Deuteronomy 7:7-8
New English Translation
The Basis of Israel’s Election
7 It is not because you were more numerous than all the other peoples that the Lord favored and chose you—for in fact you were the least numerous of all peoples. 8 Rather it is because of his[a] love[b] for you and his faithfulness to the promise[c] he solemnly vowed[d] to your ancestors[e] that the Lord brought you out with great power,[f] redeeming[g] you from the place of slavery, from the power[h] of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
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- Deuteronomy 7:8 tn Heb “the Lord’s.” See note on “He” in 7:6.
- Deuteronomy 7:8 tn For the verb אָהֵב (ʾahev, “to love”) as a term of choice or election, see note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.
- Deuteronomy 7:8 tn Heb “oath.” This is a reference to the promises of the so-called “Abrahamic Covenant” (cf. Gen 15:13-16).
- Deuteronomy 7:8 tn Heb “swore on oath.”
- Deuteronomy 7:8 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 12, 13).
- Deuteronomy 7:8 tn Heb “by a strong hand” (NAB similar); NLT “with such amazing power.”
- Deuteronomy 7:8 sn Redeeming you from the place of slavery. The Hebrew verb translated “redeeming” (from the root פָּדָה, padah) has the idea of redemption by the payment of a ransom. The initial symbol of this was the Passover lamb, offered by Israel to the Lord as ransom in exchange for deliverance from bondage and death (Exod 12:1-14). Later, the firstborn sons of Israel, represented by the Levites, became the ransom (Num 3:11-13). These were all types of the redemption effected by the death of Christ who described his atoning work as “a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28; cf. 1 Pet 1:18).
- Deuteronomy 7:8 tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NRSV), a metaphor for power or domination.
Deuteronomy 9:5-6
New English Translation
5 It is not because of your righteousness, or even your inner uprightness,[a] that you have come here to possess their land. Instead, because of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God is driving them out ahead of you in order to confirm the promise he[b] made on oath to your ancestors,[c] to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6 Understand, therefore, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is about to give you this good land as a possession, for you are a stubborn[d] people!
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- Deuteronomy 9:5 tn Heb “uprightness of your heart” (so NASB, NRSV). The Hebrew word צְדָקָה (tsedaqah, “righteousness”), though essentially synonymous here with יֹשֶׁר (yosher, “uprightness”), carries the idea of conformity to an objective standard. The term יֹשֶׁר has more to do with an inner, moral quality (cf. NAB, NIV “integrity”). Neither, however, was grounds for the Lord’s favor. As he states in both vv. 4-5, the main reason he allowed Israel to take this land was the sinfulness of the Canaanites who lived there (cf. Gen 15:16).
- Deuteronomy 9:5 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.
- Deuteronomy 9:5 tn Heb “fathers.”
- Deuteronomy 9:6 tn Heb “stiff-necked” (so KJV, NAB, NIV).sn The Hebrew word translated stubborn means “stiff-necked.” The image is that of a draft animal that is unsubmissive to the rein or yoke and refuses to bend its neck to draw the load. This is an apt description of OT Israel (Exod 32:9; 33:3, 5; 34:9; Deut 9:13).
Ezekiel 36:22
New English Translation
22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake that I am about to act, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation,[a] which you profaned among the nations where you went.
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- Ezekiel 36:22 sn In Ezek 20:22 God refrained from punishment for the sake of his holy name. Here God’s reputation is the basis for Israel’s restoration.
Daniel 9:18
New English Translation
18 Listen attentively,[a] my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins[b] and the city called by your name.[c] For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you,[d] but because your compassion is abundant.
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- Daniel 9:18 tn Heb “turn your ear.”
- Daniel 9:18 tn Heb “desolations.” The term refers here to the ruined condition of Judah’s towns.
- Daniel 9:18 tn Heb “over which your name is called.” Cf. v. 19. This expression implies that God is the owner of his city, Jerusalem. Note the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1; Amos 9:12.
- Daniel 9:18 tn Heb “praying our supplications before you.”
Romans 9:16
New English Translation
16 So then,[a] it does not depend on human desire or exertion,[b] but on God who shows mercy.
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- Romans 9:16 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.
- Romans 9:16 tn Grk “So then, [it does] not [depend] on the one who desires nor on the one who runs.”
Ephesians 1:6
New English Translation
6 to the praise of the glory of his grace[a] that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son.[b]
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- Ephesians 1:6 tn Or “to the praise of his glorious grace.” Many translations translate δόξης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ (doxēs tēs charitos autou, literally “of the glory of his grace”) with τῆς χάριτος as an attributed genitive (cf., e.g., NIV, NRSV, ESV). The translation above has retained a literal rendering in order to make clear the relationship of this phrase to the other two similar phrases in v. 12 and 14, which affect the way one divides the material in the passage.
- Ephesians 1:6 tn Grk “the beloved.” The term ἠγαπημένῳ (ēgapēmenō) means “beloved,” but often bears connotations of “only beloved” in an exclusive sense. “His dearly loved Son” picks up this connotation.sn God’s grace can be poured out on believers only because of what Christ has done for them. Hence, he bestows his grace on us because we are in his dearly loved Son.
Ephesians 2:8-9
New English Translation
8 For by grace you are saved[a] through faith,[b] and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from[c] works, so that no one can boast.[d]
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- Ephesians 2:8 tn See note on the same expression in v. 5.
- Ephesians 2:8 tc The feminine article is found before πίστεως (pisteōs, “faith”) in the Byzantine text as well as in A Ψ 1241 1881 al. Perhaps for some scribes the article was intended to imply creedal fidelity as a necessary condition of salvation (“you are saved through the faith”), although elsewhere in the corpus Paulinum the phrase διὰ τῆς πίστεως (dia tēs pisteōs) is used for the act of believing rather than the content of faith (cf. Rom 3:30, 31; Gal 3:14; Eph 3:17; Col 2:12). On the other side, strong representatives of the Alexandrian and Western texts (א B D* F G P 0278 6 33 1175 1505 1739 al bo) lack the article. Without the article, the meaning of the text is most likely “saved through faith” as opposed to “saved through the faith.” On both internal and external grounds the anarthrous wording is preferred.
- Ephesians 2:9 tn Or “not as a result of.”
- Ephesians 2:9 tn Grk “lest anyone should boast.”
Ephesians 3:8
New English Translation
8 To me—less than the least of all the saints[a]—this grace was given,[b] to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ
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- Ephesians 3:8 sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.
- Ephesians 3:8 sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).
Titus 3:5
New English Translation
5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,
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