Psalms 4:3

4:3 Realize that ¹  the Lord shows the godly special favor; ² 

the Lord responds ³  when I cry out to him.

Psalms 78:70-71

78:70 He chose David, his servant,

and took him from the sheepfolds.

78:71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, ⁴ 

and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,

and of Israel, his chosen nation. ⁵ 

Psalms 106:4-5

106:4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people!

Pay attention to me, when you deliver,

106:5 so I may see the prosperity ⁶  of your chosen ones,

rejoice along with your nation, ⁷ 

and boast along with the people who belong to you. ⁸ 

Psalms 135:4

135:4 Indeed, ⁹  the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,

Israel to be his special possession. ¹⁰ 

Ephesians 1:4

1:4 For ¹¹  he chose us in Christ ¹²  before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished ¹³  in his sight ¹⁴  in love. ¹⁵ 

Ephesians 1:2

1:2 Grace and peace to you ¹⁶  from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Ephesians 2:13

2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁷ 

[4:3]  ¹ tn Heb “and know that.”

[4:3]  ² tn Heb “that the Lord sets apart a faithful one for himself.” The psalmist states a general principle, though the singular form and the parallel line indicate he has himself in mind as the representative godly person. A חָסִיד (khasid; here translated as “the godly”) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[4:3]  ³ tn Heb “hears.”

[78:71]  ⁴ tn Heb “from after the ewes he brought him.”

[78:71]  ⁵ tn Heb “to shepherd Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.”

[106:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “good.”

[106:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “in order that [I may] rejoice with the rejoicing of your nation.”

[106:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “with your inheritance.”

[135:4]  ⁹ tn Or “for.”

[135:4]  ¹⁰ sn His special possession. The language echoes Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18. See also Mal 3:17.

[1:4]  ¹¹ tn Grk “just as.” Eph 1:3-14 are one long sentence in Greek that must be broken up in English translation. Verse 4 expresses the reason why God the Father is blessed (cf. BDAG 494 s.v. καθώς 3).

[1:4]  ¹² tn Grk “in him.”

[1:4]  ¹³ sn The Greek word translated unblemished (ἀμώμους, amwmous) is often used of an acceptable paschal lamb. Christ, as our paschal lamb, is also said to be unblemished (Heb 9:14; 1 Pet 1:19). Since believers are in Christ, God views them positionally and will make them ultimately without blemish as well (Jude 24; Eph 5:27; Col 1:22).

[1:4]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “before him.”

[1:4]  ¹⁵ tn The prepositional phrase ἐν ἀγάπῃ (en agaph, “in love”) may modify one of three words or phrases: (1) “chose,” (2) “holy and unblemished,” both in v. 4, or (3) “by predestining” in v. 5. If it modifies “chose,” it refers to God’s motivation in that election, but this option is unlikely because of the placement of the prepositional phrase far away from the verb. The other two options are more likely. If it modifies “holy and unblemished,” it specifies that our holiness cannot be divorced from love. This view is in keeping with the author’s use of ἀγάπη to refer often to human love in Ephesians, but the placement of the prepositional phrase not immediately following the words it modifies would be slightly awkward. If it modifies “by predestining” (v. 5), again the motivation of God’s choice is love. This would fit the focus of the passage on God’s gracious actions toward believers, but it could be considered slightly redundant in that God’s predestination itself proves his love.

[1:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

[2:13]  ¹⁷ tn Or “have come near in the blood of Christ.”