Roma 4:7-8

4:7 “Blessed ¹  are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;

4:8 blessed is the one ²  against whom the Lord will never count ³  sin.” ⁴ 

Roma 5:1

The Expectation of Justification

5:1 ⁵ Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have ⁶  peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Roma 7:17

7:17 But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me.

Roma 7:20

7:20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me.

Yesaya 54:17

54:17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;

you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you. ⁷ 

This is what the Lord will do for his servants –

I will vindicate them,” ⁸ 

says the Lord.

Yohanes 3:18-19

3:18 The one who believes in him is not condemned. ⁹  The one who does not believe has been condemned ¹⁰  already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only ¹¹  Son of God. 3:19 Now this is the basis for judging: ¹²  that the light has come into the world and people ¹³  loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.

Yohanes 5:24

5:24 “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁴  the one who hears ¹⁵  my message ¹⁶  and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, ¹⁷  but has crossed over from death to life.

Galatia 3:13

3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming ¹⁸  a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”) ¹⁹ 

[4:7]  ¹ tn Or “Happy.”

[4:8]  ² tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[4:8]  ³ tn The verb translated “count” here is λογίζομαι (logizomai). It occurs eight times in Rom 4:1-12, including here, each time with the sense of “place on someone’s account.” By itself the word is neutral, but in particular contexts it can take on a positive or negative connotation. The other occurrences of the verb have been translated using a form of the English verb “credit” because they refer to a positive event: the application of righteousness to the individual believer. The use here in v. 8 is negative: the application of sin. A form of the verb “credit” was not used here because of the positive connotations associated with that English word, but it is important to recognize that the same concept is used here as in the other occurrences.

[4:8]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 32:1-2.

[5:1]  ⁵ sn Many interpreters see Rom 5:1 as beginning the second major division of the letter.

[5:1]  ⁶ tc A number of important witnesses have the subjunctive ἔχωμεν (ecwmen, “let us have”) instead of ἔχομεν (ecomen, “we have”) in v. 1. Included in the subjunctive’s support are א* A B* C D K L 33 81 630 1175 1739* pm lat bo. But the indicative is not without its supporters: א¹ B² F G P Ψ 0220^vid 104 365 1241 1505 1506 1739^c 1881 2464 pm. If the problem were to be solved on an external basis only, the subjunctive would be preferred. Because of this, the “A” rating on behalf of the indicative in the UBS⁴ appears overly confident. Nevertheless, the indicative is probably correct. First, the earliest witness to Rom 5:1 has the indicative (0220^vid, third century). Second, the first set of correctors is sometimes, if not often, of equal importance with the original hand. Hence, א¹ might be given equal value with א*. Third, there is a good cross-section of witnesses for the indicative: Alexandrian (in 0220^vid, probably א¹ 1241 1506 1881 al), Western (in F G), and Byzantine (noted in NA²⁷ as pm). Thus, although the external evidence is strongly in favor of the subjunctive, the indicative is represented well enough that its ancestry could easily go back to the original. Turning to the internal evidence, the indicative gains much ground. (1) The variant may have been produced via an error of hearing (since omicron and omega were pronounced alike in ancient Greek). This, of course, does not indicate which reading was original – just that an error of hearing may have produced one of them. In light of the indecisiveness of the transcriptional evidence, intrinsic evidence could play a much larger role. This is indeed the case here. (2) The indicative fits well with the overall argument of the book to this point. Up until now, Paul has been establishing the “indicatives of the faith.” There is only one imperative (used rhetorically) and only one hortatory subjunctive (and this in a quotation within a diatribe) up till this point, while from ch. 6 on there are sixty-one imperatives and seven hortatory subjunctives. Clearly, an exhortation would be out of place in ch. 5. (3) Paul presupposes that the audience has peace with God (via reconciliation) in 5:10. This seems to assume the indicative in v. 1. (4) As C. E. B. Cranfield notes, “it would surely be strange for Paul, in such a carefully argued writing as this, to exhort his readers to enjoy or to guard a peace which he has not yet explicitly shown to be possessed by them” (Romans [ICC], 1:257). (5) The notion that εἰρήνην ἔχωμεν (eirhnhn ecwmen) can even naturally mean “enjoy peace” is problematic (ExSyn 464), yet those who embrace the subjunctive have to give the verb some such force. Thus, although the external evidence is stronger in support of the subjunctive, the internal evidence points to the indicative. Although a decision is difficult, ἔχομεν appears to be the authentic reading.

[54:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “and every tongue that rises up for judgment with you will prove to be guilty.”

[54:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “this is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication from me.”

[3:18]  ⁹ tn Grk “judged.”

[3:18]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “judged.”

[3:18]  ¹¹ tn See the note on the term “one and only” in 3:16.

[3:19]  ¹² tn Or “this is the reason for God judging,” or “this is how judgment works.”

[3:19]  ¹³ tn Grk “and men,” but in a generic sense, referring to people of both genders (as “everyone” in v. 20 makes clear).

[5:24]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[5:24]  ¹⁵ tn Or “obeys.”

[5:24]  ¹⁶ tn Or “word.”

[5:24]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “and does not come into judgment.”

[3:13]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “having become”; the participle γενόμενος (genomenos) has been taken instrumentally.

[3:13]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Deut 21:23. By figurative extension the Greek word translated tree (ζύλον, zulon) can also be used to refer to a cross (L&N 6.28), the Roman instrument of execution.