Yehezkiel 20:12

20:12 I also gave them my Sabbaths ¹  as a reminder of our relationship, ²  so that they would know that I, the Lord, sanctify them. ³ 

Keluaran 31:13

31:13 “Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep my Sabbaths, ⁴  for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. ⁵ 

Imamat 20:8

20:8 You must be sure to obey my statutes. ⁶  I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

Imamat 21:8

21:8 You must sanctify him because he presents the food of your God. He must be holy to you because I, the Lord who sanctifies you all, ⁷  am holy.

Yohanes 17:17-19

17:17 Set them apart ⁸  in the truth; your word is truth. 17:18 Just as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. ⁹  17:19 And I set myself apart ¹⁰  on their behalf, ¹¹  so that they too may be truly set apart. ¹² 

Yohanes 17:1

Jesus Prays for the Father to Glorify Him

17:1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward ¹³  to heaven ¹⁴  and said, “Father, the time ¹⁵  has come. Glorify your Son, so that your ¹⁶  Son may glorify you –

Kolose 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁷  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Efesus 5:26

5:26 to sanctify her by cleansing her ¹⁸  with the washing of the water by the word,

Efesus 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be ¹⁹  imitators of God as dearly loved children

Efesus 5:23

5:23 because the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church – he himself being the savior of the body.

[20:12]  ¹ sn Ezekiel’s contemporary, Jeremiah, also stressed the importance of obedience to the Sabbath law (Jer 17).

[20:12]  ² tn Heb “to become a sign between me and them.”

[20:12]  ³ tn Or “set them apart.” The last phrase of verse 12 appears to be a citation of Exod 31:13.

[31:13]  ⁴ sn The instruction for the Sabbath at this point seems rather abrupt, but it follows logically the extended plans of building the sanctuary. B. Jacob, following some of the earlier treatments, suggests that these are specific rules given for the duration of the building of the sanctuary (Exodus, 844). The Sabbath day is a day of complete cessation; no labor or work could be done. The point here is that God’s covenant people must faithfully keep the sign of the covenant as a living commemoration of the finished work of Yahweh, and as an active part in their sanctification. See also H. Routtenberg, “The Laws of Sabbath: Biblical Sources,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 41-43, 99-101, 153-55, 204-6; G. Robinson, “The Idea of Rest in the OT and the Search for the Basic Character of Sabbath,” ZAW 92 (1980): 32-42; M. Tsevat, “The Basic Meaning of the Biblical Sabbath, ZAW 84 (1972): 447-59; M. T. Willshaw, “A Joyous Sign,” ExpTim 89 (1978): 179-80.

[31:13]  ⁵ tn Or “your sanctifier.”

[20:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “And you shall keep my statutes and you shall do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 386 §120.d, although שָׁמַר [shamar, “to keep”] is not cited there; cf. Lev 22:31, etc.).

[21:8]  ⁷ tn The three previous second person references in this verse are all singular, but this reference is plural. By adding “all” this grammatical distinction is preserved in the translation.

[17:17]  ⁸ tn Or “Consecrate them” or “Sanctify them.”

[17:17]  sn The Greek word translated set…apart (ἁγιάζω, Jagiazw) is used here in its normal sense of being dedicated, consecrated, or set apart. The sphere in which the disciples are to be set apart is in the truth. In 3:21 the idea of “practicing” (Grk “doing”) the truth was introduced; in 8:32 Jesus told some of his hearers that if they continued in his word they would truly be his disciples, and would know the truth, and the truth would make them free. These disciples who are with Jesus now for the Farewell Discourse have continued in his word (except for Judas Iscariot, who has departed), and they do know the truth about who Jesus is and why he has come into the world (17:8). Thus Jesus can ask the Father to set them apart in this truth as he himself is set apart, so that they might carry on his mission in the world after his departure (note the following verse).

[17:18]  ⁹ sn Jesus now compared the mission on which he was sending the disciples to his own mission into the world, on which he was sent by the Father. As the Father sent Jesus into the world (cf. 3:17), so Jesus now sends the disciples into the world to continue his mission after his departure. The nature of this prayer for the disciples as a consecratory prayer is now emerging: Jesus was setting them apart for the work he had called them to do. They were, in a sense, being commissioned.

[17:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “I sanctify.”

[17:19]  sn In what sense does Jesus refer to his own ‘sanctification’ with the phrase I set myself apart? In 10:36 Jesus referred to himself as “the one whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world,” which seems to look at something already accomplished. Here, however, it is something he does on behalf of the disciples (on their behalf) and this suggests a reference to his impending death on the cross. There is in fact a Johannine wordplay here based on slightly different meanings for the Greek verb translated set apart (ἁγιάζω, Jagiazw). In the sense it was used in 10:36 of Jesus and in 17:17 and here to refer to the disciples, it means to set apart in the sense that prophets (cf. Jer 1:5) and priests (Exod 40:13, Lev 8:30, and 2 Chr 5:11) were consecrated (or set apart) to perform their tasks. But when Jesus speaks of setting himself apart (consecrating or dedicating himself) on behalf of the disciples here in 17:19 the meaning is closer to the consecration of a sacrificial animal (Deut 15:19). Jesus is “setting himself apart,” i.e., dedicating himself, to do the will of the Father, that is, to go to the cross on the disciples’ behalf (and of course on behalf of their successors as well).

[17:19]  ¹¹ tn Or “for their sake.”

[17:19]  ¹² tn Or “they may be truly consecrated,” or “they may be truly sanctified.”

[17:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “he raised his eyes” (an idiom).

[17:1]  sn Jesus also looked upward before his prayer in John 11:41. This was probably a common posture in prayer. According to the parable in Luke 18:13 the tax collector did not feel himself worthy to do this.

[17:1]  ¹⁴ tn Or “to the sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven” depending on the context.

[17:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the hour.”

[17:1]  sn The time has come. Jesus has said before that his “hour” had come, both in 12:23 when some Greeks sought to speak with him, and in 13:1 where just before he washed the disciples’ feet. It appears best to understand the “hour” as a period of time starting at the end of Jesus’ public ministry and extending through the passion week, ending with Jesus’ return to the Father through death, resurrection, and exaltation. The “hour” begins as soon as the first events occur which begin the process that leads to Jesus’ death.

[17:1]  ¹⁶ tc The better witnesses (א B C* W 0109 0301) have “the Son” (ὁ υἱός, Jo Juios) here, while the majority (C³ L Ψ Ë¹³ 33 Ï) read “your Son also” (καὶ ὁ υἱὸς σου, kai Jo Juio" sou), or “your Son” (ὁ υἱὸς σου; A D Θ 0250 1 579 pc lat sy); the second corrector of C has καὶ ὁ υἱός (“the Son also”). The longer readings appear to be predictable scribal expansions and as such should be considered secondary.

[17:1]  tn Grk “the Son”; “your” has been added here for English stylistic reasons.

[1:1]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[5:26]  ¹⁸ tn The direct object “her” is implied, but not found in the Greek text. It has been supplied in the English translation to clarify the sense of the passage.

[5:1]  ¹⁹ tn Or “become.”