Section 3:1–13
God sent Paul to preach the good news to the non-Jews
In 3:1, Paul was about to pray for the Christians. Instead, in 3:2 he stopped his sentence and began to write about the special work that God had given him. It was not until 3:14 that Paul resumed his prayer.
The special work that God had given Paul was to preach God’s message to the Gentiles. The blessings of God are for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews, but God had hidden this great truth for a long time. Then God gave Paul the task of telling people about this truth. In this way, everyone would know that God was very wise and loving because he saved both Jews and Gentiles and united them into one church.
Here are some other titles for this section:
God’s mysterious plan revealed (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Paul’s work in telling the Good News (New Century Version)
-or-
God’s plan to unite Jews and Gentiles in Christ is revealed to Paul
Paragraph 3:1–6
3:1
In the Greek, 3:1 is an incomplete sentence. The Berean Standard Bible shows this with an ellipsis at the end of the verse. Paul’s intention in 3:1 was probably to say something like:
For this reason I, Paul…pray for you.
Paul did not complete the sentence here. Instead, he inserted 3:2–13 where he described his ministry. In 3:14 Paul continued the prayer he started in 3:1.
It is recommended that you make this a complete sentence by adding the words “pray to God.”
Here is a way to translate this:
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles, pray to God. (Good News Translation)
3:1a
For this reason: The phrase For this reason refers back to God’s grace towards the Gentiles in 2:11–22. Since God had blessed them so much, Paul began to pray that they would appreciate his grace.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
This is the reason… (God’s Word)
-or-
So… (New Century Version)
This phrase also occurred in 1:15a.
I, Paul: The words I, Paul are emphatic in the Greek. Paul began to talk about himself. Look for an expression in your language to show this emphasis.
3:1b
the prisoner of Christ Jesus: When Paul said that he was a prisoner of Christ Jesus, he meant that he was in prison “because he belonged to or served Jesus.” People who did not like him preaching about Jesus had put him in prison.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
who am imprisoned ⌊on account⌋ of ⌊my serving⌋ Christ Jesus
-or-
a prisoner ⌊because⌋ of ⌊my following⌋ Jesus Christ
Avoid translating in a way that could give the impression that Jesus had put him in prison, or that Jesus was keeping Paul in prison.
3:1c
for the sake of you Gentiles: Another reason Paul was in prison was because he had been preaching the gospel to the Gentiles.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
so that I could help you Gentiles (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
so that you Gentiles ⌊will believe in⌋ Christ Jesus
Gentiles: Here the word Gentiles refers to people who were not Jews.
See how you translated Gentiles in 2:11a. See Gentiles, Meaning 1, in the Glossary for more information.
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