4:8

Paul used a quotation from Psalm 68:18 although the wording is a little different. He used this quotation to support what he had just said about Christ giving gifts. In this psalm, the writer described a Jewish king who had defeated his enemies and returned in victory. In a parade to celebrate his victory, he went up the hill to Mount Zion in Jerusalem. During the parade, he forced some of the enemy soldiers he had captured to follow along behind him and implied in this passage is that from the plunder he gave gifts to his followers/soldiers.

4:8a

This is why: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translated This is why indicates that Paul used the quote in 4:8b–c to support what he has just said in 4:7.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

This is supported by
-or-
Therefore (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
As (Contemporary English Version)

it says: The pronoun it here refers to the Scriptures. In some languages it is not natural to say that a book says. So you may want to translate this:

we read words in God’s Book like this
-or-
they/someone wrote in the Book of God”

4:8b

When He ascended on high: Psalm 68 describes how the victorious king went up Mount Zion (a hill in Jerusalem) followed by the enemies he had captured. Paul saw this as a picture of Christ ascending to heaven. Just as the king won a victory and then went up to a high place, so also Christ won a victory (over sin and death) and then went up to a high place (God’s right side in heaven).

Since this is a quotation from the Psalms, you should translate on high in 4:8b in a general way. In the Psalm, on high refers to Mount Zion, so do not translate it “to heaven” here. Also, the pronoun He in this quotation should not be translated “Christ” because Psalm 68 does not mention the word “Christ.”

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

When He went up to a high place
-or-
If He ascended going to a high place (Uma back translation)

4:8c

He led captives away: The phrase He led captives away means that the king brought many prisoners along with him.

captives: The word captives refers to enemies the king had captured in a battle. These enemies then became prisoners of the king.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

he led a crowd of captives (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
he led away many prisoners (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
He brought along behind him many prisoners

4:8d

and gave gifts to men: The verb gave here is different from the verb in the psalm which is “received gifts,” but the translator must of course translate what Paul wrote in this verse. The word gifts here refers to material gifts, so you should not translate it “special abilities,” but rather something general like:

good things
-or-
blessings

to men: In the context of this quotation, to men refers to the king’s followers. It does not refer to his enemies in 4:8c. It should be clear in your translation that the reference is not to his enemies here. For example:

and gave gifts to his people (New Living Translation (2004))

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