Roma 2:15

2:15 They ¹  show that the work of the law is written ²  in their hearts, as their conscience bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or else defend ³  them, ⁴ 

Roma 9:1

Israel’s Rejection Considered

9:1 ⁵ I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me ⁶  in the Holy Spirit –

[2:15]  ¹ tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:15]  ² tn Grk “show the work of the law [to be] written,” with the words in brackets implied by the Greek construction.

[2:15]  ³ tn Or “excuse.”

[2:15]  ⁴ tn Grk “their conscience bearing witness and between the thoughts accusing or also defending one another.”

[9:1]  ⁵ sn Rom 9:1–11:36. These three chapters are among the most difficult and disputed in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. One area of difficulty is the relationship between Israel and the church, especially concerning the nature and extent of Israel’s election. Many different models have been constructed to express this relationship. For a representative survey, see M. Barth, The People of God (JSNTSup), 22-27. The literary genre of these three chapters has been frequently identified as a diatribe, a philosophical discussion or conversation evolved by the Cynic and Stoic schools of philosophy as a means of popularizing their ideas (E. Käsemann, Romans, 261 and 267). But other recent scholars have challenged the idea that Rom 9–11 is characterized by diatribe. Scholars like R. Scroggs and E. E. Ellis have instead identified the material in question as midrash. For a summary and discussion of the rabbinic connections, see W. R. Stegner, “Romans 9.6-29 – A Midrash,” JSNT 22 (1984): 37-52.

[9:1]  ⁶ tn Or “my conscience bears witness to me.”