Ephesians 4:8

Wherefore he saith (dio legei). As a confirmation of what Paul has said. No subject is expressed in the Greek and commentators argue whether it should be o qeo (God) or h graph (Scripture). But it comes to God after all. See Acts 2:17 . The quotation is from Psalms 68:18 , a Messianic Psalm of victory which Paul adapts and interprets for Christ's triumph over death. He led captivity captive (hcmalwteusen aicmalwsian). Cognate accusative of aicmalwsian, late word, in N.T. only here and Revelation 13:10 . The verb also (aicmalwteuw) is from the old word aicmalwto, captive in war (in N.T. only in Luke 4:18 ), in LXX and only here in N.T.