Yesaya 43:21

43:21 the people whom I formed for myself,

so they might praise me.” ¹ 

Yesaya 55:11-13

55:11 In the same way, the promise that I make

does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. ² 

No, it is realized as I desire

and is fulfilled as I intend.” ³ 

55:12 Indeed you will go out with joy;

you will be led along in peace;

the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you,

and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.

55:13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,

firs will grow in place of nettles;

they will be a monument to the Lord, ⁴ 

a permanent reminder that will remain. ⁵ 

Roma 1:5

1:5 Through him ⁶  we have received grace and our apostleship ⁷  to bring about the obedience ⁸  of faith ⁹  among all the Gentiles on behalf of his name.

Roma 11:36

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

Roma 11:1

Israel’s Rejection not Complete nor Final

11:1 So I ask, God has not rejected his people, has he? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

Pengkhotbah 2:9-10

2:9 So ¹⁰  I was far wealthier ¹¹  than all my predecessors in Jerusalem,

yet I maintained my objectivity: ¹² 

2:10 I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted; ¹³ 

I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure. ¹⁴ 

So all my accomplishments gave me joy; ¹⁵ 

this was my reward for all my effort. ¹⁶ 

[43:21]  ¹ tn Heb “[so] they might declare my praise.”

[55:11]  ² tn Heb “so is the word which goes out from my mouth, it does not return to empty.” “Word” refers here to divine promises, like the ones made just prior to and after this (see vv. 7b, 12-13).

[55:11]  ³ tn Heb “but it accomplishes what I desire, and succeeds [on the mission] which I send it.”

[55:11]  sn Verses 8-11 focus on the reliability of the divine word and support the promises before (vv. 3-5, 7b) and after (vv. 12-13) this. Israel can be certain that repentance will bring forgiveness and a new covenantal relationship because God’s promises are reliable. In contrast to human plans (or “thoughts”), which are destined to fail (Ps 94:11) apart from divine approval (Prov 19:21), and human deeds (or “ways”), which are evil and lead to destruction (Prov 1:15-19; 3:31-33; 4:19), God’s plans are realized and his deeds accomplish something positive.

[55:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “to the Lord for a name.” For שֵׁם (shem) used in the sense of “monument,” see also 56:5, where it stands parallel to יָד (yad).

[55:13]  ⁵ tn Or, more literally, “a permanent sign that will not be cut off.”

[1:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “through whom.”

[1:5]  ⁷ tn Some interpreters understand the phrase “grace and apostleship” as a hendiadys, translating “grace [i.e., gift] of apostleship.” The pronoun “our” is supplied in the translation to clarify the sense of the statement.

[1:5]  ⁸ tn Grk “and apostleship for obedience.”

[1:5]  ⁹ tn The phrase ὑπακοὴν πίστεως has been variously understood as (1) an objective genitive (a reference to the Christian faith, “obedience to [the] faith”); (2) a subjective genitive (“the obedience faith produces [or requires]”); (3) an attributive genitive (“believing obedience”); or (4) as a genitive of apposition (“obedience, [namely] faith”) in which “faith” further defines “obedience.” These options are discussed by C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans (ICC), 1:66. Others take the phrase as deliberately ambiguous; see D. B. Garlington, “The Obedience of Faith in the Letter to the Romans: Part I: The Meaning of ὑπακοὴ πίστεως (Rom 1:5; 16:26),” WTJ 52 (1990): 201-24.

[2:9]  ¹⁰ tn The vav prefixed to וְגָדַלְתִּי (vÿgadalti, vav + Qal perfect first common singular from גָּדַל, gadal, “to be great; to increase”) functions in a final summarizing sense, that is, it introduces the concluding summary of 2:4-9.

[2:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I became great and I surpassed” (וְהוֹסַפְתִּי וְגָדַלְתִּי, vÿgadalti vÿhosafti). This is a verbal hendiadys in which the second verb functions adverbially, modifying the first: “I became far greater.” Most translations miss the hendiadys and render the line in a woodenly literal sense (KJV, ASV, RSV, NEB, NRSV, NAB, NASB, MLB, Moffatt), while only a few recognize the presence of hendiadys here: “I became greater by far” (NIV) and “I gained more” (NJPS).

[2:9]  ¹² tn Heb “yet my wisdom stood for me,” meaning he retained his wise perspective despite his great wealth.

[2:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “all which my eyes asked for, I did not withhold from them.”

[2:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I did not refuse my heart any pleasure.” The term לִבִּי (libbi, “my heart”) is a synecdoche of part (i.e., heart) for the whole (i.e., whole person); see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 648. The term is repeated twice in 2:10 for emphasis.

[2:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “So my heart was joyful from all my toil.”

[2:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and this was my portion from all my toil.”