Romans 2:4

2:4 Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know ¹  that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?

Romans 5:20-21

5:20 Now the law came in ²  so that the transgression ³  may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more, 5:21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ephesians 1:6-8

1:6 to the praise of the glory of his grace ⁴  that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son. ⁵  1:7 In him ⁶  we have redemption through his blood, ⁷  the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 1:8 that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.

Ephesians 1:18

1:18 – since the eyes of your ⁸  heart have been enlightened ⁹  – so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, ¹⁰  what is the wealth of his glorious ¹¹  inheritance in the saints,

Ephesians 2:4

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

Ephesians 2:7

2:7 to demonstrate in the coming ages ¹²  the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward ¹³  us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:10

2:10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them. ¹⁴ 

Ephesians 3:8

3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ¹⁵  – this grace was given, ¹⁶  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

Ephesians 3:16

3:16 I pray that ¹⁷  according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person,

Colossians 1:27

1:27 God wanted to make known to them the glorious ¹⁸  riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ¹⁹  brothers and sisters ²⁰  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ²¹  from God our Father! ²² 

Colossians 1:10-12

1:10 so that you may live ²³  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ²⁴  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ²⁵  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully 1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share ²⁶  in the saints’ ²⁷  inheritance in the light.

[2:4]  ¹ tn Grk “being unaware.”

[5:20]  ² tn Grk “slipped in.”

[5:20]  ³ tn Or “trespass.”

[1:6]  ⁴ tn Or “to the praise of his glorious grace.” Many translations translate δόξης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ (doxh" th" carito" autou, literally “of the glory of his grace”) with τῆς χάριτος as an attributed genitive (cf., e.g., NIV, NRSV, ESV). The translation above has retained a literal rendering in order to make clear the relationship of this phrase to the other two similar phrases in v. 12 and 14, which affect the way one divides the material in the passage.

[1:6]  ⁵ tn Grk “the beloved.” The term ἠγαπημένῳ (hgaphmenw) means “beloved,” but often bears connotations of “only beloved” in an exclusive sense. “His dearly loved Son” picks up this connotation.

[1:7]  ⁶ tn Grk “in whom” (the relative clause of v. 7 is subordinate to v. 6). The “him” refers to Christ.

[1:7]  ⁷ sn In this context his blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, refers to the price paid for believers’ redemption, which is the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross.

[1:18]  ⁸ tc ‡ Most witnesses, especially of the Byzantine and Western texttypes, though with a few important Alexandrian witnesses (א A D F G Ψ 0278 Ï latt sy), add ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) after καρδίας (kardias, “heart”), though it is clearly implied in the shorter (Alexandrian) reading (found in Ì⁴⁶ B 6 33 1175 1739 1881 pc). The longer reading thus looks to be a clarifying gloss, as is frequently found in the Byzantine and Western traditions. The translation above also uses “your” because of English requirements, not because of textual basis.

[1:18]  ⁹ tn The perfect participle πεφωτισμένους (pefwtismenou") may either be part of the prayer (“that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened”) or part of the basis of the prayer (“since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened”). Although the participle follows the ἵνα (Jina) of v. 17, it is awkward grammatically in the clause. Further, perfect adverbial participles are usually causal in NT Greek. Finally, the context both here and throughout Ephesians seems to emphasize the motif of light as a property belonging to believers. Thus, it seems that the author is saying, “I know that you are saved, that you have had the blinders of the devil removed; because of this, I can now pray that you will fully understand and see the light of God’s glorious revelation.” Hence, the translation takes the participle to form a part of the basis for the prayer.

[1:18]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the hope to which he has called you.”

[1:18]  ¹¹ tn Grk “of the glory of his inheritance.” Here “inheritance” is taken as an attributed genitive and the head noun, “glory,” is thus translated as an adjective, “glorious inheritance.”

[2:7]  ¹² tn Or possibly “to the Aeons who are about to come.”

[2:7]  ¹³ tn Or “upon.”

[2:10]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “so that we might walk in them” (or “by them”).

[3:8]  ¹⁵ sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.

[3:8]  ¹⁶ sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).

[3:16]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “that.” In Greek v. 16 is a subordinate clause to vv. 14-15.

[1:27]  ¹⁸ tn The genitive noun τῆς δόξης (ths doxhs) is an attributive genitive and has therefore been translated as “glorious riches.”

[1:2]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ²² 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.

[1:10]  ²³ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ²⁴ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:11]  ²⁵ tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.

[1:12]  ²⁶ tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.

[1:12]  ²⁷ tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”