21:30 that the evil man is spared
from the day of his misfortune,
that he is delivered 1
from the day of God’s wrath?
55:23 But you, O God, will bring them 2 down to the deep Pit. 3
Violent and deceitful people 4 will not live even half a normal lifespan. 5
But as for me, I trust in you.
73:18 Surely 6 you put them in slippery places;
you bring them down 7 to ruin.
1:27 when what you dread 8 comes like a whirlwind, 9
and disaster strikes you 10 like a devastating storm, 11
when distressing trouble 12 comes on you.
10:29 The way of the Lord 13 is like 14 a stronghold for the upright, 15
but it is destruction 16 to evildoers. 17
21:15 Doing 18 justice brings 19 joy to the righteous
and terror 20 to those who do evil.
7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
9:1 24 I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me 25 in the Holy Spirit –
2:1 31 Therefore 32 you are without excuse, 33 whoever you are, 34 when you judge someone else. 35 For on whatever grounds 36 you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things.
1 tn The verb means “to be led forth.” To be “led forth in the day of trouble” means to be delivered.
2 tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).
3 tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).
4 tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”
5 tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”
6 tn The use of the Hebrew term אַךְ (’akh, “surely”) here literarily counteracts its use in v. 13. The repetition draws attention to the contrast between the two statements, the first of which expresses the psalmist’s earlier despair and the second his newly discovered confidence.
7 tn Heb “cause them to fall.”
8 tn Heb “your dread.” See note on 1:31.
9 sn The term “whirlwind” (NAB, NIV, NRSV; cf. TEV, NLT “storm”) refers to a devastating storm and is related to the verb שׁוֹא (sho’, “to crash into ruins”; see BDB 996 s.v. שׁוֹאָה). Disaster will come swiftly and crush them like a devastating whirlwind.
10 tn Heb “your disaster.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix is an objective genitive: “disaster strikes you.”
11 tn Heb “like a storm.” The noun סוּפָה (sufah, “storm”) is often used in similes to describe sudden devastation (Isa 5:28; Hos 8:7; Amos 1:14).
12 tn Heb “distress and trouble.” The nouns “distress and trouble” mean almost the same thing so they may form a hendiadys. The two similar sounding terms צוּקָה (tsuqah) and צָרָה (tsarah) also form a wordplay (paronomasia) which also links them together.
13 sn The “way of the
14 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
15 tn Heb “for the one with integrity” (לַתֹּם, latom).
16 tn Or “ruin” (so NIV).
17 tn Heb “those who practice iniquity.”
18 tn The Qal infinitive construct עֲשׂוֹת (’asot) functions as the subject of the sentence.
19 tn The term “brings” is supplied in the translation; many English versions supply a simple copula (“is”).
20 sn The noun means “terror (NAB, NASB, NIV), destruction (KJV, ASV), ruin (cf. NCV).” Its related verb means “be shattered, dismayed.” The idea of “dismay” (NRSV) or “terror” would make the better choice to contrast with “joy” in the first line, but “ruin” is also possible. Whenever justice prevails, whether in the courts or simply in society, the people who practice iniquity may be shaken into reality by fear (cf. CEV “crooks are terrified”).
21 tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.
22 tn Or “vessels destined for wrath.” The genitive ὀργῆς (orghs) could be taken as a genitive of destination.
23 tn Or possibly “objects of wrath that have fit themselves for destruction.” The form of the participle could be taken either as a passive or middle (reflexive). ExSyn 417-18 argues strongly for the passive sense (which is followed in the translation), stating that “the middle view has little to commend it.” First, καταρτίζω (katartizw) is nowhere else used in the NT as a direct or reflexive middle (a usage which, in any event, is quite rare in the NT). Second, the lexical force of this verb, coupled with the perfect tense, suggests something of a “done deal” (against some commentaries that see these vessels as ready for destruction yet still able to avert disaster). Third, the potter-clay motif seems to have one point: The potter prepares the clay.
24 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.
25 tn Or “my conscience bears witness to me.”
26 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
27 tn Or “exult, boast.”
28 tn Grk “whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel.”
29 tn Grk “as.”
30 tn Grk “the gospel of God, which he promised.” Because of the length and complexity of this sentence in Greek, it was divided into shorter English sentences in keeping with contemporary English style. To indicate the referent of the relative pronoun (“which”), the word “gospel” was repeated at the beginning of v. 2.
31 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).
32 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.
33 tn That is, “you have nothing to say in your own defense” (so translated by TCNT).
34 tn Grk “O man.”
35 tn Grk “Therefore, you are without excuse, O man, everyone [of you] who judges.”
36 tn Grk “in/by (that) which.”