1 Samuel 25:32-33

25:32 Then David said to Abigail, “Praised ¹  be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you this day to meet me! 25:33 Praised be your good judgment! May you yourself be rewarded ²  for having prevented me this day from shedding blood and taking matters into my own hands!

1 Samuel 25:1

The Death of Samuel

25:1 Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David left and went down to the desert of Paran. ³ 

1 Samuel 29:1

David Is Rejected by the Philistine Leaders

29:1 The Philistines assembled all their troops ⁴  at Aphek, while Israel camped at the spring that is in Jezreel.

Nehemia 8:5-6

8:5 Ezra opened the book in plain view ⁵  of all the people, for he was elevated above all the people. When he opened the book, ⁶  all the people stood up. 8:6 Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people replied “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

Daniel 2:19

2:19 Then in a night vision the mystery was revealed to Daniel. So Daniel praised ⁷  the God of heaven,

Lukas 2:28

2:28 Simeon ⁸  took him in his arms and blessed God, saying, ⁹ 

Efesus 1:3

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

1:3 Blessed ¹⁰  is ¹¹  the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed ¹²  us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.

[25:32]  ¹ tn Heb “blessed” (also in vv. 33, 39).

[25:33]  ² tn Heb “blessed.”

[25:1]  ³ tc The LXX reads “Maon” here instead of “Paran,” perhaps because the following account of Nabal is said to be in Maon (v. 2). This reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT). The MT, however, reads “Paran,” a location which would parallel this portion of David’s life with that of the nation Israel which also spent time in Paran (Num 10:12). Also, the desert of Paran was on the southern border of Judah’s territory and would be the most isolated location for hiding from Saul.

[29:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “camps.”

[8:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “to the eyes.”

[8:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the book) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:19]  ⁷ tn Or “blessed.”

[2:28]  ⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Simeon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:28]  ⁹ tn Grk “and said.” The finite verb in Greek has been replaced with a participle in English to improve the smoothness of the translation.

[1:3]  ¹⁰ sn Eph 1:3-14 comprises one long sentence in Greek, with three major sections. Each section ends with a note of praise for God (vv. 6, 12, 14), focusing on a different member of the Trinity. After an opening summary of all the saints’ spiritual blessings (v. 3), the first section (vv. 4-6) offers up praise that the Father has chosen us in eternity past; the second section (vv. 7-12) offers up praise that the Son has redeemed us in the historical past (i.e., at the cross); the third section (vv. 13-14) offers up praise that the Holy Spirit has sealed us in our personal past, at the point of conversion.

[1:3]  ¹¹ tn There is no verb in the Greek text; either the optative (“be”) or the indicative (“is”) can be supplied. The meaning of the term εὐλογητός (euloghtos), the author’s intention at this point in the epistle, and the literary genre of this material must all come into play to determine which is the preferred nuance. εὐλογητός as an adjective can mean either that one is praised or that one is blessed, that is, in a place of favor and benefit. The meaning “blessed” would be more naturally paired with an indicative verb here and would suggest that blessedness is an intrinsic part of God’s character. The meaning “praised” would be more naturally paired with an optative verb here and would suggest that God ought to be praised. Pauline style in the epistles generally moves from statements to obligations, expressing the reality first and then the believer’s necessary response, which would favor the indicative. However, many scholars regard Eph 1:3-14 as a berakah psalm (cf. A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians [WBC], 10-11). Rooted in the OT and Jewish worship, berakah psalms were songs of praise in which the worshiper gave praise to God; this would favor the optative (although not all scholars are agreed on this genre classification here; see H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 153-59, for discussion and an alternate conclusion). When considered as a whole, although a decision is difficult, the indicative seems to fit all the factors better. The author seems to be pointing to who God is and what he has done for believers in this section; the indicative more naturally fits that emphasis. Cf. also 2 Cor 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3.

[1:3]  ¹² tn Or “enriched,” “conferred blessing.”