Mazmur 130:3-4

130:3 If you, O Lord, were to keep track of ¹  sins,

O Lord, who could stand before you? ² 

130:4 But ³  you are willing to forgive, ⁴ 

so that you might ⁵  be honored. ⁶ 

Lukas 1:72

1:72 He has done this ⁷  to show mercy ⁸  to our ancestors, ⁹ 

and to remember his holy covenant ¹⁰  –

Lukas 1:78

1:78 Because of ¹¹  our God’s tender mercy ¹² 

the dawn ¹³  will break ¹⁴  upon us from on high

Roma 3:23-24

3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 3:24 But they are justified ¹⁵  freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Roma 9:15-23

9:15 For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶  9:16 So then, ¹⁷  it does not depend on human desire or exertion, ¹⁸  but on God who shows mercy. 9:17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh: ¹⁹  “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” ²⁰  9:18 So then, ²¹  God ²²  has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden. ²³ 

9:19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who has ever resisted his will?” 9:20 But who indeed are you – a mere human being ²⁴  – to talk back to God? ²⁵  Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ²⁶  9:21 Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay ²⁷  one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use? ²⁸  9:22 But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects ²⁹  of wrath ³⁰  prepared for destruction? ³¹  9:23 And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects ³²  of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory –

Efesus 2:4

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

Efesus 2:1

New Life Individually

2:1 And although you were ³³  dead ³⁴  in your transgressions and sins,

Pengkhotbah 1:10

1:10 Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new!”? ³⁵ 

It was already ³⁶  done long ago, ³⁷  before our time. ³⁸ 

[130:3]  ¹ tn Heb “observe.”

[130:3]  ² tn The words “before you” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist must be referring to standing before God’s judgment seat. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one.”

[130:4]  ³ tn Or “surely.”

[130:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “for with you [there is] forgiveness.”

[130:4]  ⁵ tn Or “consequently you are.”

[130:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “feared.”

[1:72]  ⁷ tn The words “He has done this” (referring to the raising up of the horn of salvation from David’s house) are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to allow a new sentence to be started in the translation. The Greek sentence is lengthy and complex at this point, while contemporary English uses much shorter sentences.

[1:72]  ⁸ sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.

[1:72]  ⁹ tn Or “our forefathers”; Grk “our fathers.” This begins with the promise to Abraham (vv. 55, 73), and thus refers to many generations of ancestors.

[1:72]  ¹⁰ sn The promises of God can be summarized as being found in the one promise (the oath that he swore) to Abraham (Gen 12:1-3).

[1:78]  ¹¹ tn For reasons of style, a new sentence has been started in the translation at this point. God’s mercy is ultimately seen in the deliverance John points to, so v. 78a is placed with the reference to Jesus as the light of dawning day.

[1:78]  ¹² sn God’s loyal love (steadfast love) is again the topic, reflected in the phrase tender mercy; see Luke 1:72.

[1:78]  ¹³ sn The Greek term translated dawn (ἀνατολή, anatolh) can be a reference to the morning star or to the sun. The Messiah is pictured as a saving light that shows the way. The Greek term was also used to translate the Hebrew word for “branch” or “sprout,” so some see a double entendre here with messianic overtones (see Isa 11:1-10; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12).

[1:78]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “shall visit us.”

[3:24]  ¹⁵ tn Or “declared righteous.” Grk “being justified,” as a continuation of the preceding clause. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[9:15]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Exod 33:19.

[9:16]  ¹⁷ 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.

[9:16]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “So then, [it does] not [depend] on the one who desires nor on the one who runs.”

[9:17]  ¹⁹ sn Paul uses a typical rabbinic formula here in which the OT scriptures are figuratively portrayed as speaking to Pharaoh. What he means is that the scripture he cites refers (or can be applied) to Pharaoh.

[9:17]  ²⁰ sn A quotation from Exod 9:16.

[9:18]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:18]  ²³ tn Grk “So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.”

[9:20]  ²⁴ tn Grk “O man.”

[9:20]  ²⁵ tn Grk “On the contrary, O man, who are you to talk back to God?”

[9:20]  ²⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 29:16; 45:9.

[9:21]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make from the same lump.”

[9:21]  ²⁸ tn Grk “one vessel for honor and another for dishonor.”

[9:22]  ²⁹ tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.

[9:22]  ³⁰ tn Or “vessels destined for wrath.” The genitive ὀργῆς (orghs) could be taken as a genitive of destination.

[9:22]  ³¹ tn Or possibly “objects of wrath that have fit themselves for destruction.” The form of the participle could be taken either as a passive or middle (reflexive). ExSyn 417-18 argues strongly for the passive sense (which is followed in the translation), stating that “the middle view has little to commend it.” First, καταρτίζω (katartizw) is nowhere else used in the NT as a direct or reflexive middle (a usage which, in any event, is quite rare in the NT). Second, the lexical force of this verb, coupled with the perfect tense, suggests something of a “done deal” (against some commentaries that see these vessels as ready for destruction yet still able to avert disaster). Third, the potter-clay motif seems to have one point: The potter prepares the clay.

[9:23]  ³² tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.

[2:1]  ³³ tn The adverbial participle “being” (ὄντας, ontas) is taken concessively.

[2:1]  ³⁴ sn Chapter 2 starts off with a participle, although you were dead, that is left dangling. The syntax in Greek for vv. 1-3 constitutes one incomplete sentence, though it seems to have been done intentionally. The dangling participle leaves the readers in suspense while they wait for the solution (in v. 4) to their spiritual dilemma.

[1:10]  ³⁵ tn Alternately, “[Even when] there is something of which someone might claim…” The terms יֵשׁ דָּבָר שֶׁיֹּאמַר (yesh davar sheyyo’mar) may be an interrogative clause without an introductory interrogative particle (GKC 473 §150.a). In questions, יֵשׁ often implies doubt about the existence of something (BDB 441 s.v. יֵשׁ 2.b). The LXX rendered it as a question, as do most English versions: “Is there anything of which it can be said…?” (KJV, ASV, RSV, MLB, NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). On the other hand, יֵשׁ is used elsewhere in the Book of Ecclesiastes as a predication of existence (“There is…”) to assert the existence of something (2:13, 21; 4:8, 9; 5:13[12]; 6:1, 11; 7:15; 8:6, 14; 9:4; 10:5). HALOT 443 s.v. יֵשׁ 2 renders יֵשׁ דָּבָר as “There is something….” This view is taken by several translations: “Even the thing of which we say…” (NAB), “Men may say of something …” (Moffatt), and “Sometimes there is a phenomena of which they say…” (NJPS).

[1:10]  ³⁶ tn The perfect tense verb הָיָה (hayah) refers to a past perfect situation: It describes an action that is viewed as a remote past event from the perspective of the past. This past perfect situation is brought out by the temporal adverb כְּבָר (kÿvar, “already”; HALOT 459 s.v. I כְּבָר; BDB 460 s.v. I כְּבָר; cf. 1:10; 2:12, 16; 3:15; 4:2; 6:10; 9:6-7). The expression כְּבָר + הָיָה connotes a past perfect nuance: “it has already been” (Eccl 1:10; see BDB 460 s.v.).

[1:10]  ³⁷ sn This does not deny man’s creativity or inventiveness, only the ultimate newness of his accomplishments. For example, there is no essential difference between the first voyage to the moon and the discovery of America (different point of arrival, different vehicles of travel, but the same essential action and results).

[1:10]  ³⁸ tn Heb “in the ages long ago before us.”