Psalms 130:3-4

130:3 If you, O Lord, were to keep track of ¹  sins,

O Lord, who could stand before you? ² 

130:4 But ³  you are willing to forgive, ⁴ 

so that you might ⁵  be honored. ⁶ 

Luke 1:72

1:72 He has done this ⁷  to show mercy ⁸  to our ancestors, ⁹ 

and to remember his holy covenant ¹⁰  –

Luke 1:78

1:78 Because of ¹¹  our God’s tender mercy ¹² 

the dawn ¹³  will break ¹⁴  upon us from on high

Romans 3:23-24

3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 3:24 But they are justified ¹⁵  freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 9:15-23

9:15 For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶  9:16 So then, ¹⁷  it does not depend on human desire or exertion, ¹⁸  but on God who shows mercy. 9:17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh: ¹⁹  “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” ²⁰  9:18 So then, ²¹  God ²²  has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden. ²³ 

9:19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who has ever resisted his will?” 9:20 But who indeed are you – a mere human being ²⁴  – to talk back to God? ²⁵  Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ²⁶  9:21 Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay ²⁷  one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use? ²⁸  9:22 But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects ²⁹  of wrath ³⁰  prepared for destruction? ³¹  9:23 And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects ³²  of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory –

Ephesians 2:4

2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us,

Ephesians 2:1

New Life Individually

2:1 And although you were ³³  dead ³⁴  in your transgressions and sins,

Ephesians 1:10

1:10 toward the administration of the fullness of the times, to head up ³⁵  all things in Christ – the things in heaven ³⁶  and the things on earth. ³⁷ 

[130:3]  ¹ tn Heb “observe.”

[130:3]  ² tn The words “before you” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist must be referring to standing before God’s judgment seat. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one.”

[130:4]  ³ tn Or “surely.”

[130:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “for with you [there is] forgiveness.”

[130:4]  ⁵ tn Or “consequently you are.”

[130:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “feared.”

[1:72]  ⁷ tn The words “He has done this” (referring to the raising up of the horn of salvation from David’s house) are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to allow a new sentence to be started in the translation. The Greek sentence is lengthy and complex at this point, while contemporary English uses much shorter sentences.

[1:72]  ⁸ sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.

[1:72]  ⁹ tn Or “our forefathers”; Grk “our fathers.” This begins with the promise to Abraham (vv. 55, 73), and thus refers to many generations of ancestors.

[1:72]  ¹⁰ sn The promises of God can be summarized as being found in the one promise (the oath that he swore) to Abraham (Gen 12:1-3).

[1:78]  ¹¹ tn For reasons of style, a new sentence has been started in the translation at this point. God’s mercy is ultimately seen in the deliverance John points to, so v. 78a is placed with the reference to Jesus as the light of dawning day.

[1:78]  ¹² sn God’s loyal love (steadfast love) is again the topic, reflected in the phrase tender mercy; see Luke 1:72.

[1:78]  ¹³ sn The Greek term translated dawn (ἀνατολή, anatolh) can be a reference to the morning star or to the sun. The Messiah is pictured as a saving light that shows the way. The Greek term was also used to translate the Hebrew word for “branch” or “sprout,” so some see a double entendre here with messianic overtones (see Isa 11:1-10; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12).

[1:78]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “shall visit us.”

[3:24]  ¹⁵ 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.

[9:15]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Exod 33:19.

[9:16]  ¹⁷ sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

[9:16]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “So then, [it does] not [depend] on the one who desires nor on the one who runs.”

[9:17]  ¹⁹ sn Paul uses a typical rabbinic formula here in which the OT scriptures are figuratively portrayed as speaking to Pharaoh. What he means is that the scripture he cites refers (or can be applied) to Pharaoh.

[9:17]  ²⁰ sn A quotation from Exod 9:16.

[9:18]  ²¹ sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

[9:18]  ²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:18]  ²³ tn Grk “So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.”

[9:20]  ²⁴ tn Grk “O man.”

[9:20]  ²⁵ tn Grk “On the contrary, O man, who are you to talk back to God?”

[9:20]  ²⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 29:16; 45:9.

[9:21]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make from the same lump.”

[9:21]  ²⁸ tn Grk “one vessel for honor and another for dishonor.”

[9:22]  ²⁹ tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.

[9:22]  ³⁰ tn Or “vessels destined for wrath.” The genitive ὀργῆς (orghs) could be taken as a genitive of destination.

[9:22]  ³¹ tn Or possibly “objects of wrath that have fit themselves for destruction.” The form of the participle could be taken either as a passive or middle (reflexive). ExSyn 417-18 argues strongly for the passive sense (which is followed in the translation), stating that “the middle view has little to commend it.” First, καταρτίζω (katartizw) is nowhere else used in the NT as a direct or reflexive middle (a usage which, in any event, is quite rare in the NT). Second, the lexical force of this verb, coupled with the perfect tense, suggests something of a “done deal” (against some commentaries that see these vessels as ready for destruction yet still able to avert disaster). Third, the potter-clay motif seems to have one point: The potter prepares the clay.

[9:23]  ³² tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.

[2:1]  ³³ tn The adverbial participle “being” (ὄντας, ontas) is taken concessively.

[2:1]  ³⁴ sn Chapter 2 starts off with a participle, although you were dead, that is left dangling. The syntax in Greek for vv. 1-3 constitutes one incomplete sentence, though it seems to have been done intentionally. The dangling participle leaves the readers in suspense while they wait for the solution (in v. 4) to their spiritual dilemma.

[1:10]  ³⁵ tn The precise meaning of the infinitive ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι (anakefalaiwsasqai) in v. 10 is difficult to determine since it was used relatively infrequently in Greek literature and only twice in the NT (here and Rom 13:9). While there have been several suggestions, three deserve mention: (1) “To sum up.” In Rom 13:9, using the same term, the author there says that the law may be “summarized in one command, to love your neighbor as yourself.” The idea then in Eph 1:10 would be that all things in heaven and on earth can be summed up and made sense out of in relation to Christ. (2) “To renew.” If this is the nuance of the verb then all things in heaven and earth, after their plunge into sin and ruin, are renewed by the coming of Christ and his redemption. (3) “To head up.” In this translation the idea is that Christ, in the fullness of the times, has been exalted so as to be appointed as the ruler (i.e., “head”) over all things in heaven and earth (including the church). That this is perhaps the best understanding of the verb is evidenced by the repeated theme of Christ’s exaltation and reign in Ephesians and by the connection to the κεφαλή- (kefalh-) language of 1:22 (cf. Schlier, TDNT 3:682; L&N 63.8; M. Barth, Ephesians [AB 34], 1:89-92; contra A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians [WBC], 32-33).

[1:10]  ³⁶ tn Grk “the heavens.”

[1:10]  ³⁷ sn And the things on earth. Verse 10 ends with “in him.” The redundancy keeps the focus on Christ at the expense of good Greek style. Verse 11 repeats the reference with a relative pronoun (“in whom”) – again, at the expense of good Greek style. Although the syntax is awkward, the theology is rich. This is not the first time that a NT writer was so overcome with awe for his Lord that he seems to have lost control of his pen. Indeed, it happened frequently enough that some have labeled their christologically motivated solecisms an “apostolic disease.”