Psalms 33:6

33:6 By the Lord’s decree ¹  the heavens were made;

by a mere word from his mouth all the stars in the sky were created. ² 

Isaiah 48:16-17

48:16 Approach me! Listen to this!

From the very first I have not spoken in secret;

when it happens, ³  I am there.”

So now, the sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his spirit. ⁴ 

48:17 This is what the Lord, your protector, ⁵  says,

the Holy One of Israel: ⁶ 

“I am the Lord your God,

who teaches you how to succeed,

who leads you in the way you should go.

Isaiah 61:1

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,

because the Lord has chosen ⁷  me. ⁸ 

He has commissioned ⁹  me to encourage ¹⁰  the poor,

to help ¹¹  the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

Matthew 3:16-17

3:16 After ¹²  Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the ¹³  heavens ¹⁴  opened ¹⁵  and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove ¹⁶  and coming on him. 3:17 And ¹⁷  a voice from heaven said, ¹⁸  “This is my one dear Son; ¹⁹  in him ²⁰  I take great delight.” ²¹ 

Matthew 17:5

17:5 While he was still speaking, a ²²  bright cloud ²³  overshadowed ²⁴  them, and a voice from the cloud said, ²⁵  “This is my one dear Son, ²⁶  in whom I take great delight. Listen to him!” ²⁷ 

Matthew 28:19

28:19 Therefore go ²⁸  and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁹ 

John 5:26

5:26 For just as the Father has life in himself, thus he has granted the Son to have life in himself,

John 8:18

8:18 I testify about myself ³⁰  and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”

John 8:54

8:54 Jesus replied, ³¹  “If I glorify myself, my glory is worthless. ³²  The one who glorifies me is my Father, about whom you people ³³  say, ‘He is our God.’

John 10:37-38

10:37 If I do not perform ³⁴  the deeds ³⁵  of my Father, do not believe me. 10:38 But if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds, ³⁶  so that you may come to know ³⁷  and understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”

John 12:28

12:28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, ³⁸  “I have glorified it, ³⁹  and I will glorify it ⁴⁰  again.”

John 12:1

Jesus’ Anointing

12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he ⁴¹  had raised from the dead.

Colossians 1:4-6

1:4 since ⁴²  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ⁴³  from the hope laid up ⁴⁴  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ⁴⁵  1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ⁴⁶  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ⁴⁷  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁴⁸  brothers and sisters ⁴⁹  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁵⁰  from God our Father! ⁵¹ 

Colossians 1:14

1:14 in whom we have redemption, ⁵²  the forgiveness of sins.

Revelation 1:4-5

1:4 From John, ⁵³  to the seven churches that are in the province of Asia: ⁵⁴  Grace and peace to you ⁵⁵  from “he who is,” ⁵⁶  and who was, and who is still to come, ⁵⁷  and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 1:5 and from Jesus Christ – the faithful ⁵⁸  witness, ⁵⁹  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 ⁶⁰  from our sins at the cost of ⁶¹  his own blood

[33:6]  ¹ tn Heb “word.”

[33:6]  ² tn Heb “and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” The words “were created” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons; they are understood by ellipsis (note “were made” in the preceding line). The description is consistent with Gen 1:16, which indicates that God spoke the heavenly luminaries into existence.

[48:16]  ³ tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”

[48:16]  ⁴ sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.

[48:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[48:17]  ⁶ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[61:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.

[61:1]  ⁸ sn The speaker is not identified, but he is distinct from the Lord and from Zion’s suffering people. He possesses the divine spirit, is God’s spokesman, and is sent to release prisoners from bondage. The evidence suggests he is the Lord’s special servant, described earlier in the servant songs (see 42:1-4, 7; 49:2, 9; 50:4; see also 51:16).

[61:1]  ⁹ tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

[61:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

[61:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”

[3:16]  ¹² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[3:16]  ¹³ tn Grk “behold the heavens.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[3:16]  ¹⁴ tn Or “sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ourano") may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The same word is used in v. 17.

[3:16]  ¹⁵ tc ‡ αὐτῷ (autw, “to/before him”) is found in the majority of witnesses (א¹ C D^s L W 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat), perhaps added as a point of clarification or emphasis. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[3:16]  ¹⁶ sn The phrase like a dove is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descended like one in some sort of bodily representation.

[3:17]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here.

[3:17]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “behold, a voice from the cloud, saying.” This is an incomplete sentence in Greek which portrays intensity and emotion. The participle λέγουσα (legousa) was translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style.

[3:17]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).

[3:17]  ²⁰ tn Grk “in whom.”

[3:17]  ²¹ tn Or “with whom I am well pleased.”

[17:5]  ²² tn Grk “behold, a.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here or in the following clause because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[17:5]  ²³ sn This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.

[17:5]  ²⁴ tn Or “surrounded.”

[17:5]  ²⁵ tn Grk “behold, a voice from the cloud, saying.” This is an incomplete sentence in Greek which portrays intensity and emotion. The participle λέγουσα (legousa) was translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style.

[17:5]  ²⁶ tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).

[17:5]  ²⁷ sn The expression listen to him comes from Deut 18:15 and makes two points: 1) Jesus is a prophet like Moses, a leader-prophet, and 2) they have much yet to learn from him.

[28:19]  ²⁸ tn “Go…baptize…teach” are participles modifying the imperative verb “make disciples.” According to ExSyn 645 the first participle (πορευθέντες, poreuqentes, “Go”) fits the typical structural pattern for the attendant circumstance participle (aorist participle preceding aorist main verb, with the mood of the main verb usually imperative or indicative) and thus picks up the mood (imperative in this case) from the main verb (μαθητεύσατε, maqhteusate, “make disciples”). This means that semantically the action of “going” is commanded, just as “making disciples” is. As for the two participles that follow the main verb (βαπτίζοντες, baptizontes, “baptizing”; and διδάσκοντες, didaskontes, “teaching”), these do not fit the normal pattern for attendant circumstance participles, since they are present participles and follow the aorist main verb. However, some interpreters do see them as carrying additional imperative force in context. Others regard them as means, manner, or even result.

[28:19]  ²⁹ tc Although some scholars have denied that the trinitarian baptismal formula in the Great Commission was a part of the original text of Matthew, there is no ms support for their contention. F. C. Conybeare, “The Eusebian Form of the Text of Mt. 28:19,” ZNW 2 (1901): 275-88, based his view on a faulty reading of Eusebius’ quotations of this text. The shorter reading has also been accepted, on other grounds, by a few other scholars. For discussion (and refutation of the conjecture that removes this baptismal formula), see B. J. Hubbard, The Matthean Redaction of a Primitive Apostolic Commissioning (SBLDS 19), 163-64, 167-75; and Jane Schaberg, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (SBLDS 61), 27-29.

[8:18]  ³⁰ tn Grk “I am the one who testifies about myself.”

[8:54]  ³¹ tn Grk “Jesus answered.”

[8:54]  ³² tn Grk “is nothing.”

[8:54]  ³³ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[10:37]  ³⁴ tn Or “do.”

[10:37]  ³⁵ tn Or “works.”

[10:38]  ³⁶ tn Or “works.”

[10:38]  ³⁷ tn Or “so that you may learn.”

[12:28]  ³⁸ tn Or “from the sky” (see note on 1:32).

[12:28]  ³⁹ tn “It” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[12:28]  ⁴⁰ tn “It” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[12:1]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “whom Jesus,” but a repetition of the proper name (Jesus) here would be redundant in the English clause structure, so the pronoun (“he”) is substituted in the translation.

[1:4]  ⁴² tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).

[1:5]  ⁴³ tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.

[1:5]  ⁴⁴ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ⁴⁵ tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.

[1:6]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:6]  ⁴⁷ tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.

[1:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁵¹ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[1:14]  ⁵² tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464 al) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: {א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Ï latt co as well as several other versions and fathers}. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.

[1:4]  ⁵³ tn Grk “John.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:4]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[1:4]  ⁵⁵ tn It is probable that the ὑμῖν (Jumin) applies to both elements of the greeting, i.e., to both grace and peace.

[1:4]  ⁵⁶ tc The earliest and best mss (Ì^18vid א A C P 2050 al lat sy co) lack the term “God” (θεοῦ, qeou) between “from” (ἀπό, apo) and “he who is” (ὁ ὤν, Jo wn). Its inclusion, as supported by the bulk of the Byzantine witnesses, is clearly secondary and a scribal attempt to achieve two things: (1) to make explicit the referent in the passage, namely, God, and (2) to smooth out the grammar. The preposition “from” in Greek required a noun in the genitive case. But here in Rev 1:4 the words following the preposition “from” (ἀπό) are in another case, i.e., the nominative. There are two principal ways in which to deal with this grammatical anomaly. First, it could be a mistake arising from someone who just did not know Greek very well, or as a Jew, was heavily influenced by a Semitic form of Greek. Both of these unintentional errors are unlikely here. Commenting on this ExSyn 63 argues: “Either of these is doubtful here because (1) such a flagrant misunderstanding of the rudiments of Greek would almost surely mean that the author could not compose in Greek, yet the Apocalypse itself argues against this; (2) nowhere else does the Seer [i.e., John] use a nom. immediately after a preposition (in fact, he uses ἀπό 32 times with the gen. immediately following).” The passage appears to be an allusion to Exod 3:14 (in the LXX) where God refers to himself as “he who is” (ὁ ὤν), the same wording in Greek as here in Rev 1:4. Thus, it appears that John is wanting to leave the divine name untouched (perhaps to allude to God’s immutability, or as a pointer to the Old Testament as the key to unlocking the meaning of this book), irrespective of what it “looks” like grammatically. The translation has placed the “he who is” in quotation marks to indicate to the reader that the syntactical awkwardness is intentional. (For further comments, see ExSyn 63).

[1:4]  ⁵⁷ tn BDAG 106 s.v. ἀπό 5.d states: “The expr. εἰρήνη ἀπὸ ‘ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος’ Rv 1:4 is quite extraordinary. It may be an interpretation of the name Yahweh already current, or an attempt to show reverence for the divine name by preserving it unchanged, or simply one more of the grammatical peculiarities so frequent in Rv.”

[1:5]  ⁵⁸ 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]  ⁵⁹ sn The Greek term translated witness can mean both “witness” and “martyr.”

[1:5]  ⁶⁰ 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]  ⁶¹ 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.