5:1 26 Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have 27 peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
1 tn In this context the word for “guilt” (אָשָׁם, ’asham) refers to the “penalty” for incurring guilt, the so-called consequential אָשָׁם (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:303; cf. the note on Lev 5:1).
2 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
3 tn See the note on 4:26 regarding the use of מִן (min).
4 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
5 tn Heb “from one from these,” referring to the four kinds of violations of the law delineated in Lev 5:1-4 (see the note on Lev 5:5 above and cf. Lev 4:27).
6 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
7 tn Heb “and it”; the referent (the remaining portion of the offering) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “and it shall be to the priest like the grain offering,” referring to the rest of the grain that was not offered on the altar (cf. the regulations in Lev 2:3, 10).
9 tn Heb “and which he sinned from the holy thing.”
10 sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.
11 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
12 sn Cf. Lev 4:11-12 above for the disposition of “the [rest of] the bull.”
13 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
14 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to them” or “it shall be forgiven to them.”
15 tn Heb “Then he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Based on the parallel statements in 4:10 and 4:31, it is the priest who performs this action rather than the person who brought the offering.
16 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
17 tn Heb “from.” In this phrase the preposition מִן (min) may be referring to the reason or cause (“on account of, because of”; GKC 383 §119.z). As J. E. Hartley (Leviticus [WBC], 47) points out, “from” may refer to the removal of the sin, but is an awkward expression. Hartley also suggests that the phrasing might be “an elliptical expression for יְכַפֵּר עַל־לְטַהֵר אֶת־מִן, ‘he will make expiation for…to cleanse…from…,’ as in 16:30.”
18 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
19 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
20 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
21 tn Heb “Then he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here “he” refers to the offerer rather than the priest (contrast the clauses before and after).
22 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
23 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
24 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
25 tn Or “exult, boast.”
26 sn Many interpreters see Rom 5:1 as beginning the second major division of the letter.
27 tc A number of important witnesses have the subjunctive ἔχωμεν (ecwmen, “let us have”) instead of ἔχομεν (ecomen, “we have”) in v. 1. Included in the subjunctive’s support are א* A B* C D K L 33 81 630 1175 1739* pm lat bo. But the indicative is not without its supporters: א1 B2 F G P Ψ 0220vid 104 365 1241 1505 1506 1739c 1881 2464 pm. If the problem were to be solved on an external basis only, the subjunctive would be preferred. Because of this, the “A” rating on behalf of the indicative in the UBS4 appears overly confident. Nevertheless, the indicative is probably correct. First, the earliest witness to Rom 5:1 has the indicative (0220vid, third century). Second, the first set of correctors is sometimes, if not often, of equal importance with the original hand. Hence, א1 might be given equal value with א*. Third, there is a good cross-section of witnesses for the indicative: Alexandrian (in 0220vid, probably א1 1241 1506 1881 al), Western (in F G), and Byzantine (noted in NA27 as pm). Thus, although the external evidence is strongly in favor of the subjunctive, the indicative is represented well enough that its ancestry could easily go back to the original. Turning to the internal evidence, the indicative gains much ground. (1) The variant may have been produced via an error of hearing (since omicron and omega were pronounced alike in ancient Greek). This, of course, does not indicate which reading was original – just that an error of hearing may have produced one of them. In light of the indecisiveness of the transcriptional evidence, intrinsic evidence could play a much larger role. This is indeed the case here. (2) The indicative fits well with the overall argument of the book to this point. Up until now, Paul has been establishing the “indicatives of the faith.” There is only one imperative (used rhetorically) and only one hortatory subjunctive (and this in a quotation within a diatribe) up till this point, while from ch. 6 on there are sixty-one imperatives and seven hortatory subjunctives. Clearly, an exhortation would be out of place in ch. 5. (3) Paul presupposes that the audience has peace with God (via reconciliation) in 5:10. This seems to assume the indicative in v. 1. (4) As C. E. B. Cranfield notes, “it would surely be strange for Paul, in such a carefully argued writing as this, to exhort his readers to enjoy or to guard a peace which he has not yet explicitly shown to be possessed by them” (Romans [ICC], 1:257). (5) The notion that εἰρήνην ἔχωμεν (eirhnhn ecwmen) can even naturally mean “enjoy peace” is problematic (ExSyn 464), yet those who embrace the subjunctive have to give the verb some such force. Thus, although the external evidence is stronger in support of the subjunctive, the internal evidence points to the indicative. Although a decision is difficult, ἔχομεν appears to be the authentic reading.
28 tn Or “based on truth.”