4:25a

He was delivered over: This clause further describes Jesus. It does not separate this Jesus from other Jesuses. This clause is also passive. Some languages must translate it as an active clause. For example:

God gave Jesus to die (Contemporary English Version)
-or-

⌊God⌋ ⌊put⌋ Jesus in the hands of ⌊killers⌋
-or-
God handed-Jesus -over to die

delivered over: This verb phrase indicates here that God put Jesus into the hands of certain people so that they would kill him. See the examples above.

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

(1) It means on account of here. Jesus died for the sake of doing something about our sins. This is the meaning of the English word for here.

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

(2) It means because of here. Jesus died because we sinned.

(Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word, NET Bible, New American Standard Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because it seems a better fit here.

trespasses: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as trespasses means “failures” or “errors.” Here it refers to failures to do as God says, implying that there will be consequences for those failures. It is similar in meaning to “sins,” but is more general. Here are other ways to translate trespasses :

offences (King James Version)
-or-
failures (God’s Word)
-or-
misdeeds (Revised English Bible)

In some languages one term is used for both “failures” and “sins.” If that is true in your language, use that term here.

4:25b

was raised: Some languages must translate the phrase was raised as an active clause. For example:

⌊whom he/God⌋ raised
-or-

⌊he/God⌋ raised

for: There are three ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for :

(1) It means on account of here. Jesus was raised to life for the sake of justifying us. This is the meaning of the English word for here.

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

(2) It means so that here. Jesus was raise for the purpose of justifying us.

(Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)

(3) It means because of here. Jesus was raised because we were justified.

(New American Standard Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Interpretation (2) is very similar in meaning to interpretation (1), but the Greek lexicons do not say that the Greek word introduces purpose. Interpretation (3) indicates an incorrect relationship between the two events.

our justification: The word justification indicates that God decides that a person is acceptable to him. When people believe that Jesus died for their sins, God forgives them, accepts them, and considers them as righteous. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

putting us right with God
-or-
making us right in his sight
-or-
receiving God’s approval
-or-
declaring us righteous

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