Psalms 119:18

119:18 Open ¹  my eyes so I can truly see ² 

the marvelous things in your law!

Matthew 6:22-23

6:22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If then your eye is healthy, ³  your whole body will be full of light. 6:23 But if your eye is diseased, ⁴  your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Mark 8:18

8:18 Though you have eyes, don’t you see? And though you have ears, can’t you hear? ⁵  Don’t you remember?

Acts 26:18

26:18 to open their eyes so that they turn ⁶  from darkness to light and from the power ⁷  of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share ⁸  among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Ephesians 1:17

1:17 I pray that ⁹  the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, ¹⁰  may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation ¹¹  in your growing knowledge of him, ¹² 

[119:18]  ¹ tn Heb “uncover.” The verb form גַּל (gal) is an apocopated Piel imperative from גָּלָה (galah, see GKC 214 §75.cc).

[119:18]  ² tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[6:22]  ³ tn Or “sound” (so L&N 23.132 and most scholars). A few scholars take this word to mean something like “generous” here (L&N 57.107). partly due to the immediate context concerning money, in which case the “eye” is a metonymy for the entire person (“if you are generous”).

[6:23]  ⁴ tn Or “if your eye is sick” (L&N 23.149).

[8:18]  ⁵ tn Grk “do you not hear?”

[26:18]  ⁶ sn To open their eyes so that they turn… Here is Luke’s most comprehensive report of Paul’s divine calling. His role was to call humanity to change their position before God and experience God’s forgiveness as a part of God’s family. The image of turning is a key one in the NT: Luke 1:79; Rom 2:19; 13:12; 2 Cor 4:6; 6:14; Eph 5:8; Col 1:12; 1 Thess 5:5. See also Luke 1:77-79; 3:3; 24:47.

[26:18]  ⁷ tn BDAG 352-53 s.v. ἐξουσία 2 states, “Also of Satan’s power Ac 26:18.” It is also possible to translate this “the domain of Satan” (cf. BDAG 353 s.v. 6)

[26:18]  ⁸ tn Or “and an inheritance.”

[1:17]  ⁹ tn The words “I pray” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify the meaning; v. 17 is a subordinate clause to v. 16 (“I pray” in v. 17 is implied from v. 16). Eph 1:15-23 constitutes one sentence in Greek, but a new sentence was started here in the translation in light of contemporary English usage.

[1:17]  ¹⁰ tn Or “glorious Father.” The genitive phrase “of glory” is most likely an attributive genitive. The literal translation “Father of glory” has been retained because of the parallelism with the first line of the verse: “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.”

[1:17]  ¹¹ tn Or “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” or “a spirit of wisdom and revelation.” Verse 17 involves a complex exegetical problem revolving around the Greek term πνεῦμα (pneuma). Some take it to mean “the Spirit,” others “a spirit,” and still others “spiritual.” (1) If “the Spirit” is meant, the idea must be a metonymy of cause for effect, because the author had just indicated in vv. 13-14 that the Spirit was already given (hence, there is no need for him to pray that he be given again). But the effect of the Spirit is wisdom and revelation. (2) If “a spirit” is meant, the idea may be that the readers will have the ability to gain wisdom and insight as they read Paul’s letters, but the exact meaning of “a spirit” remains ambiguous. (3) To take the genitives following πνεῦμα as attributed genitives (see ExSyn 89-91), in which the head noun (“S/spirit”) functions semantically like an adjective (“spiritual”) is both grammatically probable and exegetically consistent.

[1:17]  ¹² tn Grk “in the knowledge of him.”