misery is detailed under these three heads : without, and strangers — and without God [a6eoi, atheists] : you were without Christ, with out the Holy Spirit, without God ; comp. ver. 18 and the follow ing verses ; ch. iii. 6, iv. 4, 5, notes. — ^upis X?/<rroD, without Christ) He proves this in the following clause, being alienated from (airri'hXoTpiuiJsivbi) ; nor does he say, aliens (aXXoY^/o/) : * comp. note at iv. 18. — rJfe xoXir&iag rou 'iffpafa, from the polity of Israel) The whole commonwealth of Israel had respect to Christ. — nal %svoi, and strangers) destitute of share in. — ruv diatiqxuv ryg ?<TayysX/a£, the covenants of promise) God, the gift of Christ being presupposed, had above all promised the Holy Spirit ; i. 13 ; Gal. iii. 14, note ; Luke xxiv. 49 ; Acts ii. ; and the covenants had been subservient to that promise, Rom. ix. 4. This clause is proved by the following, having no hope ; for if they had had a promise, they would have had the hope corre sponding to it ; but they had no hope ; and therefore they had not even a promise. — &6eoi, atheists) They had not come to the fixed opinion, that there were no gods ; for they had even Diana and Jupiter, Acts xix. 35 : but, so far were they from having the true God, 1 Thess. iv. 5, they were even ignorant of Him, who He was. He says first, you were out of [without] Christ ; afterwards he infers, you were ivithout God. — Iv r& HOC/AM, in the world) Paul proves the latter also, that they were without God ; and he does so on the ground, that they wandered in the world, which is wide (2 Cor. i. 12), and vain (Luke xii. 30 ; John i. 10, at the end), serving the creatures, enjoying the things, that perish, removed far off [from God].
13. Maxpav) far off from the people of God, and from God, ver. 17, note. — «/>ar/, by the blood) ch. i. 7.
14. Avrbs) He.2 We have here Emphasis.3 — % s/pqvq) peace, not merely, the peace-maker ; for at the cost of Himself He pro cured peace, and He Himself is the bond of both (Israel and the Gentiles). — 6) Apposition: Peace; He who hath made, etc. A remarkable saying, ver. 14-18. He imitates poetry [canti- cum, a song of joy] by the very tenor of the words, and almost
1 Engl. Vers. loses this point by its rendering, aliens from. — ED.
2 He alone and pre-eminently. — ED.
3 See App. An addition to the ordinary meaning of a word, with the power of increasing its force on either side.