56:2 The people who do this will be blessed, 2
the people who commit themselves to obedience, 3
who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
who refrain from doing anything that is wrong. 4
1 tn Heb “there is not in my hand.”
2 tn Heb “blessed is the man who does this.”
3 tn Heb “the son of mankind who takes hold of it.”
4 tn Heb and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
5 tn Grk “Therefore in.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.
6 tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.
7 sn Jesus’ teaching as reflected in the phrase treat others as you would want them to treat you, known generally as the Golden Rule, is not completely unique in the ancient world, but here it is stated in its most emphatic, selfless form.
8 tn Grk “is.”
9 tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.
10 sn Paul does not mean here that he is going to bestow upon the Roman believers what is commonly known as a “spiritual gift,” that is, a special enabling for service given to believers by the Holy Spirit. Instead, this is either a metonymy of cause for effect (Paul will use his own spiritual gifts to edify the Romans), or it simply means something akin to a blessing or benefit in the spiritual realm. It is possible that Paul uses this phrase to connote specifically the broader purpose of his letter, which is for the Romans to understand his gospel, but this seems less likely.