Roma 3:7--4:11
Konteks3:7 For if by my lie the truth of God enhances 1 his glory, why am I still actually being judged as a sinner? 3:8 And why not say, “Let us do evil so that good may come of it”? – as some who slander us allege that we say. 2 (Their 3 condemnation is deserved!)
3:9 What then? Are we better off? Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin, 3:10 just as it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one,
3:11 there is no one who understands,
there is no one who seeks God.
3:12 All have turned away,
together they have become worthless;
there is no one who shows kindness, not even one.” 4
3:13 “Their throats are open graves, 5
they deceive with their tongues,
the poison of asps is under their lips.” 6
3:14 “Their mouths are 7 full of cursing and bitterness.” 8
3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
3:16 ruin and misery are in their paths,
3:17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 9
3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 10
3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under 11 the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 3:20 For no one is declared righteous before him 12 by the works of the law, 13 for through the law comes 14 the knowledge of sin. 3:21 But now 15 apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) 16 has been disclosed – 3:22 namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ 17 for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 3:24 But they are justified 18 freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 3:25 God publicly displayed 19 him 20 at his death 21 as the mercy seat 22 accessible through faith. 23 This was to demonstrate 24 his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed. 25 3:26 This was 26 also to demonstrate 27 his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just 28 and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness. 29
3:27 Where, then, is boasting? 30 It is excluded! By what principle? 31 Of works? No, but by the principle of faith! 3:28 For we consider that a person 32 is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law. 33 3:29 Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles too? Yes, of the Gentiles too! 3:30 Since God is one, 34 he will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 3:31 Do we then nullify 35 the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead 36 we uphold the law.
4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, 37 has discovered regarding this matter? 38 4:2 For if Abraham was declared righteous 39 by the works of the law, he has something to boast about – but not before God. 4:3 For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited 40 to him as righteousness.” 41 4:4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation. 42 4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, 43 his faith is credited as righteousness.
4:6 So even David himself speaks regarding the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
4:7 “Blessed 44 are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;
4:8 blessed is the one 45 against whom the Lord will never count 46 sin.” 47
4:9 Is this blessedness 48 then for 49 the circumcision 50 or also for 51 the uncircumcision? For we say, “faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” 52 4:10 How then was it credited to him? Was he circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised! 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, 53 so that he would become 54 the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, 55 that they too could have righteousness credited to them.
Roma 11:1-36
Konteks11:1 So I ask, God has not rejected his people, has he? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 11:2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew! Do you not know what the scripture says about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 11:3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars; I alone am left and they are seeking my life!” 56 11:4 But what was the divine response 57 to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand people 58 who have not bent the knee to Baal.” 59
11:5 So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 11:6 And if it is by grace, it is no longer by works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace. 11:7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was diligently seeking, but the elect obtained it. The 60 rest were hardened, 11:8 as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear,
to this very day.” 61
11:9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
11:10 let their eyes be darkened so that they may not see,
and make their backs bend continually.” 62
11:11 I ask then, they did not stumble into an irrevocable fall, 63 did they? Absolutely not! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel 64 jealous. 11:12 Now if their transgression means riches for the world and their defeat means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full restoration 65 bring?
11:13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 11:14 if somehow I could provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them. 11:15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 11:16 If the first portion 66 of the dough offered is holy, then the whole batch is holy, and if the root is holy, so too are the branches. 67
11:17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in 68 the richness of the olive root, 11:18 do not boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 11:19 Then you will say, “The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 11:20 Granted! 69 They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear! 11:21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you. 11:22 Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God – harshness toward those who have fallen, but 70 God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; 71 otherwise you also will be cut off. 11:23 And even they – if they do not continue in their unbelief – will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 11:24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree?
11:25 For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, 72 so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel 73 until the full number 74 of the Gentiles has come in. 11:26 And so 75 all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion;
he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.
11:27 And this is my covenant with them, 76
when I take away their sins.” 77
11:28 In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers. 11:29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. 11:30 Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience, 11:31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now 78 receive mercy. 11:32 For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all. 79
11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!
11:34 For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor? 80
11:35 Or who has first given to God, 81
that God 82 needs to repay him? 83
11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.
[3:7] 1 tn Grk “abounded unto.”
[3:8] 2 tn Grk “(as we are slandered and some affirm that we say…).”
[3:8] 3 tn Grk “whose.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, this relative clause was rendered as a new sentence in the translation.
[3:12] 4 sn Verses 10-12 are a quotation from Ps 14:1-3.
[3:13] 5 tn Grk “their throat is an opened grave.”
[3:13] 6 sn A quotation from Pss 5:9; 140:3.
[3:14] 7 tn Grk “whose mouth is.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[3:14] 8 sn A quotation from Ps 10:7.
[3:17] 9 sn Rom 3:15-17 is a quotation from Isa 59:7-8.
[3:18] 10 sn A quotation from Ps 36:1.
[3:19] 11 tn Grk “in,” “in connection with.”
[3:20] 12 sn An allusion to Ps 143:2.
[3:20] 13 tn Grk “because by the works of the law no flesh is justified before him.” Some recent scholars have understood the phrase ἒργα νόμου (erga nomou, “works of the law”) to refer not to obedience to the Mosaic law generally, but specifically to portions of the law that pertain to things like circumcision and dietary laws which set the Jewish people apart from the other nations (e.g., J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC], 1:155). Other interpreters, like C. E. B. Cranfield (“‘The Works of the Law’ in the Epistle to the Romans,” JSNT 43 [1991]: 89-101) reject this narrow interpretation for a number of reasons, among which the most important are: (1) The second half of v. 20, “for through the law comes the knowledge of sin,” is hard to explain if the phrase “works of the law” is understood in a restricted sense; (2) the plural phrase “works of the law” would have to be understood in a different sense from the singular phrase “the work of the law” in 2:15; (3) similar phrases involving the law in Romans (2:13, 14; 2:25, 26, 27; 7:25; 8:4; and 13:8) which are naturally related to the phrase “works of the law” cannot be taken to refer to circumcision (in fact, in 2:25 circumcision is explicitly contrasted with keeping the law). Those interpreters who reject the “narrow” interpretation of “works of the law” understand the phrase to refer to obedience to the Mosaic law in general.
[3:21] 15 tn Νυνὶ δέ (Nuni de, “But now”) could be understood as either (1) logical or (2) temporal in force, but most recent interpreters take it as temporal, referring to a new phase in salvation history.
[3:21] 16 tn Grk “being witnessed by the law and the prophets,” a remark which is virtually parenthetical to Paul’s argument.
[3:22] 17 tn Or “faith in Christ.” A decision is difficult here. Though traditionally translated “faith in Jesus Christ,” an increasing number of NT scholars are arguing that πίστις Χριστοῦ (pisti" Cristou) and similar phrases in Paul (here and in v. 26; Gal 2:16, 20; 3:22; Eph 3:12; Phil 3:9) involve a subjective genitive and mean “Christ’s faith” or “Christ’s faithfulness” (cf., e.g., G. Howard, “The ‘Faith of Christ’,” ExpTim 85 [1974]: 212-15; R. B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ [SBLDS]; Morna D. Hooker, “Πίστις Χριστοῦ,” NTS 35 [1989]: 321-42). Noteworthy among the arguments for the subjective genitive view is that when πίστις takes a personal genitive it is almost never an objective genitive (cf. Matt 9:2, 22, 29; Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; Luke 5:20; 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom 1:8; 12; 3:3; 4:5, 12, 16; 1 Cor 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:17; Col 1:4; 2:5; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:2, 5, 10; 2 Thess 1:3; Titus 1:1; Phlm 6; 1 Pet 1:9, 21; 2 Pet 1:5). On the other hand, the objective genitive view has its adherents: A. Hultgren, “The Pistis Christou Formulations in Paul,” NovT 22 (1980): 248-63; J. D. G. Dunn, “Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ,” SBL Seminar Papers, 1991, 730-44. Most commentaries on Romans and Galatians usually side with the objective view.
[3:22] sn ExSyn 116, which notes that the grammar is not decisive, nevertheless suggests that “the faith/faithfulness of Christ is not a denial of faith in Christ as a Pauline concept (for the idea is expressed in many of the same contexts, only with the verb πιστεύω rather than the noun), but implies that the object of faith is a worthy object, for he himself is faithful.” Though Paul elsewhere teaches justification by faith, this presupposes that the object of our faith is reliable and worthy of such faith.
[3:24] 18 tn Or “declared righteous.” Grk “being justified,” as a continuation of the preceding clause. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[3:25] 19 tn Or “purposed, intended.”
[3:25] 20 tn Grk “whom God publicly displayed.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[3:25] 21 tn Grk “in his blood.” The prepositional phrase ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι (ejn tw aujtou {aimati) is difficult to interpret. It is traditionally understood to refer to the atoning sacrifice Jesus made when he shed his blood on the cross, and as a modifier of ἱλαστήριον (Jilasthrion). This interpretation fits if ἱλαστήριον is taken to refer to a sacrifice. But if ἱλαστήριον is taken to refer to the place where atonement is made as this translation has done (see note on the phrase “mercy seat”), this interpretation of ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι creates a violent mixed metaphor. Within a few words Paul would switch from referring to Jesus as the place where atonement was made to referring to Jesus as the atoning sacrifice itself. A viable option which resolves this problem is to see ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι as modifying the verb προέθετο (proeqeto). If it modifies the verb, it would explain the time or place in which God publicly displayed Jesus as the mercy seat; the reference to blood would be a metaphorical way of speaking of Jesus’ death. This is supported by the placement of ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι in the Greek text (it follows the noun, separated from it by another prepositional phrase) and by stylistic parallels with Rom 1:4. This is the interpretation the translation has followed, although it is recognized that many interpreters favor different options and translations. The prepositional phrase has been moved forward in the sentence to emphasize its connection with the verb, and the referent of the metaphorical language has been specified in the translation. For a detailed discussion of this interpretation, see D. P. Bailey, “Jesus As the Mercy Seat: The Semantics and Theology of Paul’s Use of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25” (Ph.D. diss., University of Cambridge, 1999).
[3:25] 22 tn The word ἱλαστήριον (Jilasthrion) may carry the general sense “place of satisfaction,” referring to the place where God’s wrath toward sin is satisfied. More likely, though, it refers specifically to the “mercy seat,” i.e., the covering of the ark where the blood was sprinkled in the OT ritual on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This term is used only one other time in the NT: Heb 9:5, where it is rendered “mercy seat.” There it describes the altar in the most holy place (holy of holies). Thus Paul is saying that God displayed Jesus as the “mercy seat,” the place where propitiation was accomplished. See N. S. L. Fryer, “The Meaning and Translation of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25,” EvQ 59 (1987): 99-116, who concludes the term is a neuter accusative substantive best translated “mercy seat” or “propitiatory covering,” and D. P. Bailey, “Jesus As the Mercy Seat: The Semantics and Theology of Paul’s Use of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25” (Ph.D. diss., University of Cambridge, 1999), who argues that this is a direct reference to the mercy seat which covered the ark of the covenant.
[3:25] 23 tn The prepositional phrase διὰ πίστεως (dia pistew") here modifies the noun ἱλαστήριον (Jilasthrion). As such it forms a complete noun phrase and could be written as “mercy-seat-accessible-through-faith” to emphasize the singular idea. See Rom 1:4 for a similar construction. The word “accessible” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied to clarify the idea expressed by the prepositional phrase (cf. NRSV: “effective through faith”).
[3:25] 24 tn Grk “for a demonstration,” giving the purpose of God’s action in v. 25a. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[3:25] 25 tn Grk “because of the passing over of sins previously committed in the forbearance of God.”
[3:26] 26 tn The words “This was” have been repeated from the previous verse to clarify that this is a continuation of that thought. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[3:26] 27 tn Grk “toward a demonstration,” repeating and expanding the purpose of God’s action in v. 25a.
[3:26] 29 tn Or “of the one who has faith in Jesus.” See note on “faithfulness of Jesus Christ” in v. 22 for the rationale behind the translation “Jesus’ faithfulness.”
[3:27] 30 tn Although a number of interpreters understand the “boasting” here to refer to Jewish boasting, others (e.g. C. E. B. Cranfield, “‘The Works of the Law’ in the Epistle to the Romans,” JSNT 43 [1991]: 96) take the phrase to refer to all human boasting before God.
[3:27] 31 tn Grk “By what sort of law?”
[3:28] 32 tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon) is used in an indefinite and general sense (BDAG 81 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 4.a.γ).
[3:28] 33 tn See the note on the phrase “works of the law” in Rom 3:20.
[3:30] 34 tn Grk “but if indeed God is one.”
[3:31] 35 tn Grk “render inoperative.”
[3:31] 36 tn Grk “but” (Greek ἀλλά, alla).
[4:1] 37 tn Or “according to natural descent” (BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 4).
[4:2] 39 tn Or “was justified.”
[4:3] 40 tn The term λογίζομαι (logizomai) occurs 11 times in this chapter (vv. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24). In secular usage it could (a) refer to deliberations of some sort, or (b) in commercial dealings (as virtually a technical term) to “reckoning” or “charging up a debt.” See H. W. Heidland, TDNT 4:284, 290-92.
[4:3] 41 sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.
[4:4] 42 tn Grk “not according to grace but according to obligation.”
[4:5] 43 tn Or “who justifies the ungodly.”
[4:8] 45 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] 46 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] 47 sn A quotation from Ps 32:1-2.
[4:9] 50 sn See the note on “circumcision” in 2:25.
[4:9] 52 sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.
[4:11] 53 tn Grk “of the faith, the one [existing] in uncircumcision.”
[4:11] 54 tn Grk “that he might be,” giving the purpose of v. 11a.
[4:11] 55 tn Grk “through uncircumcision.”
[11:3] 56 sn A quotation from 1 Kgs 19:10, 14.
[11:4] 57 tn Grk “the revelation,” “the oracle.”
[11:4] 58 tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it appears to be a generic usage (“people”) since when Paul speaks of a remnant of faithful Israelites (“the elect,” v. 7), he is not referring to males only. It can also be argued, however, that it refers only to adult males here (“men”), perhaps as representative of all the faithful left in Israel.
[11:4] 59 sn A quotation from 1 Kgs 19:18.
[11:7] 60 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[11:8] 61 sn A quotation from Deut 29:4; Isa 29:10.
[11:10] 62 sn A quotation from Ps 69:22-23.
[11:11] 63 tn Grk “that they might fall.”
[11:11] 64 tn Grk “them”; the referent (Israel, cf. 11:7) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:12] 65 tn Or “full inclusion”; Grk “their fullness.”
[11:16] 66 tn Grk “firstfruits,” a term for the first part of something that has been set aside and offered to God before the remainder can be used.
[11:16] 67 sn Most interpreters see Paul as making use of a long-standing metaphor of the olive tree (the root…the branches) as a symbol for Israel. See, in this regard, Jer 11:16, 19. A. T. Hanson, Studies in Paul’s Technique and Theology, 121-24, cites rabbinic use of the figure of the olive tree, and goes so far as to argue that Rom 11:17-24 is a midrash on Jer 11:16-19.
[11:17] 68 tn Grk “became a participant of.”
[11:20] 69 tn Grk “well!”, an adverb used to affirm a statement. It means “very well,” “you are correct.”
[11:22] 70 tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.
[11:22] 71 tn Grk “if you continue in (the) kindness.”
[11:25] 72 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
[11:25] 73 tn Or “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.”
[11:26] 75 tn It is not clear whether the phrase καὶ οὕτως (kai Joutws, “and so”) is to be understood in a modal sense (“and in this way”) or in a temporal sense (“and in the end”). Neither interpretation is conclusive from a grammatical standpoint, and in fact the two may not be mutually exclusive. Some, like H. Hübner, who argue strongly against the temporal reading, nevertheless continue to give the phrase a temporal significance, saying that God will save all Israel in the end (Gottes Ich und Israel [FRLANT], 118).
[11:27] 76 sn A quotation from Isa 59:20-21.
[11:27] 77 sn A quotation from Isa 27:9; Jer 31:33-34.
[11:31] 78 tc Some important Alexandrian and Western
[11:32] 79 tn Grk “to all”; “them” has been supplied for stylistic reasons.
[11:34] 80 sn A quotation from Isa 40:13.
[11:35] 81 tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:35] 82 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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