Ayub 33:13

33:13 Why do you contend against him,

that he does not answer all a person’s ¹  words?

Yesaya 46:10

46:10 who announces the end from the beginning

and reveals beforehand ²  what has not yet occurred,

who says, ‘My plan will be realized,

I will accomplish what I desire,’

Lukas 10:21

10:21 On that same occasion ³  Jesus ⁴  rejoiced ⁵  in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise ⁶  you, Father, Lord ⁷  of heaven and earth, because ⁸  you have hidden these things from the wise ⁹  and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will. ¹⁰ 

Roma 9:18

9:18 So then, ¹¹  God ¹²  has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden. ¹³ 

Roma 11:33-36

11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!

11:34 For who has known the mind of the Lord,

or who has been his counselor? ¹⁴ 

11:35 Or who has first given to God, ¹⁵ 

that God ¹⁶  needs to repay him? ¹⁷ 

11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.

Efesus 1:9

1:9 He did this when he revealed ¹⁸  to us the secret ¹⁹  of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth ²⁰  in Christ, ²¹ 

Efesus 1:11

1:11 In Christ ²²  we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, ²³  since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will

Efesus 3:11

3:11 This was according to ²⁴  the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,

Efesus 3:2

3:2 if indeed ²⁵  you have heard of the stewardship ²⁶  of God’s grace that was given to me for you,

Titus 1:9

1:9 He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, ²⁷  so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching ²⁸  and correct those who speak against it.

[33:13]  ¹ tc The MT has “all his words.” This must refer to “man” in the previous verse. But many wish to change it to “my words,” since it would be summarizing Job’s complaint to God.

[46:10]  ² tn Or “from long ago”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “from ancient times.”

[10:21]  ³ tn Grk “In that same hour” (L&N 67.1).

[10:21]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:21]  ⁵ sn Jesus rejoiced. The account of the mission in 10:1-24 ends with several remarks about joy.

[10:21]  ⁶ tn Or “thank.”

[10:21]  ⁷ sn The title Lord is an important name for God, showing his sovereignty, but it is interesting that it comes next to a reference to the Father, a term indicative of God’s care. The two concepts are often related in the NT; see Eph 1:3-6.

[10:21]  ⁸ tn Or “that.”

[10:21]  ⁹ sn See 1 Cor 1:26-31.

[10:21]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “for (to do) thus was well pleasing before you,” BDAG 325 s.v. ἔμπροσθεν 1.δ; speaking of something taking place “before” God is a reverential way of avoiding direct connection of the action to him.

[9:18]  ¹¹ sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

[9:18]  ¹² tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:18]  ¹³ tn Grk “So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.”

[11:34]  ¹⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 40:13.

[11:35]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:35]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:35]  ¹⁷ sn A quotation from Job 41:11.

[1:9]  ¹⁸ tn Or “He did this by revealing”; Grk “making known, revealing.” Verse 9 begins with a participle dependent on “lavished” in v. 8; the adverbial participle could be understood as temporal (“when he revealed”), which would be contemporaneous to the action of the finite verb “lavished,” or as means (“by revealing”). 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.

[1:9]  ¹⁹ tn Or “mystery.” In the NT μυστήριον (musthrion) refers to a divine secret previously undisclosed.

[1:9]  ²⁰ tn Or “purposed,” “publicly displayed.” Cf. Rom 3:25.

[1:9]  ²¹ tn Grk “in him”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:9]  sn In Christ. KJV has “in himself” as though the antecedent were God the Father. Although possible, the notion of the verb set forth (Greek προτίθημι, protiqhmi) implies a plan that is carried out in history (cf. Rom 1:13; 3:25) and thus more likely refers to Christ.

[1:11]  ²² tn Grk “in whom,” as a continuation of the previous verse.

[1:11]  ²³ 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.

[1:11]  sn God’s own possession. Although God is not mentioned explicitly in the Greek text, it is clear from the context that he has chosen believers for himself. Just as with the nation Israel, the church is God’s chosen portion or possession (cf. Deut 32:8-9).

[3:11]  ²⁴ tn Grk “according to.” The verse is a prepositional phrase subordinate to v. 10.

[3:2]  ²⁵ sn If indeed. The author is not doubting whether his audience has heard, but is rather using provocative language (if indeed) to engage his audience in thinking about the magnificence of God’s grace. However, in English translation, the apodosis (“then”-clause) does not come until v. 13, leaving the protasis (“if”-clause) dangling. Eph 3:2-7 constitute one sentence in Greek.

[3:2]  ²⁶ tn Or “administration,” “dispensation,” “commission.”

[1:9]  ²⁷ tn Grk “the faithful message in accordance with the teaching” (referring to apostolic teaching).

[1:9]  ²⁸ tn Grk “the healthy teaching” (referring to what was just mentioned).