Yesaya 29:18

29:18 At that time ¹  the deaf will be able to hear words read from a scroll,

and the eyes of the blind will be able to see through deep darkness. ² 

Yesaya 32:3-4

32:3 Eyes ³  will no longer be blind ⁴ 

and ears ⁵  will be attentive.

32:4 The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment ⁶ 

and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity.

Yesaya 42:6-7

42:6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you; ⁷ 

I take hold of your hand.

I protect you ⁸  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ⁹ 

and a light ¹⁰  to the nations, ¹¹ 

42:7 to open blind eyes, ¹² 

to release prisoners ¹³  from dungeons,

those who live in darkness from prisons.

Yesaya 42:16

42:16 I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way; ¹⁴ 

I will guide them down paths they have never traveled. ¹⁵ 

I will turn the darkness in front of them into light,

and level out the rough ground. ¹⁶ 

This is what I will do for them.

I will not abandon them.

Yesaya 43:8

The Lord Declares His Sovereignty

43:8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,

those who are deaf, even though they have ears!

Mazmur 146:8

146:8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.

The Lord lifts up all who are bent over. ¹⁷ 

The Lord loves the godly.

Matius 9:27-30

Healing the Blind and Mute

9:27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, shouting, ¹⁸  “Have mercy ¹⁹  on us, Son of David!” ²⁰  9:28 When ²¹  he went into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus ²²  said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 9:29 Then he touched their eyes saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” 9:30 And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about this.”

Matius 11:3-5

11:3 “Are you the one who is to come, ²³  or should we look for another?” 11:4 Jesus answered them, ²⁴  “Go tell John what you hear and see: ²⁵  11:5 The blind see, the ²⁶  lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them.

Matius 12:22

Jesus and Beelzebul

12:22 Then they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. Jesus ²⁷  healed him so that he could speak and see. ²⁸ 

Matius 20:30-34

20:30 Two ²⁹  blind men were sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, ³⁰  “Have mercy ³¹  on us, Lord, Son of David!” ³²  20:31 The ³³  crowd scolded ³⁴  them to get them to be quiet. But they shouted even more loudly, “Lord, have mercy on us, ³⁵  Son of David!” 20:32 Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 20:33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 20:34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Matius 21:14

21:14 The blind and lame came to him in the temple courts, and he healed them.

Markus 8:22-25

A Two-stage Healing

8:22 Then ³⁶  they came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to Jesus ³⁷  and asked him to touch him. 8:23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him outside of the village. Then ³⁸  he spit on his eyes, placed his hands on his eyes ³⁹  and asked, “Do you see anything?” 8:24 Regaining his sight ⁴⁰  he said, “I see people, but they look like trees walking.” 8:25 Then Jesus ⁴¹  placed his hands on the man’s ⁴²  eyes again. And he opened his eyes, ⁴³  his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

Lukas 4:18

4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed ⁴⁴  me to proclaim good news ⁴⁵  to the poor. ⁴⁶ 

He has sent me ⁴⁷  to proclaim release ⁴⁸  to the captives

and the regaining of sight ⁴⁹  to the blind,

to set free ⁵⁰  those who are oppressed, ⁵¹ 

Yohanes 9:1-7

Healing a Man Born Blind

9:1 Now as Jesus was passing by, ⁵²  he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 9:2 His disciples asked him, ⁵³  “Rabbi, who committed the sin that caused him to be born blind, this man ⁵⁴  or his parents?” ⁵⁵  9:3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man ⁵⁶  nor his parents sinned, but he was born blind so that ⁵⁷  the acts ⁵⁸  of God may be revealed ⁵⁹  through what happens to him. ⁶⁰  9:4 We must perform the deeds ⁶¹  of the one who sent me ⁶²  as long as ⁶³  it is daytime. Night is coming when no one can work. 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶⁴  9:6 Having said this, ⁶⁵  he spat on the ground and made some mud ⁶⁶  with the saliva. He ⁶⁷  smeared the mud on the blind man’s ⁶⁸  eyes 9:7 and said to him, “Go wash in the pool of Siloam” ⁶⁹  (which is translated “sent”). ⁷⁰  So the blind man ⁷¹  went away and washed, and came back seeing.

Yohanes 9:39

9:39 Jesus ⁷²  said,] ⁷³  “For judgment I have come into this world, so that those who do not see may gain their sight, ⁷⁴  and the ones who see may become blind.”

Yohanes 11:37

11:37 But some of them said, “This is the man who caused the blind man to see! ⁷⁵  Couldn’t he have done something to keep Lazarus ⁷⁶  from dying?”

Kisah Para Rasul 9:17-18

9:17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, placed ⁷⁷  his hands on Saul ⁷⁸  and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came here, ⁷⁹  has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ⁸⁰  9:18 Immediately ⁸¹  something like scales ⁸²  fell from his eyes, and he could see again. He ⁸³  got up and was baptized,

Kisah Para Rasul 26:18

26:18 to open their eyes so that they turn ⁸⁴  from darkness to light and from the power ⁸⁵  of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share ⁸⁶  among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Efesus 1:17-18

1:17 I pray that ⁸⁷  the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, ⁸⁸  may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation ⁸⁹  in your growing knowledge of him, ⁹⁰  1:18 – since the eyes of your ⁹¹  heart have been enlightened ⁹²  – so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, ⁹³  what is the wealth of his glorious ⁹⁴  inheritance in the saints,

Efesus 5:14

5:14 For everything made evident is light, and for this reason it says: ⁹⁵ 

“Awake, ⁹⁶  O sleeper! ⁹⁷ 

Rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you!” ⁹⁸ 

[29:18]  ¹ tn Or “In that day” (KJV).

[29:18]  ² tn Heb “and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.”

[29:18]  sn Perhaps this depicts the spiritual transformation of the once spiritually insensitive nation (see vv. 10-12, cf. also 6:9-10).

[32:3]  ³ tn Heb “Eyes that see.”

[32:3]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text as vocalized reads literally “will not gaze,” but this is contradictory to the context. The verb form should be revocalized as תְּשֹׁעֶינָה (tÿsho’enah) from שָׁעַע (sha’a’, “be blinded”); see Isa 6:10; 29:9.

[32:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “ears that hear.”

[32:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “the heart of rashness will understand knowledge”; cf. NAB “The flighty will become wise and capable.”

[42:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2.

[42:6]  ⁸ tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצַר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצַר (yatsar, “form”).

[42:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. The precise identity of עָם (’am, “people”) is uncertain. In v. 5 עָם refers to mankind, and the following reference to “nations” also favors this. But in 49:8, where the phrase בְּרִית עָם occurs again, Israel seems to be in view.

[42:6]  ¹⁰ sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6.

[42:6]  ¹¹ tn Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context.

[42:7]  ¹² sn This does not refer to literal physical healing of the blind. As the next two lines suggest, this refers metonymically to freeing captives from their dark prisons where their eyes have grown unaccustomed to light.

[42:7]  ¹³ sn This does not refer to hardened, dangerous criminals, who would have been executed for their crimes in ancient Near Eastern society. This verse refers to political prisoners or victims of social injustice.

[42:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a way they do not know” (so NASB); NRSV “a road they do not know.”

[42:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in paths they do not know I will make them walk.”

[42:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and the rough ground into a level place.”

[146:8]  ¹⁷ tn Perhaps “discouraged” (see Ps 57:6).

[9:27]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “shouting, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[9:27]  ¹⁹ sn Have mercy on us is a request for healing. It is not owed to the men. They simply ask for God’s kind grace.

[9:27]  ²⁰ sn There was a tradition in Judaism that the Son of David (Solomon) had great powers of healing (Josephus, Ant. 8.2.5 [8.42-49]).

[9:28]  ²¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:28]  ²² tn Grk “to him, and Jesus.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek, but a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[11:3]  ²³ sn Aspects of Jesus’ ministry may have led John to question whether Jesus was the promised stronger and greater one who is to come that he had preached about in Matt 3:1-12.

[11:4]  ²⁴ tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[11:4]  ²⁵ sn What you hear and see. The following activities all paraphrase various OT descriptions of the time of promised salvation: Isa 35:5-6; 26:19; 29:18-19; 61:1. Jesus is answering not by acknowledging a title, but by pointing to the nature of his works, thus indicating the nature of the time.

[11:5]  ²⁶ tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. Two other conjunctions are omitted in this series.

[12:22]  ²⁷ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:22]  ²⁸ tn Grk “demoniac, and he healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.”

[20:30]  ²⁹ tn Grk “And behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[20:30]  ³⁰ tn Grk “shouted, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[20:30]  ³¹ sn Have mercy on us is a request for healing. It is not owed to the men. They simply ask for God’s kind grace.

[20:30]  ³² sn There was a tradition in Judaism that the Son of David (Solomon) had great powers of healing (Josephus, Ant. 8.2.5 [8.42-49]).

[20:31]  ³³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[20:31]  ³⁴ tn Or “rebuked.” The crowd’s view was that surely Jesus would not be bothered with someone as unimportant as a blind beggar.

[20:31]  ³⁵ tc ‡ The majority of mss (C W ˹ 33 Ï and several versional witnesses) read κύριε (kurie, “Lord”) after ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς (elehson Jhma", “have mercy on us”). But since this is the order of words in v. 30 (though that wording is also disputed), and since the κύριε-first reading enjoys widespread and early support (א B D L Z Θ 085 0281 ˹³ 892 pc lat), the latter was considered original. However, the decision was by no means easy. NA²⁷ has κύριε after ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς here; a majority of that committee felt that since the placement of κύριε in last place was the nonliturgical order it “would have been likely to be altered in transcription to the more familiar sequence” (TCGNT 44).

[8:22]  ³⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:22]  ³⁷ tn Grk “to him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:23]  ³⁸ tn Grk “village, and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[8:23]  ³⁹ tn Grk “on him,” but the word πάλιν in v. 25 implies that Jesus touched the man’s eyes at this point.

[8:24]  ⁴⁰ tn The verb ἀναβλέπω, though normally meaning “look up,” when used in conjunction with blindness means “regain sight.”

[8:25]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:25]  ⁴² tn Grk “his”; the referent (the blind man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:25]  ⁴³ tn Or “he looked intently”; or “he stared with eyes wide open” (BDAG 226 s.v. διαβλέπω 1).

[4:18]  ⁴⁴ sn The phrase he has anointed me is an allusion back to Jesus’ baptism in Luke 3:21-22.

[4:18]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “to evangelize,” “to preach the gospel.”

[4:18]  ⁴⁶ sn The poor is a key term in Luke. It refers to the pious poor and indicates Jesus’ desire to reach out to those the world tends to forget or mistreat. It is like 1:52 in force and also will be echoed in 6:20 (also 1 Pet 2:11-25). Jesus is commissioned to do this.

[4:18]  ⁴⁷ tc The majority of mss, especially the later Byzantines, include the phrase “to heal the brokenhearted” at this point (A Θ Ψ 0102 ˹ Ï). The phrase is lacking in several weighty mss (א B D L W Ξ Ë¹³ 33 579 700 892* pc lat sy^s co), including representatives from both the Alexandrian and Western texttypes. From the standpoint of external evidence, the omission of the phrase is more likely original. When internal evidence is considered, the shorter reading becomes almost certain. Scribes would be much more prone to add the phrase here to align the text with Isa 61:1, the source of the quotation, than to remove it from the original.

[4:18]  ⁴⁸ sn The release in view here is comprehensive, both at a physical level and a spiritual one, as the entire ministry of Jesus makes clear (Luke 1:77-79; 7:47; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43).

[4:18]  ⁴⁹ sn Again, as with the previous phrase, regaining of sight may well mean more than simply miraculously restoring physical sight, which itself pictures a deeper reality (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).

[4:18]  ⁵⁰ sn The essence of Jesus’ messianic work is expressed in the phrase to set free. This line from Isa 58 says that Jesus will do what the nation had failed to do. It makes the proclamation messianic, not merely prophetic, because Jesus doesn’t just proclaim the message – he brings the deliverance. The word translated set free is the same Greek word (ἄφεσις, afesi") translated release earlier in the verse.

[4:18]  ⁵¹ sn Again, as with the previous phrases, oppressed may well mean more than simply political or economic oppression, but a deeper reality of oppression by sin (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).

[9:1]  ⁵² tn Or “going along.” The opening words of chap. 9, καὶ παράγων (kai paragwn), convey only the vaguest indication of the circumstances.

[9:1]  sn Since there is no break with chap. 8, Jesus is presumably still in Jerusalem, and presumably not still in the temple area. The events of chap. 9 fall somewhere between the feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2) and the feast of the Dedication (John 10:22). But in the author’s narrative the connection exists – the incident recorded in chap. 9 (along with the ensuing debates with the Pharisees) serves as a real-life illustration of the claim Jesus made in 8:12, I am the light of the world. This is in fact the probable theological motivation behind the juxtaposition of these two incidents in the narrative. The second serves as an illustration of the first, and as a concrete example of the victory of light over darkness. One other thing which should be pointed out about the miracle recorded in chap. 9 is its messianic significance. In the OT it is God himself who is associated with the giving of sight to the blind (Exod 4:11, Ps 146:8). In a number of passages in Isa (29:18, 35:5, 42:7) it is considered to be a messianic activity.

[9:2]  ⁵³ tn Grk “asked him, saying.”

[9:2]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “this one.”

[9:2]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “in order that he should be born blind.”

[9:2]  sn The disciples assumed that sin (regardless of who committed it) was the cause of the man’s blindness. This was a common belief in Judaism; the rabbis used Ezek 18:20 to prove there was no death without sin, and Ps 89:33 to prove there was no punishment without guilt (the Babylonian Talmud, b. Shabbat 55a, although later than the NT, illustrates this). Thus in this case the sin must have been on the part of the man’s parents, or during his own prenatal existence. Song Rabbah 1:41 (another later rabbinic work) stated that when a pregnant woman worshiped in a heathen temple the unborn child also committed idolatry. This is only one example of how, in rabbinic Jewish thought, an unborn child was capable of sinning.

[9:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “this one.”

[9:3]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “but so that.” There is an ellipsis that must be supplied: “but [he was born blind] so that” or “but [it happened to him] so that.”

[9:3]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “deeds”; Grk “works.”

[9:3]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “manifested,” “brought to light.”

[9:3]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “in him.”

[9:4]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “We must work the works.”

[9:4]  ⁶² tn Or “of him who sent me” (God).

[9:4]  ⁶³ tn Or “while.”

[9:5]  ⁶⁴ sn Jesus’ statement I am the light of the world connects the present account with 8:12. Here (seen more clearly than at 8:12) it is obvious what the author sees as the significance of Jesus’ statement. “Light” is not a metaphysical definition of the person of Jesus but a description of his effect on the world, forcing everyone in the world to ‘choose up sides’ for or against him (cf. 3:19-21).

[9:6]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “said these things.”

[9:6]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “clay” (moistened earth of a clay-like consistency). The textual variant preserved in the Syriac text of Ephraem’s commentary on the Diatessaron (“he made eyes from his clay”) probably arose from the interpretation given by Irenaeus in Against Heresies: “that which the Artificer, the Word, had omitted to form in the womb, he then supplied in public.” This involves taking the clay as an allusion to Gen 2:7, which is very unlikely.

[9:6]  ⁶⁷ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) was replaced by a third person pronoun and a new sentence started here in the translation.

[9:6]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “on his.”

[9:7]  ⁶⁹ tn The pool’s name in Hebrew is shiloah from the Hebrew verb “to send.” In Gen 49:10 the somewhat obscure shiloh was interpreted messianically by later Jewish tradition, and some have seen a lexical connection between the two names (although this is somewhat dubious). It is known, however, that it was from the pool of Siloam that the water which was poured out at the altar during the feast of Tabernacles was drawn.

[9:7]  ⁷⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Why does he comment on the meaning of the name of the pool? Here, the significance is that the Father sent the Son, and the Son sent the man born blind. The name of the pool is applicable to the man, but also to Jesus himself, who was sent from heaven.

[9:7]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “So he”; the referent (the blind man) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:39]  ⁷² tn Grk “And Jesus.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[9:39]  ⁷³ tc ‡ Some early and important witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ א* W b sa^ms ac² mf) lack the words, “He said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him. Jesus said,” (vv. 38-39a). This is weighty evidence for the omission of these words. It is difficult to overstate the value of Ì⁷⁵ here, since it is the only currently available papyrus ms extant for the text of John 9:38-39. Further, א is an important and early Alexandrian witness for the omission. The versional testimony and codex W also give strong support to the omission. Nearly all other mss, however, include these words. The omission may have been occasioned by parablepsis (both vv. 37 and 39 begin with “Jesus said to him”), though it is difficult to account for such an error across such a wide variety of witnesses. On the other hand, the longer reading appears to be motivated by liturgical concerns (so R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:375), since the verb προσκυνέω (proskunew, “I worship”) is used in John 4:20-25 of worshiping God, and again with the same sense in 12:20. If these words were authentic here, this would be the only place in John’s Gospel where Jesus is the explicit object of προσκυνέω. Even if these words are not authentic, such an omission would nevertheless hardly diminish John’s high Christology (cf. 1:1; 5:18-23; 14:6-10; 20:28), nor the implicit worship of him by Thomas (20:28). Nevertheless, a decision is difficult, and the included words may reflect a very early tradition about the blind man’s response to Jesus.

[9:39]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “that those who do not see may see.”

[11:37]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “who opened the eyes of the blind man” (“opening the eyes” is an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[11:37]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “this one”; the second half of 11:37 reads Grk “Could not this one who opened the eyes of the blind have done something to keep this one from dying?” In the Greek text the repetition of “this one” in 11:37b referring to two different persons (first Jesus, second Lazarus) could confuse a modern reader. Thus the first reference, to Jesus, has been translated as “he” to refer back to the beginning of v. 37, where the reference to “the man who caused the blind man to see” is clearly a reference to Jesus. The second reference, to Lazarus, has been specified (“Lazarus”) in the translation for clarity.

[9:17]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “and placing his hands on Saul, he said.” The participle ἐπιθείς (epiqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. For the same reason καί (kai) has not been translated before the participle.

[9:17]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “on him”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:17]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “on the road in which you came,” but the relative clause makes for awkward English style, so it was translated as a temporal clause (“as you came here”).

[9:17]  ⁸⁰ sn Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Here someone who is not an apostle (Ananias) commissions another person with the Spirit.

[9:18]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “And immediately.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[9:18]  ⁸² tn The comparison to “scales” suggests a crusty covering which peeled away (cf. BDAG 592 s.v. λεπίς 2).

[9:18]  ⁸³ tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence was started, with “and” placed before the final element of the previous clause as required by English style.

[26:18]  ⁸⁴ sn To open their eyes so that they turn… Here is Luke’s most comprehensive report of Paul’s divine calling. His role was to call humanity to change their position before God and experience God’s forgiveness as a part of God’s family. The image of turning is a key one in the NT: Luke 1:79; Rom 2:19; 13:12; 2 Cor 4:6; 6:14; Eph 5:8; Col 1:12; 1 Thess 5:5. See also Luke 1:77-79; 3:3; 24:47.

[26:18]  ⁸⁵ tn BDAG 352-53 s.v. ἐξουσία 2 states, “Also of Satan’s power Ac 26:18.” It is also possible to translate this “the domain of Satan” (cf. BDAG 353 s.v. 6)

[26:18]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “and an inheritance.”

[1:17]  ⁸⁷ tn The words “I pray” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify the meaning; v. 17 is a subordinate clause to v. 16 (“I pray” in v. 17 is implied from v. 16). Eph 1:15-23 constitutes one sentence in Greek, but a new sentence was started here in the translation in light of contemporary English usage.

[1:17]  ⁸⁸ tn Or “glorious Father.” The genitive phrase “of glory” is most likely an attributive genitive. The literal translation “Father of glory” has been retained because of the parallelism with the first line of the verse: “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.”

[1:17]  ⁸⁹ tn Or “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” or “a spirit of wisdom and revelation.” Verse 17 involves a complex exegetical problem revolving around the Greek term πνεῦμα (pneuma). Some take it to mean “the Spirit,” others “a spirit,” and still others “spiritual.” (1) If “the Spirit” is meant, the idea must be a metonymy of cause for effect, because the author had just indicated in vv. 13-14 that the Spirit was already given (hence, there is no need for him to pray that he be given again). But the effect of the Spirit is wisdom and revelation. (2) If “a spirit” is meant, the idea may be that the readers will have the ability to gain wisdom and insight as they read Paul’s letters, but the exact meaning of “a spirit” remains ambiguous. (3) To take the genitives following πνεῦμα as attributed genitives (see ExSyn 89-91), in which the head noun (“S/spirit”) functions semantically like an adjective (“spiritual”) is both grammatically probable and exegetically consistent.

[1:17]  ⁹⁰ tn Grk “in the knowledge of him.”

[1:17]  sn The point of the knowledge of him has nothing to do with what God knows, but with what believers are to know (hence, “your…knowledge”). Further, the author’s prayer is that this knowledge of God would increase, not simply be initiated, since he is writing to believers who already know God (hence, “your growing knowledge of him”).

[1:18]  ⁹¹ tc ‡ Most witnesses, especially of the Byzantine and Western texttypes, though with a few important Alexandrian witnesses (א A D F G Ψ 0278 Ï latt sy), add ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) after καρδίας (kardias, “heart”), though it is clearly implied in the shorter (Alexandrian) reading (found in Ì⁴⁶ B 6 33 1175 1739 1881 pc). The longer reading thus looks to be a clarifying gloss, as is frequently found in the Byzantine and Western traditions. The translation above also uses “your” because of English requirements, not because of textual basis.

[1:18]  tn Grk “the.”

[1:18]  ⁹² tn The perfect participle πεφωτισμένους (pefwtismenou") may either be part of the prayer (“that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened”) or part of the basis of the prayer (“since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened”). Although the participle follows the ἵνα (Jina) of v. 17, it is awkward grammatically in the clause. Further, perfect adverbial participles are usually causal in NT Greek. Finally, the context both here and throughout Ephesians seems to emphasize the motif of light as a property belonging to believers. Thus, it seems that the author is saying, “I know that you are saved, that you have had the blinders of the devil removed; because of this, I can now pray that you will fully understand and see the light of God’s glorious revelation.” Hence, the translation takes the participle to form a part of the basis for the prayer.

[1:18]  ⁹³ tn Or “the hope to which he has called you.”

[1:18]  sn The hope of his calling. The translation is more formally equivalent for this and the following two phrases, because of the apparently intentional literary force of the original. There is a natural cadence to the three genitive expressions (hope of his calling, wealth of his glorious inheritance, and extraordinary greatness of his power). The essence of the prayer is seen here. Paraphrased it reads as follows: “Since you are enlightened by God’s Spirit, I pray that you may comprehend the hope to which he has called you, the spiritual riches that await the saints in glory, and the spiritual power that is available to the saints now.” Thus, the prayer focuses on all three temporal aspects of our salvation as these are embedded in the genitives – the past (calling), the future (inheritance), and the present (power toward us who believe).

[1:18]  ⁹⁴ tn Grk “of the glory of his inheritance.” Here “inheritance” is taken as an attributed genitive and the head noun, “glory,” is thus translated as an adjective, “glorious inheritance.”

[5:14]  ⁹⁵ sn The following passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.

[5:14]  ⁹⁶ tn Grk “Rise up.”

[5:14]  ⁹⁷ tn The articular nominative participle ὁ καθεύδων (Jo kaqeudwn) is probably functioning as a nominative for vocative. Thus, it has been translated as “O sleeper.”

[5:14]  ⁹⁸ sn A composite quotation, possibly from Isa 26:19, 51:17, 52:1, and 60:1.