Romans 5:2-5

5:2 through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice ¹  in the hope of God’s glory. 5:3 Not ²  only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 5:4 and endurance, character, and character, hope. 5:5 And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God ³  has been poured out ⁴  in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 8:24-25

8:24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance. ⁵ 

Colossians 1:5

1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ⁶  from the hope laid up ⁷  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ⁸ 

Colossians 1:23

1:23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, ⁹  without shifting ¹⁰  from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:3

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ¹²  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

Titus 1:2

1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. ¹³ 

Titus 2:13

2:13 as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing ¹⁴  of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ 

Hebrews 6:11-12

6:11 But we passionately want each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of your hope until the end, 6:12 so that you may not be sluggish, ¹⁶  but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises.

Hebrews 6:19

6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain, ¹⁷ 

Hebrews 7:19

7:19 for the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

Hebrews 7:1

The Nature of Melchizedek’s Priesthood

7:1 Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him. ¹⁸ 

Hebrews 1:3-5

1:3 The Son is ¹⁹  the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, ²⁰  and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. ²¹  1:4 Thus he became ²²  so far better than the angels as ²³  he has inherited a name superior to theirs.

The Son Is Superior to Angels

1:5 For to which of the angels did God ²⁴  ever say, “You are my son! Today I have fathered you”? ²⁵  And in another place ²⁶  he says, ²⁷  “I will be his father and he will be my son.” ²⁸ 

Hebrews 1:1

Introduction: God Has Spoken Fully and Finally in His Son

1:1 After God spoke long ago ²⁹  in various portions ³⁰  and in various ways ³¹  to our ancestors ³²  through the prophets,

Hebrews 3:2-3

3:2 who is faithful to the one who appointed him, as Moses was also in God’s ³³  house. ³⁴  3:3 For he has come to deserve greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves greater honor than the house itself!

[5:2]  ¹ tn Or “exult, boast.”

[5:3]  ² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:5]  ³ tn The phrase ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ (Jh agaph tou qeou, “the love of God”) could be interpreted as either an objective genitive (“our love for God”), subjective genitive (“God’s love for us”), or both (M. Zerwick’s “general” genitive [Biblical Greek, §§36-39]; D. B. Wallace’s “plenary” genitive [ExSyn 119-21]). The immediate context, which discusses what God has done for believers, favors a subjective genitive, but the fact that this love is poured out within the hearts of believers implies that it may be the source for believers’ love for God; consequently an objective genitive cannot be ruled out. It is possible that both these ideas are meant in the text and that this is a plenary genitive: “The love that comes from God and that produces our love for God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (ExSyn 121).

[5:5]  ⁴ sn On the OT background of the Spirit being poured out, see Isa 32:15; Joel 2:28-29.

[8:25]  ⁵ tn Or “perseverance.”

[1:5]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ⁸ 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.

[1:23]  ⁹ tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”

[1:23]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.

[1:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:3]  ¹² tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “before eternal ages.”

[2:13]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the blessed hope and glorious appearing.”

[2:13]  ¹⁵ tn The terms “God and Savior” both refer to the same person, Jesus Christ. This is one of the clearest statements in the NT concerning the deity of Christ. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. The only issue is whether terms such as “God” and “Savior” could be considered common nouns as opposed to proper names. Sharp and others who followed (such as T. F. Middleton in his masterful The Doctrine of the Greek Article) demonstrated that a proper name in Greek was one that could not be pluralized. Since both “God” (θεός, qeos) and “savior” (σωτήρ, swthr) were occasionally found in the plural, they did not constitute proper names, and hence, do fit Sharp’s rule. Although there have been 200 years of attempts to dislodge Sharp’s rule, all attempts have been futile. Sharp’s rule stands vindicated after all the dust has settled. For more information on Sharp’s rule see ExSyn 270-78, esp. 276. See also 2 Pet 1:1 and Jude 4.

[6:12]  ¹⁶ tn Or “dull.”

[6:19]  ¹⁷ sn The curtain refers to the veil or drape in the temple that separated the holy place from the holy of holies.

[7:1]  ¹⁸ sn A series of quotations from Gen 14:17-19.

[1:3]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “who being…and sustaining.” Heb 1:1-4 form one skillfully composed sentence in Greek, but it must be broken into shorter segments to correspond to contemporary English usage, which does not allow for sentences of this length and complexity.

[1:3]  ²⁰ tn Grk “by the word of his power.”

[1:3]  ²¹ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1, quoted often in Hebrews.

[1:4]  ²² tn Grk “having become.” This is part of the same sentence that extends from v. 1 through v. 4 in the Greek text.

[1:4]  ²³ tn Most modern English translations attempt to make the comparison somewhat smoother by treating “name” as if it were the subject of the second element: “as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, CEV). However, the Son is the subject of both the first and second elements: “he became so far better”; “he has inherited a name.” The present translation maintains this parallelism even though it results in a somewhat more awkward rendering.

[1:5]  ²⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:5]  ²⁵ tn Grk “I have begotten you.”

[1:5]  ²⁶ tn Grk “And again,” quoting another OT passage.

[1:5]  ²⁷ tn The words “he says” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to make a complete English sentence. In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but English does not normally employ such long and complex sentences.

[1:5]  ²⁸ tn Grk “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me.”

[1:1]  ²⁹ tn Or “spoke formerly.”

[1:1]  ³⁰ tn Or “parts.” The idea is that God’s previous revelation came in many parts and was therefore fragmentary or partial (L&N 63.19), in comparison with the final and complete revelation contained in God’s Son. However, some interpret πολυμερῶς (polumerw") in Heb 1:1 to mean “on many different occasions” and would thus translate “many times” (L&N 67.11). This is the option followed by the NIV: “at many times and in various ways.” Finally, this word is also understood to refer to the different manners in which something may be done, and would then be translated “in many different ways” (L&N 89.81). In this last case, the two words πολυμερῶς and πολυτρόπως (polutropw") mutually reinforce one another (“in many and various ways,” NRSV).

[1:1]  ³¹ tn These two phrases are emphasized in Greek by being placed at the beginning of the sentence and by alliteration.

[1:1]  ³² tn Grk “to the fathers.”

[3:2]  ³³ tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.

[3:2]  ³⁴ tc ‡ The reading adopted by the translation follows a few early mss and some versions (Ì^13,46vid B vg^ms co Ambr). The majority of mss (א A C D Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy) insert “all” (“in all his house”), apparently in anticipation of Heb 3:5 which quotes directly from Num 12:7. On balance, the omission better explains the rise of ὅλῳ ({olw, “all”) than vice versa. NA²⁷ puts ὅλῳ in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.