Paragraph 20:32–35

20:32a

And now: Here the word now introduces a new topic. Here it is not a time word. Introduce this new topic in a way that is natural in your language.

I commit you to God: The word commit here means “to entrust someone to another person to care for him/her.” Paul would no longer be present to care for them, so he relied on God to care for the Ephesian church leaders. Other ways to translate this clause are:

I…place you in God’s care (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
I commend you to the care of God (Good News Translation)
-or-
I ask God to take care of you

See how you translated the word commit in 14:23, where the Berean Standard Bible translates it as “entrusted.”

and to the word of His grace: Paul also committed the church leaders to the word of His grace. This phrase indicates that Paul expected God to use the Scripture to guide and correct the believers at Ephesus. Paul would no longer be present to guide and correct them.

In some languages it is not possible to commit someone to Scripture. If that is true in your language, translate the correct meaning. For example:

and trust that the word of his grace ⌊will guide you⌋
-or-
and expect ⌊that God will use⌋ the word of his grace ⌊to help you⌋

the word of His grace: This phrase refers to the message about God’s grace. Here it probably refers to either the gospel about Jesus or all the Scriptures. God graciously made it possible for people to be reconciled to him, through believing in Jesus. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

the message of his grace (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
his message that tells how kind he is (God’s Word)
-or-
his word/message that tells us about his grace

See how you translated this phrase in 14:3 (“the message of His grace”).

grace: This word refers to being kind to those who may not deserve it. Jesus does things for people because he wants to and not because they earned it. Other ways to translate this word are:

kindness
-or-
help
-or-
favor

See how you translated this word in 15:11 or 20:24.

General Comment on 20:32a

It is not natural in some languages to say “I commit/entrust you…to the word of his grace.” Normally persons, not words or messages, care for other persons. But in the Bible, God and his word are very closely related. God cares for his people by means of using his word. As people obey God’s word, they will become strong and stable in their faith. You may want to:

• Allow the clause “I commit you to God” to explain how “commit” is meant. Do not explain how it is meant for “commit to the word of his grace.”

• Explain its use in your translation. For example:

I commit you to God and ⌊to his guiding you by using⌋ the word of his grace
-or-
I ask God to take care of you through the word/message about his grace

• Translate literally and explain its use in a footnote. Example footnotes are:

The word of God’s grace will guide their lives.
-or-
God will guide how they conduct themselves by using his gracious message.

20:32b–c

which can build you up and give you an inheritance: These words follow the Greek words which literally are “the word of the grace of him.” The Greek words here are literally “the (one) being able to build and to give the inheritance.” “The (one)” may connect to “him” or to “the word.”

God can enable his people to believe more strongly in him and also give them an inheritance. So the word which should probably be translated as “who.” For example:

who can build you up and give you an inheritance

But many English versions, perhaps following the King James Version, connect “the (one)” to “the word” and translate it as which here.

20:32b

which can build you up: This clause tells the reader more about the word/message about his grace. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that there are other messages of his grace and only this one can build believers up. If that is true in your language, translate this clause so that it tells more about God. One way to do that is to start a new sentence here. For example:

God can build you up

Also see note on 20:32b–c about the meaning of the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as which.

build you up: The phrase build…up is a literal translation of a Greek idiom. Both the English and the Greek mean “to make spiritually strong, stable, and mature.” God can make believers strong and mature in their faith. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

make you strong ⌊in your faith⌋
-or-
make you more mature ⌊in your walk with the Lord⌋
-or-
strengthen you to believe in him better

20:32c

give you: If you interpreted “which/who” as referring to God in 20:32b, you can translate the word give here as you normally do.

If you interpreted “which/who” as referring to “the word of his grace” in 20:32b, some languages need a different word than give here. For example:

causes you to get
-or-
enables/empowers you to receive

an inheritance: The word inheritance generally refers to possessions, especially land, which the children receive when their father dies. However, here it refers to all the good things that God will give to believers in the age to come. It would include being given incorruptible bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42–44) and living in New Jerusalem (Rev 21). Believers must wait for God to give these things just as children must wait to inherit earthly possessions.

If you have a word in your language for inheritance, you may want to use it even though there is a difference in meaning here.

If you do not have a word in your language for inheritance, translate in a way that refers to eternal rewards. It should not refer to things like money or land, or to God’s blessings to us in this world. For example:

eternal blessings that God has promised/prepared
-or-
what God has promised to give you in heaven
-or-
what God has prepared for you in heaven

This word with the same meaning as here occurs in Ephesians 1:14, Colossians 1:12, Hebrews 9:15, and 1 Peter 1:4.

among all who are sanctified: Here the word among means the inheritance is shared by all God’s people.

who are sanctified: The word sanctified means “to set (something) aside for use relating to religion.” So this phrase refers to people whom God has chosen for himself. They serve God rather than the world. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

those he has set apart for himself (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
all whom God has ⌊chosen and⌋ set apart/aside for his purposes
-or-
all whom God has selected to do what he desires
-or-
those who are consecrated to God (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

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