Roma 2:16-23

2:16 on the day when God will judge ¹  the secrets of human hearts, ²  according to my gospel ³  through Christ Jesus.

The Condemnation of the Jew

2:17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law ⁴  and boast of your relationship to God ⁵  2:18 and know his will ⁶  and approve the superior things because you receive instruction from the law, ⁷  2:19 and if you are convinced ⁸  that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 2:20 an educator of the senseless, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the essential features of knowledge and of the truth – 2:21 therefore ⁹  you who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 2:22 You who tell others not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor ¹⁰  idols, do you rob temples? 2:23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by transgressing the law!

[2:16]  ¹ tn The form of the Greek word is either present or future, but it is best to translate in future because of the context of future judgment.

[2:16]  ² tn Grk “of people.”

[2:16]  ³ sn On my gospel cf. Rom 16:25; 2 Tim 2:8.

[2:17]  ⁴ sn The law refers to the Mosaic law, described mainly in the OT books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

[2:17]  ⁵ tn Grk “boast in God.” This may be an allusion to Jer 9:24.

[2:18]  ⁶ tn Grk “the will.”

[2:18]  ⁷ tn Grk “because of being instructed out of the law.”

[2:19]  ⁸ tn This verb is parallel to the verbs in vv. 17-18a, so it shares the conditional meaning even though the word “if” is not repeated.

[2:21]  ⁹ tn The structure of vv. 21-24 is difficult. Some take these verses as the apodosis of the conditional clauses (protases) in vv. 17-20; others see vv. 17-20 as an instance of anacoluthon (a broken off or incomplete construction).

[2:22]  ¹⁰ tn Or “detest.”