Romans 3:29-30

3:29 Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles too? Yes, of the Gentiles too! 3:30 Since God is one, ¹  he will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

Romans 4:11-12

4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, ²  so that he would become ³  the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, ⁴  that they too could have righteousness credited to them. 4:12 And he is also the father of the circumcised, ⁵  who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised. ⁶ 

Romans 10:12

10:12 For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him.

Romans 11:11-13

11:11 I ask then, they did not stumble into an irrevocable fall, ⁷  did they? Absolutely not! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel ⁸  jealous. 11:12 Now if their transgression means riches for the world and their defeat means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full restoration ⁹  bring?

11:13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,

Romans 15:8-16

15:8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised ¹⁰  on behalf of God’s truth to confirm the promises made to the fathers, ¹¹  15:9 and thus the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy. ¹²  As it is written, “Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises to your name.” ¹³  15:10 And again it says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” ¹⁴  15:11 And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him.” ¹⁵  15:12 And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, and the one who rises to rule over the Gentiles, in him will the Gentiles hope.” ¹⁶  15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, ¹⁷  so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s Motivation for Writing the Letter

15:14 But I myself am fully convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, ¹⁸  that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. 15:15 But I have written more boldly to you on some points so as to remind you, because of the grace given to me by God 15:16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I serve ¹⁹  the gospel of God ²⁰  like a priest, so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering, ²¹  sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Genesis 49:10

49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, ²² 

until he comes to whom it belongs; ²³ 

the nations will obey him. ²⁴ 

Psalms 22:27

22:27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him! ²⁵ 

Let all the nations ²⁶  worship you! ²⁷ 

Acts 13:47-48

13:47 For this ²⁸  is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have appointed ²⁹  you to be a light ³⁰  for the Gentiles, to bring salvation ³¹  to the ends of the earth.’” ³²  13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice ³³  and praise ³⁴  the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life ³⁵  believed.

Acts 15:14

15:14 Simeon ³⁶  has explained ³⁷  how God first concerned himself ³⁸  to select ³⁹  from among the Gentiles ⁴⁰  a people for his name.

Acts 21:17-20

21:17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly. ⁴¹  21:18 The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were there. ⁴²  21:19 When Paul ⁴³  had greeted them, he began to explain ⁴⁴  in detail ⁴⁵  what God ⁴⁶  had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 21:20 When they heard this, they praised ⁴⁷  God. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews ⁴⁸  there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers ⁴⁹  of the law. ⁵⁰ 

Galatians 3:28

3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave ⁵¹  nor free, there is neither male nor female ⁵²  – for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:11-13

New Life Corporately

2:11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh – who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body ⁵³  by human hands – 2:12 that you were at that time without the Messiah, ⁵⁴  alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, ⁵⁵  having no hope and without God in the world. 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ⁵⁶ 

Ephesians 3:6-8

3:6 namely, that through the gospel ⁵⁷  the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members ⁵⁸  of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. 3:7 I became a servant of this gospel ⁵⁹  according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by ⁶⁰  the exercise of his power. ⁶¹  3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ⁶²  – this grace was given, ⁶³  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

Colossians 3:11

3:11 Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave ⁶⁴  or free, but Christ is all and in all.

[3:30]  ¹ tn Grk “but if indeed God is one.”

[4:11]  ² tn Grk “of the faith, the one [existing] in uncircumcision.”

[4:11]  ³ tn Grk “that he might be,” giving the purpose of v. 11a.

[4:11]  ⁴ tn Grk “through uncircumcision.”

[4:12]  ⁵ tn Grk “the father of circumcision.”

[4:12]  ⁶ tn Grk “the ‘in-uncircumcision faith’ of our father Abraham.”

[11:11]  ⁷ tn Grk “that they might fall.”

[11:11]  ⁸ tn Grk “them”; the referent (Israel, cf. 11:7) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:12]  ⁹ tn Or “full inclusion”; Grk “their fullness.”

[15:8]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “of the circumcision”; that is, the Jews.

[15:8]  ¹¹ tn Or “to the patriarchs.”

[15:9]  ¹² tn There are two major syntactical alternatives which are both awkward: (1) One could make “glorify” dependent on “Christ has become a minister” and coordinate with “to confirm” and the result would be rendered “Christ has become a minister of circumcision to confirm the promises…and so that the Gentiles might glorify God.” (2) One could make “glorify” dependent on “I tell you” and coordinate with “Christ has become a minister” and the result would be rendered “I tell you that Christ has become a minister of circumcision…and that the Gentiles glorify God.” The second rendering is preferred.

[15:9]  ¹³ sn A quotation from Ps 18:49.

[15:10]  ¹⁴ sn A quotation from Deut 32:43.

[15:11]  ¹⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 117:1.

[15:12]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 11:10.

[15:13]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “in the believing” or “as [you] believe,” with the object “him” supplied from the context. The referent could be God (15:13a) or Christ (15:12).

[15:14]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[15:16]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “serving.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but in keeping with contemporary English style, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[15:16]  ²⁰ tn The genitive in the phrase τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ (to euangelion tou qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself.

[15:16]  ²¹ tn Grk “so that the offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable.” This could be understood to refer to an offering belonging to the Gentiles (a possessive genitive) or made by the Gentiles (subjective genitive), but more likely the phrase should be understood as an appositive genitive, with the Gentiles themselves consisting of the offering (so J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC 38], 2:860). The latter view is reflected in the translation “so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering.”

[49:10]  ²² tn Or perhaps “from his descendants,” taking the expression “from between his feet” as a euphemism referring to the genitals. In this case the phrase refers by metonymy to those who come forth from his genitals, i.e., his descendants.

[49:10]  ²³ tn The Hebrew form שִׁילֹה (shiloh) is a major interpretive problem. There are at least four major options (with many variations and less likely alternatives): (1) Some prefer to leave the text as it is, reading “Shiloh” and understanding it as the place where the ark rested for a while in the time of the Judges. (2) By repointing the text others arrive at the translation “until the [or “his”] ruler comes,” a reference to a Davidic ruler or the Messiah. (3) Another possibility that does not require emendation of the consonantal text, but only repointing, is “until tribute is brought to him” (so NEB, JPS, NRSV), which has the advantage of providing good parallelism with the following line, “the nations will obey him.” (4) The interpretation followed in the present translation, “to whom it [belongs]” (so RSV, NIV, REB), is based on the ancient versions. Again, this would refer to the Davidic dynasty or, ultimately, to the Messiah.

[49:10]  ²⁴ tn “and to him [will be] the obedience of the nations.” For discussion of this verse see J. Blenkinsopp, “The Oracle of Judah and the Messianic Entry,” JBL 80 (1961): 55-64; and E. M. Good, “The ‘Blessing’ on Judah,” JBL 82 (1963): 427-32.

[22:27]  ²⁵ tn Heb “may all the ends of the earth remember and turn to the Lord.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 27 are understood as jussives (cf. NEB). Another option (cf. NIV, NRSV) is to take the forms as imperfects and translate, “all the people of the earth will acknowledge and turn…and worship.” See vv. 29-32.

[22:27]  ²⁶ tn Heb “families of the nations.”

[22:27]  ²⁷ tn Heb “before you.”

[13:47]  ²⁸ tn Here οὕτως (Joutws) is taken to refer to what follows, the content of the quotation, as given for this verse by BDAG 742 s.v. οὕτω/οὕτως 2.

[13:47]  ²⁹ tn BDAG 1004 s.v. τίθημι 3.a has “τιθέναι τινὰ εἴς τι place/appoint someone to or for (to function as) someth….Ac 13:47.” This is a double accusative construction of object (“you”) and complement (“a light”).

[13:47]  ³⁰ sn Paul alludes here to the language of the Servant in Isaiah, pointing to Isa 42:6; 49:6. He and Barnabas do the work of the Servant in Isaiah.

[13:47]  ³¹ tn Grk “that you should be for salvation,” but more simply “to bring salvation.”

[13:47]  ³² sn An allusion to Isa 42:6 and 49:6. The expression the ends of the earth recalls Luke 3:6 and Acts 1:8. Paul sees himself and Barnabas as carrying out the commission of Luke 24:27. (See 2 Cor 6:2, where servant imagery also appears concerning Paul’s message.)

[13:48]  ³³ tn The imperfect verb ἔχαιρον (ecairon) and the following ἐδόξαζον (edoxazon) are translated as ingressive imperfects.

[13:48]  ³⁴ tn Or “glorify.” Although “honor” is given by BDAG 258 s.v. δοξάζω as a translation, it would be misleading here, because the meaning is “to honor in the sense of attributing worth to something,” while in contemporary English usage one speaks of “honoring” a contract in the sense of keeping its stipulations. It is not a synonym for “obey” in this context (“obey the word of the Lord”), but that is how many English readers would understand it.

[13:48]  ³⁵ sn Note the contrast to v. 46 in regard to eternal life.

[15:14]  ³⁶ sn Simeon is a form of the apostle Peter’s Aramaic name. James uses Peter’s “Jewish” name here.

[15:14]  ³⁷ tn Or “reported,” “described.”

[15:14]  ³⁸ tn BDAG 378 s.v. ἐπισκέπτομαι 3 translates this phrase in Acts 15:14, “God concerned himself about winning a people fr. among the nations.”

[15:14]  ³⁹ tn Grk “to take,” but in the sense of selecting or choosing (accompanied by the preposition ἐκ [ek] plus a genitive specifying the group selected from) see Heb 5:1; also BDAG 584 s.v. λαμβάνω 6.

[15:14]  ⁴⁰ sn In the Greek text the expression “from among the Gentiles” is in emphatic position.

[21:17]  ⁴¹ tn Or “warmly” (see BDAG 144 s.v. ἀσμένως).

[21:18]  ⁴² tn BDAG 760 s.v. παραγίνομαι 1 has this use under the broad category of meaning “draw near, come, arrive, be present.”

[21:19]  ⁴³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:19]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “to report,” “to describe.” The imperfect verb ἐξηγεῖτο (exhgeito) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[21:19]  ⁴⁵ tn BDAG 293 s.v. εἷς 5.e has “καθ᾿ ἕν one after the other (hence τὸ καθ᾿ ἕν ‘a detailed list’: PLille 11, 8 [III bc]; PTebt. 47, 34; 332, 16) J 21:25. Also καθ᾿ ἕν ἕκαστον…Ac 21:19.”

[21:19]  ⁴⁶ sn Note how Paul credited God with the success of his ministry.

[21:20]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “glorified.”

[21:20]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “how many thousands there are among the Jews.”

[21:20]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “are all zealous for the law.” BDAG 427 s.v. ζηλωτής 1.a.β has “of thing…τοῦ νόμου an ardent observer of the law Ac 21:20.”

[21:20]  ⁵⁰ sn That is, the law of Moses. These Jewish Christians had remained close to their Jewish practices after becoming believers (1 Cor 7:18-19; Acts 16:3).

[3:28]  ⁵¹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 1:10.

[3:28]  ⁵² tn Grk “male and female.”

[2:11]  ⁵³ tn Grk “in the flesh.”

[2:12]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “without Christ.” Both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Because the context refers to ancient Israel’s messianic expectation, “Messiah” was employed in the translation at this point rather than “Christ.”

[2:12]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “covenants of the promise.”

[2:13]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “have come near in the blood of Christ.”

[3:6]  ⁵⁷ sn The phrase through the gospel is placed last in the sentence in Greek for emphasis. It has been moved forward for clarity.

[3:6]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “and fellow members.”

[3:7]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “of which I was made a minister,” “of which I became a servant.”

[3:7]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “according to.”

[3:7]  ⁶¹ sn On the exercise of his power see 1:19-20.

[3:8]  ⁶² 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]  ⁶³ 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).

[3:11]  ⁶⁴ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.