17:7 My blessing is on those people who trust in me,
who put their confidence in me. 1
17:8 They will be like a tree planted near a stream
whose roots spread out toward the water.
It has nothing to fear when the heat comes.
Its leaves are always green.
It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought.
It does not stop bearing fruit.
2:1 3 Therefore 4 you are without excuse, 5 whoever you are, 6 when you judge someone else. 7 For on whatever grounds 8 you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things.
2:12 Give sincere homage! 11
Otherwise he 12 will be angry, 13
and you will die because of your behavior, 14
when his anger quickly ignites. 15
How blessed 16 are all who take shelter in him! 17
33:18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers, 18
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness 19
34:22 The Lord rescues his servants; 20
all who take shelter in him escape punishment. 21
37:3 Trust in the Lord and do what is right!
Settle in the land and maintain your integrity! 22
37:39 But the Lord delivers the godly; 23
he protects them in times of trouble. 24
37:40 The Lord helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from evil men and delivers them, 25
for they seek his protection.
84:12 O Lord who rules over all, 26
how blessed are those who trust in you! 27
146:3 Do not trust in princes,
or in human beings, who cannot deliver! 28
146:4 Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground;
on that day their plans die. 29
146:5 How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
146:6 the one who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who remains forever faithful, 30
147:11 The Lord takes delight in his faithful followers, 31
and in those who wait for his loyal love.
26:3 You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith,
for they trust in you. 32
1:1 From Paul, 35 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints [in Ephesus], 36 the faithful 37 in Christ Jesus.
1 tn Heb “Blessed is the person who trusts in the
2 sn This is the first occurrence of law (nomos) in Romans. Exactly what Paul means by the term has been the subject of much scholarly debate. According to J. A. Fitzmyer (Romans [AB], 131-35; 305-6) there are at least four different senses: (1) figurative, as a “principle”; (2) generic, meaning “a law”; (3) as a reference to the OT or some part of the OT; and (4) as a reference to the Mosaic law. This last usage constitutes the majority of Paul’s references to “law” in Romans.
3 sn Rom 2:1-29 presents unusual difficulties for the interpreter. There have been several major approaches to the chapter and the group(s) it refers to: (1) Rom 2:14 refers to Gentile Christians, not Gentiles who obey the Jewish law. (2) Paul in Rom 2 is presenting a hypothetical viewpoint: If anyone could obey the law, that person would be justified, but no one can. (3) The reference to “the ones who do the law” in 2:13 are those who “do” the law in the right way, on the basis of faith, not according to Jewish legalism. (4) Rom 2:13 only speaks about Christians being judged in the future, along with such texts as Rom 14:10 and 2 Cor 5:10. (5) Paul’s material in Rom 2 is drawn heavily from Diaspora Judaism, so that the treatment of the law presented here cannot be harmonized with other things Paul says about the law elsewhere (E. P. Sanders, Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People, 123); another who sees Rom 2 as an example of Paul’s inconsistency in his treatment of the law is H. Räisänen, Paul and the Law [WUNT], 101-9. (6) The list of blessings and curses in Deut 27–30 provide the background for Rom 2; the Gentiles of 2:14 are Gentile Christians, but the condemnation of Jews in 2:17-24 addresses the failure of Jews as a nation to keep the law as a whole (A. Ito, “Romans 2: A Deuteronomistic Reading,” JSNT 59 [1995]: 21-37).
4 tn Some interpreters (e.g., C. K. Barrett, Romans [HNTC], 43) connect the inferential Διό (dio, “therefore”) with 1:32a, treating 1:32b as a parenthetical comment by Paul.
5 tn That is, “you have nothing to say in your own defense” (so translated by TCNT).
6 tn Grk “O man.”
7 tn Grk “Therefore, you are without excuse, O man, everyone [of you] who judges.”
8 tn Grk “in/by (that) which.”
9 tn Grk “slipped in.”
10 tn Or “trespass.”
11 tn Traditionally, “kiss the son” (KJV). But בַּר (bar) is the Aramaic word for “son,” not the Hebrew. For this reason many regard the reading as suspect. Some propose emendations of vv. 11b-12a. One of the more popular proposals is to read בִּרְעָדָה נַשְּׁקוּ לְרַגְלָיו (bir’adah nashÿqu lÿraslayv, “in trembling kiss his feet”). It makes better sense to understand בַּר (bar) as an adjective meaning “pure” (see Pss 24:4; 73:1 and BDB 141 s.v. בַּר 3) functioning here in an adverbial sense. If read this way, then the syntactical structure of exhortation (imperative followed by adverbial modifier) corresponds to the two preceding lines (see v. 11). The verb נָשַׁק (nashaq, “kiss”) refers metonymically to showing homage (see 1 Sam 10:1; Hos 13:2). The exhortation in v. 12a advocates a genuine expression of allegiance and warns against insincerity. When swearing allegiance, vassal kings would sometimes do so insincerely, with the intent of rebelling when the time was right. The so-called “Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon” also warn against such an attitude. In this treaty the vassal is told: “If you, as you stand on the soil where this oath [is sworn], swear the oath with your words and lips [only], do not swear with your entire heart, do not transmit it to your sons who will live after this treaty, if you take this curse upon yourselves but do not plan to keep the treaty of Esarhaddon…may your sons and grandsons because of this fear in the future” (see J. B. Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near East, 2:62).
12 tn Throughout the translation of this verse the third person masculine pronouns refer to the
13 tn The implied subject of the verb is the
14 tn Heb “and you will perish [in the] way.” The Hebrew word דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) here refers to their rebellious behavior (not to a pathway, as often understood). It functions syntactically as an adverbial accusative in relation to the verb “perish.”
15 tn Or “burns.” The
16 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
17 sn Who take shelter in him. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).
18 tn Heb “look, the eye of the
19 tn Heb “for the ones who wait for his faithfulness.”
20 tn Heb “redeems the life of his servants.” The Hebrew participial form suggests such deliverance is characteristic.
21 tn “Taking shelter” in the
22 tn Heb “tend integrity.” The verb רָעָה (ra’ah, “tend, shepherd”) is probably used here in the sense of “watch over, guard.” The noun אֱמוּנָה (’emunah, “faithfulness, honesty, integrity”) is understood as the direct object of the verb, though it could be taken as an adverbial accusative, “[feed] securely,” if the audience is likened to a flock of sheep.
23 tn Heb “and the deliverance of the godly [ones] [is] from the
24 tn Heb “[he is] their place of refuge in a time of trouble.”
25 tn The prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive carry on the generalizing tone of the preceding verse.
26 tn Traditionally “
27 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man [who] trusts in you.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to here is representative of all followers of God, as the use of the plural form in v. 12b indicates.
28 tn Heb “in a son of man, to whom there is no deliverance.”
29 tn Heb “his spirit goes out, it returns to his ground; in that day his plans die.” The singular refers to the representative man mentioned in v. 3b.
30 tn Heb “the one who guards faithfulness forever.”
31 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
32 tn Heb “[one of] firm purpose you will keep [in] peace, peace, for in you he possesses trust.” The Hebrew term יֵצֶר (yetser) refers to what one devises in the mind; סָמוּךְ (samukh) probably functions here like an attributive adjective and carries the nuance “firm.” So the phrase literally means, “a firm purpose,” but as the object of the verb “keep, guard,” it must stand by metonymy for the one(s) who possess a firm purpose. In this context the “righteous nation” (v. 2) is probably in view and the “firm purpose” refers to their unwavering faith in God’s vindication (see 25:9). In this context שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”), which is repeated for emphasis, likely refers to national security, not emotional or psychological composure (see vv. 1-2). The passive participle בָּטוּחַ (batuakh) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action.
33 tn Or “who had already hoped.”
34 tn Or “the Messiah.”
35 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
36 tc The earliest and most important
37 tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style [and even if this letter is not by Paul it follows the general style of Paul’s letters, with some modifications]) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated. See M. Barth, Ephesians (AB 34), 1:68 and ExSyn 282.