Psalms 78:2

78:2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom;

I will make insightful observations about the past. ¹ 

Daniel 2:22

2:22 he reveals deep and hidden things.

He knows what is in the darkness,

and light resides with him.

Amos 3:7

3:7 Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

Matthew 13:17

13:17 For I tell you the truth, ²  many prophets and righteous people longed to see ³  what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

Matthew 13:35

13:35 This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: ⁴ 

“I will open my mouth in parables,

I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.” ⁵ 

Luke 10:23-24

10:23 Then ⁶  Jesus ⁷  turned ⁸  to his ⁹  disciples and said privately, “Blessed ¹⁰  are the eyes that see what you see! 10:24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings longed to see ¹¹  what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

Ephesians 3:3-5

3:3 that ¹²  by revelation the divine secret ¹³  was made known to me, as I wrote before briefly. ¹⁴  3:4 When reading this, ¹⁵  you will be able to ¹⁶  understand my insight into this secret ¹⁷  of Christ. 3:5 Now this secret ¹⁸  was not disclosed to people ¹⁹  in former ²⁰  generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by ²¹  the Spirit,

Ephesians 3:9

3:9 and to enlighten ²²  everyone about God’s secret plan ²³  – a secret that has been hidden for ages ²⁴  in God ²⁵  who has created all things.

Ephesians 3:11

3:11 This was according to ²⁶  the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,

Ephesians 3:1

Paul's Relationship to the Divine Mystery

3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus ²⁷  for the sake of you Gentiles –

Ephesians 1:10-12

1:10 toward the administration of the fullness of the times, to head up ²⁸  all things in Christ – the things in heaven ²⁹  and the things on earth. ³⁰  1:11 In Christ ³¹  we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, ³²  since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will 1:12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope ³³  on Christ, ³⁴  would be to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:20

1:20 This power ³⁵  he exercised ³⁶  in Christ when he raised him ³⁷  from the dead and seated him ³⁸  at his right hand in the heavenly realms ³⁹ 

[78:2]  ¹ tn Heb “I will open with a wise saying my mouth, I will utter insightful sayings from long ago.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word pair חִידָה+מָשָׁל (mashal + khidah) refers to a taunt song (Hab 2:6), a parable (Ezek 17:2), proverbial sayings (Prov 1:6), and an insightful song that reflects on the mortality of humankind and the ultimate inability of riches to prevent death (Ps 49:4).

[13:17]  ² tn Grk “truly (ἀμήν, amhn) I say to you.”

[13:17]  ³ sn This is what past prophets and righteous people had wanted very much to see, yet the fulfillment had come to the disciples. This remark is like 1 Pet 1:10-12 or Heb 1:1-2.

[13:35]  ⁴ tc A few important mss (א* Θ Ë^1,13 33) identify the prophet as Isaiah, a reading that is significantly harder than the generic “prophet” because the source of this prophecy is not Isaiah but Asaph in Ps 78. Jerome mentioned some mss that had “Asaph” here, though none are known to exist today. This problem is difficult because of the temptation for scribes to delete the reference to Isaiah in order to clear up a discrepancy. Indeed, the vast majority of witnesses have only “the prophet” here (א¹ B C D L W 0233 0242 Ï lat sy co). However, as B. M. Metzger points out, “if no prophet were originally named, more than one scribe might have been prompted to insert the name of the best known prophet – something which has, in fact, happened elsewhere more than once” (TCGNT 27). In light of the paucity of evidence for the reading ᾿Ησαΐου, as well as the proclivity of scribes to add his name, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic.

[13:35]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 78:2.

[10:23]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[10:23]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:23]  ⁸ tn Grk “turning to the disciples, he said.” The participle στραφείς (strafei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[10:23]  ⁹ tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[10:23]  ¹⁰ sn This beatitude highlights the great honor bestowed on the disciples to share in this salvation, as v. 20 also noted. See also Luke 2:30.

[10:24]  ¹¹ sn This is what past prophets and kings had wanted very much to see, yet the fulfillment had come to the disciples. This remark is like 1 Pet 1:10-12 or Heb 1:1-2.

[3:3]  ¹² tn Or “namely, that is.”

[3:3]  ¹³ tn Or “mystery.”

[3:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “as I wrote above briefly.”

[3:4]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “which, when reading.”

[3:4]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “you are able to.”

[3:4]  ¹⁷ tn Or “mystery.”

[3:5]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “which.” Verse 5 is technically a relative clause, subordinate to the thought of v. 4.

[3:5]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “the sons of men” (a Semitic idiom referring to human beings, hence, “people”).

[3:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “other.”

[3:5]  ²¹ tn Or “in.”

[3:9]  ²² tn There is a possible causative nuance in the Greek verb, but this is difficult to convey in the translation.

[3:9]  ²³ tn Grk “what is the plan of the divine secret.” Earlier the author had used οἰκονομία (oikonomia; here “plan”) to refer to his own “stewardship” (v. 2). But now he is speaking about the content of this secret, not his own activity in relation to it.

[3:9]  ²⁴ tn Or “for eternity,” or perhaps “from the Aeons.” Cf. 2:2, 7.

[3:9]  ²⁵ tn Or “by God.” It is possible that ἐν (en) plus the dative here indicates agency, that is, that God has performed the action of hiding the secret. However, this usage of the preposition ἐν is quite rare in the NT, and even though here it does follow a perfect passive verb as in the Classical idiom, it is more likely that a different nuance is intended.

[3:11]  ²⁶ tn Grk “according to.” The verse is a prepositional phrase subordinate to v. 10.

[3:1]  ²⁷ tc Several early and important witnesses, chiefly of the Western text (א* D* F G [365]), lack ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) here, while most Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (Ì⁴⁶ א¹ A B [C] D¹ Ψ 33 1739 [1881] Ï lat sy bo) have the word. However, because of the Western text’s proclivities to add or delete to the text, seemingly at whim, serious doubts should be attached to the shorter reading. It is strengthened, however, by א’s support. Nevertheless, since both א and D were corrected with the addition of ᾿Ιησοῦ, their testimony might be questioned. Further, in uncial script the nomina sacra here could have led to missing a word by way of homoioteleuton (cMuiMu). At the same time, in light of the rarity of scribal omission of nomina sacra (see TCGNT 582, n. 1), a decision for inclusion of the word here must be tentative. NA²⁷ rightly places ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets.

[1:10]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ tn Grk “the heavens.”

[1:10]  ³⁰ 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.”

[1:11]  ³¹ tn Grk “in whom,” as a continuation of the previous verse.

[1:11]  ³² tn Grk “we were appointed by lot.” The notion of the verb κληρόω (klhrow) in the OT was to “appoint a portion by lot” (the more frequent cognate verb κληρονομέω [klhronomew] meant “obtain a portion by lot”). In the passive, as here, the idea is that “we were appointed [as a portion] by lot” (BDAG 548 s.v. κληρόω 1). The words “God’s own” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this sense of the verb. An alternative interpretation is that believers receive a portion as an inheritance: “In Christ we too have been appointed a portion of the inheritance.” See H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 226-27, for discussion on this interpretive issue.

[1:12]  ³³ tn Or “who had already hoped.”

[1:12]  ³⁴ tn Or “the Messiah.”

[1:20]  ³⁵ tn Grk “which” (v. 20 is a subordinate clause to v. 19).

[1:20]  ³⁶ tn The verb “exercised” (the aorist of ἐνεργέω, energew) has its nominal cognate in “exercise” in v. 19 (ἐνέργεια, energeia).

[1:20]  ³⁷ tn Or “This power he exercised in Christ by raising him”; Grk “raising him.” The adverbial participle ἐγείρας (egeiras) could be understood as temporal (“when he raised [him]”), which would be contemporaneous to the action of the finite verb “he exercised” earlier in the verse, or as means (“by raising [him]”). The participle has been translated here with the temporal nuance to allow for means to also be a possible interpretation. If the translation focused instead upon means, the temporal nuance would be lost as the time frame for the action of the participle would become indistinct.

[1:20]  ³⁸ tc The majority of mss, especially the Western and Byzantine mss (D F G Ψ Ï b r Ambst), have the indicative ἐκάθισεν (ekaqisen, “he seated”) for καθίσας (kaqisa", “when he seated, by seating”). The indicative is thus coordinate with ἐνήργησεν (enhrghsen, “he exercised”) and provides an additional statement to “he exercised his power.” The participle (found in Ì^92vid א A B 0278 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 2464 al), on the other hand, is coordinate with ἐγείρας (egeiras) and as such provides evidence of God’s power: He exercised his power by raising Christ from the dead and by seating him at his right hand. As intriguing as the indicative reading is, it is most likely an intentional alteration of the original wording, accomplished by an early “Western” scribe, which made its way in the Byzantine text.

[1:20]  ³⁹ sn Eph 1:19-20. The point made in these verses is that the power required to live a life pleasing to God is the same power that raised Christ from the dead. For a similar thought, cf. John 15:1-11.