1:4a

and: Some languages may see Jesus’ status as God’s Son to contrast with his status as a human. For example:

But (New Century Version)

who…was declared with power to be the Son of God: There are two issues here:

Issue 1: Interpretation

There are three ways to interpret the Greek word that the Revised Standard Version translates as was declared :

(1) Here this word means appoint or designate. As his Son, God appointed Jesus to a new position of power and authority as Savior, Lord, and Judge. For example:

was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power (NET Bible)

(Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version (2011), NET Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition, New Century Version)

(2) Here this word means declare. God made known to others who Jesus already was. For example:

who was declared the Son of God with power (New American Standard Bible)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, King James Version, Revised English Bible, God’s Word)

(3) Here this word means show clearly or prove. God showed to others by some action who Jesus already was. For example:

he was shown with great power to be the Son of God (Good News Translation)

(Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004))

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because the verb means “set limits” and the figurative use from that is “appoint.” The verb does not refer to a speech act such as “declare” or an act of proving something.

Issue 2: Connection of with power

There are several ways to interpret how the words with power connect to the rest of the sentence:

(1) It connects to the words the Son of God. At the resurrection the Son of God had new power. For example:

was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power (NET Bible)

(Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version (2011), New American Standard Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition, English Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, King James Version, New Century Version)

(2) It connects to the Greek verb that means was declared. It indicates that God powerfully designated Jesus to be the Son of God. For example:

was declared with power to be the Son of God (New International Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Translation, God’s Word)

(3) It connects to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit worked powerfully when God designated Jesus to be the Son of God. For example:

he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit (New Living Translation (2004))

(New Living Translation (2004))

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because it is the most natural connection in the Greek. Here are other ways to translate this phrase according to interpretation (1):

who was appointed the Son of God in ⌊a new and⌋ powerful way
-or-
was established as the empowered Son of God

was declared: This verb has the same subject as 1:3b: “the one” in the Greek. This clause indicates a second thing about the Son of God (1:3a). In some languages the subject must be repeated here. For example, the Berean Standard Bible supplies the word “who” at the beginning of 1:4a. This clause is also passive. Some languages must use an active clause here. For example:

⌊God⌋ designated/appointed him

the Son of God: Here the phrase the Son of God refers to the same person as “his Son” in 1:3a. For example:

God’s Son/Child
-or-
God’s ⌊divine/heavenly⌋ Son

If you need to, see the note on “his Son” at 1:3 for more explanation.

through: There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as through here:

(1) It means according to or with regard to here. For example:

according to (Revised Standard Version)

(Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, King James Version, NET Bible, Revised English Bible, God’s Word)

(2) It means through or by means of here. For example:

through the Spirit of holiness (New International Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New Living Translation (2004), New American Bible, Revised Edition, New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) because the sense of meaning given in interpretation (2) is extremely rare and the context is not correct for it here. Here are other ways to translate the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as through :

as to (Good News Translation)
-or-
with reference to
-or-
in terms of (New Jerusalem Bible)

The same phrase “according to” is used in 1:3b. If possible, translate “according to” the same in both places.

the Spirit of holiness: There are four ways to interpret the phrase the Spirit of holiness here:

(1) Here the word Spirit refers to God’s Spirit (the Holy Spirit), and the words of holiness indicates that he causes believers to be holy (or caused Jesus to be holy while he was on earth). For example:

the Spirit of holiness (Revised Standard Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, New Century Version)

(2) Here the word Spirit refers to God’s Spirit, and the words of holiness indicates that he is holy. For example:

the Holy Spirit (NET Bible)

(NET Bible, Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004))

(3) Here the word Spirit indicates that Jesus is God and the words of holiness indicates that Jesus is holy. For example:

his divine holiness (Good News Translation)

(Good News Translation)

(4) Here the word Spirit refers to Jesus’ own human spirit, and the words of holiness indicates that his spirit is characterized by holiness. For example:

the spirit of holiness (New Revised Standard Version)

(New Revised Standard Version, God’s Word, New American Bible, Revised Edition, King James Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because the Greek word translated of holiness here is not the normal word used in the phrase “Holy Spirit.” Something more than the normal meaning of “Holy Spirit” seems indicated here.

the Spirit: Here the word Spirit refers to the Spirit of God, usually called the Holy Spirit. Use the same word for Spirit as you have in other books where you have translated “Holy Spirit” (for example: Matthew 1:18, Mark 1:8, Luke 1:15, or John 1:33).

of: The word of here can indicate that:

(1) The Spirit causes believers to be holy.

(2) The Spirit is characterized by holiness.

Here the Greek language allows either interpretation, as does the English word of. If possible translate in a way that allows either interpretation. But if you must choose, choose interpretation (1). For example:

he/who produces
-or-
he/who causes

holiness: Here the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as holiness refers to living a good, morally pure life and being free from sin. The Holy Spirit causes believers to live this kind of life. Here are other ways to translate it:

be set apart ⌊from sin⌋
-or-

⌊spiritual⌋ purity
-or-
moral integrity ⌊in us⌋
-or-

⌊us to⌋ depart from evil

1:4b

by: Here the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as by is literally “from.” Here it probably indicates that God raising Jesus from the dead was the way that God appointed him as the powerful Son of God. Here are other ways to translate this word:

through
-or-
by means of

It is also possible that “from” means “when” or “because” here. But by seems most likely.

His resurrection from the dead: The Berean Standard Bible adds the word His here. It is implied from the context. God made Jesus alive again after he was dead. He raised Jesus back to life out from among those who are dead. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

he was raised from death (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
raising ⌊him⌋ from ⌊the⌋ dead
-or-
causing ⌊him⌋ to live again after he had died

When God caused Jesus to live again, he had the same identity that he had before he died. The same thing is true for this word in the Bible when referring to other people. The Greek word “anastasis ” and the English word resurrection do not imply that a person will live again as a different person or as an animal.

from the dead: The word from here indicates that God makes a dead person alive and takes him away from the place where the spirits of dead people live. For example:

out of ⌊the realm of the⌋ dead

Also see the examples above.

1:4c

This phrase names who the “Son of God” (1:4a) is. In the Greek and the Berean Standard Bible the sentence continues from 1:4b. In some languages, making that connection explicit here would be more natural or more clear. For example:

⌊the Son of God is⌋ Jesus Christ our Lord

In the Greek and the Berean Standard Bible, the sentence continues from 1:4b. In some languages beginning a new sentence would be more natural or more clear. For example:

⌊He is⌋ Jesus Christ our Lord

Jesus Christ our Lord: In some languages it may be more natural to use a different order for the words here. For example:

our Lord Jesus Christ (Good News Translation)
-or-
the Messiah Jesus, he/who is our Lord

Jesus Christ: Remember that Christ is a title, not Jesus’ last name. See how you translated Christ in 1:1.

our Lord: By using the word our, Paul indicated a relationship between Jesus and Paul as well as those who believe in him.

Lord: This word refers to someone who has authority over people. Here it indicates that Jesus has authority over believers. Here are other ways to translate this word:

Chief/Leader
-or-
the Sovereign

General Comment on 1:3a–4d

Some English versions move 1:4c, “Jesus Christ our Lord” to directly after 1:3a, “concerning his Son.” They do this in order to clearly connect his name and title to the phrase “his Son.” Consider where the best place is to put 1:4c in your language. For example:

3 It is about his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ : as to his humanity, he was born a descendant of David; 4 as to his divine holiness, he was shown with great power to be the Son of God by being raised from death. (Good News Translation)
-or-

3-4 The Good News is about God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. As a man, he was born from the family of David. But through the Spirit of holiness he was appointed to be God’s Son with great power by rising from the dead. (New Century Version)

If you move 1:4c to after 1:3a, then combine the verse numbering to 3-4.

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