save”) could mean “one delivered” or, if viewed as active, “one bringing salvation” (similar KJV, NIV, NKJV). It is preferable to take the normal passive use of the Niphal and understand that the king, having been delivered, is as a result “victorious” (so also NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[9:9]  ³⁷ sn The NT understands this verse to be a prophecy of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and properly so (cf. Matt 21:5; John 12:15), but reference to the universal rule of the king in v. 10 reveals that this is a “split prophecy,” that is, it has a two-stage fulfillment. Verse 9 was fulfilled in Jesus’ earthly ministry but v. 10 awaits a millennial consummation (cf. Rev 19:11-16).

[1:29]  ³⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:29]  ³⁹ 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).

[3:26]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² 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.

[4:12]  ⁴³ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[4:12]  ⁴⁴ sn Must be saved. The term used here (δεῖ, dei, “it is necessary”) reflects the necessity set up by God’s directive plan.

[5:31]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “This one God exalted” (emphatic).

[5:31]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “Founder” (of a movement).

[5:31]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.”

[13:23]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “From the offspring”; Grk “From the seed.”

[13:23]  ⁴⁹ sn The phrase this man is in emphatic position in the Greek text.

[13:23]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “according to [his] promise.” The comparative clause “just as he promised” is less awkward in English.

[13:38]  ⁵¹ tn That is, Jesus. This pronoun is in emphatic position in the Greek text. Following this phrase in the Greek text is the pronoun ὑμῖν (Jumin, “to you”), so that the emphasis for the audience is that “through Jesus to you” these promises have come.

[13:39]  ⁵² sn This one refers here to Jesus.

[13:39]  ⁵³ tn Or “is freed.” The translation of δικαιωθῆναι (dikaiwqhnai) and δικαιοῦται (dikaioutai) in Acts 13:38-39 is difficult. BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 3 categorizes δικαιωθῆναι in 13:38 (Greek text) under the meaning “make free/pure” but categorizes δικαιοῦται in Acts 13:39 as “be found in the right, be free of charges” (BDAG 249 s.v. δικαιόω 2.b.β). In the interest of consistency both verbs are rendered as “justified” in this translation.

[13:39]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “could not free.”

[13:39]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.” The passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation, with “by the law of Moses” becoming the subject of the final clause. The words “from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify you” are part of v. 38 in the Greek text, but due to English style and word order must be placed in v. 39 in the translation.

[5:25]  ⁵⁶ tn The Greek article has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[5:26]  ⁵⁷ tn The direct object “her” is implied, but not found in the Greek text. It has been supplied in the English translation to clarify the sense of the passage.

[5:27]  ⁵⁸ tn The use of the pronoun αὐτός (autos) is intensive and focuses attention on Christ as the one who has made the church glorious.

[5:27]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “but in order that it may be holy and blameless.”

[1:20]  ⁶⁰ tc The presence or absence of the second occurrence of the phrase δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (di’ autou, “through him”) is a difficult textual problem to solve. External evidence is fairly evenly divided. Many ancient and excellent witnesses lack the phrase (B D* F G I 0278 81 1175 1739 1881 2464 al latt sa), but equally important witnesses have it (Ì⁴⁶ א A C D¹ Ψ 048^vid 33 Ï). Both readings have strong Alexandrian support, which makes the problem difficult to decide on external evidence alone. Internal evidence points to the inclusion of the phrase as original. The word immediately preceding the phrase is the masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou); thus the possibility of omission through homoioteleuton in various witnesses is likely. Scribes might have deleted the phrase because of perceived redundancy or awkwardness in the sense: The shorter reading is smoother and more elegant, so scribes would be prone to correct the text in that direction. As far as style is concerned, repetition of key words and phrases for emphasis is not foreign to the corpus Paulinum (see, e.g., Rom 8:23, Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 12:7). In short, it is easier to account for the shorter reading arising from the longer reading than vice versa, so the longer reading is more likely original.

[1:21]  ⁶¹ tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[1:21]  ⁶² tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.

[1:21]  ⁶³ tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en toi" ergoi" toi" ponhroi") is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.

[1:22]  ⁶⁴ tc Some of the better representatives of the Alexandrian and Western texts have a passive verb here instead of the active ἀποκατήλλαξεν (apokathllaxen, “he has reconciled”): ἀποκατηλλάγητε (apokathllaghte) in (Ì⁴⁶) B, ἀποκατήλλακται [sic] (apokathllaktai) in 33, and ἀποκαταλλαγέντες (apokatallagente") in D* F G. Yet the active verb is strongly supported by א A C D² Ψ 048 075 [0278] 1739 1881 Ï lat sy. Internally, the passive creates an anacoluthon in that it looks back to the accusative ὑμᾶς (Juma", “you”) of v. 21 and leaves the following παραστῆσαι (parasthsai) dangling (“you were reconciled…to present you”). The passive reading is certainly the harder reading. As such, it may well explain the rise of the other readings. At the same time, it is possible that the passive was produced by scribes who wanted some symmetry between the ποτε (pote, “at one time”) of v. 21 and the νυνὶ δέ (nuni de, “but now”) of v. 22: Since a passive periphrastic participle is used in v. 21, there may have a temptation to produce a corresponding passive form in v. 22, handling the ὑμᾶς of v. 21 by way of constructio ad sensum. Since παραστῆσαι occurs ten words later, it may not have been considered in this scribal modification. Further, the Western reading (ἀποκαταλλαγέντες) hardly seems to have arisen from ἀποκατηλλάγητε (contra TCGNT 555). As difficult as this decision is, the preferred reading is the active form because it is superior externally and seems to explain the rise of all forms of the passive readings.

[1:23]  ⁶⁵ tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”

[1:23]  ⁶⁶ tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.

[2:14]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).

[2:14]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “a people who are his very own.”

[2:14]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “for good works.”

[7:1]  ⁷⁰ sn A series of quotations from Gen 14:17-19.

[1:7]  ⁷¹ sn The Greek correlative conjunctions μέν and δέ (men and de) emphasize the contrastive parallelism of vs. 7 (what God says about the angels) over against vv. 8-9 and vv. 10-12 (what God says about the son).

[1:7]  ⁷² tn Grk “He who makes.”

[1:7]  ⁷³ sn A quotation from Ps 104:4.

[2:2]  ⁷⁴ sn The message spoken through angels refers to the OT law, which according to Jewish tradition was mediated to Moses through angels (cf. Deut 33:2; Ps 68:17-18; Acts 7:38, 53; Gal 3:19; and Jub. 1:27, 29; Josephus, Ant. 15.5.3 [15.136]).

[2:2]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “through angels became valid and every violation.”

[3:5]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.

[3:5]  ⁷⁷ sn A quotation from Num 12:7.

[1:5]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “Jesus Christ – the faithful one, the witness…” Some take ὁ πιστός (Jo pistos) as a second substantive in relation to ὁ μάρτυς (Jo martus). In the present translation, however, ὁ πιστός was taken as an adjective in attributive position to ὁ μάρτυς. The idea of martyrdom and faithfulness are intimately connected. See BDAG 820 s.v. πιστός 1.a.α: “ὁ μάρτυς μου ὁ πιστός μου Rv 2:13 (μάρτυς 3); in this ‘book of martyrs’ Christ is ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστὸς (καὶ ὁ ἀληθινός) 1:5; 3:14; cp. 19:11 (the combination of ἀληθινός and πιστός in the last two passages is like 3 Macc 2:11). Cp. Rv 17:14.”

[1:5]  ⁷⁹ sn The Greek term translated witness can mean both “witness” and “martyr.”

[1:5]  ⁸⁰ tc The reading “set free” (λύσαντι, lusanti) has better ms support (̹⁸ א A C 1611 2050 2329 2351 Ï^A sy) than its rival, λούσαντι (lousanti, “washed”; found in P 1006 1841 1854 2053 2062 Ï^K lat bo). Internally, it seems that the reading “washed” could have arisen in at least one of three ways: (1) as an error of hearing (both “released” and “washed” are pronounced similarly in Greek); (2) an error of sight (both “released” and “washed” look very similar – a difference of only one letter – which could have resulted in a simple error during the copying of a ms); (3) through scribal inability to appreciate that the Hebrew preposition ב can be used with a noun to indicate the price paid for something. Since the author of Revelation is influenced significantly by a Semitic form of Greek (e.g., 13:10), and since the Hebrew preposition “in” (ב) can indicate the price paid for something, and is often translated with the preposition “in” (ἐν, en) in the LXX, the author may have tried to communicate by the use of ἐν the idea of a price paid for something. That is, John was trying to say that Christ delivered us at the price of his own blood. This whole process, however, may have been lost on a later scribe, who being unfamiliar with Hebrew, found the expression “delivered in his blood” too difficult, and noticing the obvious similarities between λύσαντι and λούσαντι, assumed an error and then proceeded to change the text to “washed in his blood” – a thought more tolerable in his mind. Both readings, of course, are true to scripture; the current question is what the author wrote in this verse.

[1:5]  ⁸¹ tn The style here is somewhat Semitic, with the use of the ἐν (en) + the dative to mean “at the price of.” The addition of “own” in the English is stylistic and is an attempt to bring out the personal nature of the statement and the sacrificial aspect of Jesus’ death – a frequent refrain in the Apocalypse.

[1:6]  ⁸² tn The verb ποιέω (poiew) can indicate appointment or assignment rather than simply “make” or “do.” See Mark 3:14 (L&N 37.106).

[1:6]  ⁸³ tn See BDAG 168 s.v. βασιλεία 1.a for the idea of “he made us a kingdom,” which was translated as “he appointed us (to be or function) as a kingdom” (see the note on the word “appointed” earlier in the verse).

[1:6]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “a kingdom, priests.” The term ἱερεῖς (Jiereis) is either in apposition to βασιλείαν (basileian) or as a second complement to the object “us” (ἡμᾶς, Jhmas). The translation retains this ambiguity.

[1:6]  ⁸⁵ tc Both the longer reading τῶν αἰώνων (twn aiwnwn, “to the ages of the ages” or, more idiomatically, “for ever and ever”; found in א C Ï) and the shorter (“for ever”; found in ̹⁸ A P 2050 pc bo) have good ms support. The author uses the longer expression (εἰς [τοὺς] αἰῶνας [τῶν] αἰώνων, ei" [tou"] aiwna" [twn] aiwnwn) in every other instance of αἰών in Revelation, twelve passages in all (1:18; 4:9, 10; 5:13; 7:12; 10:6; 11:15; 14:11; 15:7; 19:3; 20:10; 22:5). Thus, on the one hand, the style of the author is consistent, while on the other hand, the scribes may have been familiar with such a stylistic feature, causing them to add the words here. The issues are more complex than can be presented here; the longer reading, however, is probably original (the shorter reading arising from accidental omission of the genitive phrase due to similarity with the preceding words).

[7:14]  ⁸⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous question.

[7:14]  ⁸⁷ tn Though the expression “the answer” is not in the Greek text, it is clearly implied. Direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context.

[7:14]  ⁸⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[7:14]  ⁸⁹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.