119:123 My eyes grow tired as I wait for your deliverance, 1
for your reliable promise to be fulfilled. 2
1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people 7 who suppress the truth by their 8 unrighteousness, 9
10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.” 10 10:6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, 11 ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” 12 (that is, to bring Christ down)
1 tn Heb “my eyes fail for your deliverance.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision. See the similar phrase in v. 82.
2 tn Heb “and for the word of your faithfulness.”
3 tn The nature of the “righteousness” described here and the force of the genitive θεοῦ (“of God”) which follows have been much debated. (1) Some (e.g. C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:98) understand “righteousness” to refer to the righteous status given to believers as a result of God’s justifying activity, and see the genitive “of God” as a genitive of source (= “from God”). (2) Others see the “righteousness” as God’s act or declaration that makes righteous (i.e., justifies) those who turn to him in faith, taking the genitive “of God” as a subjective genitive (see E. Käsemann, Romans, 25-30). (3) Still others see the “righteousness of God” mentioned here as the attribute of God himself, understanding the genitive “of God” as a possessive genitive (“God’s righteousness”).
4 tn Grk “in it”; the referent (the gospel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Or “by faith for faith,” or “by faith to faith.” There are many interpretations of the phrase ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (ek pistew" ei" pistin). It may have the idea that this righteousness is obtained by faith (ἐκ πίστεως) because it was designed for faith (εἰς πίστιν). For a summary see J. Murray, Romans (NICNT), 1:363-74.
6 sn A quotation from Hab 2:4.
7 tn The genitive ἀνθρώπων could be taken as an attributed genitive, in which case the phase should be translated “against all ungodly and unrighteous people” (cf. “the truth of God” in v. 25 which is also probably an attributed genitive). C. E. B. Cranfield takes the section 1:18-32 to refer to all people (not just Gentiles), while 2:1-3:20 points out that the Jew is no exception (Romans [ICC], 1:104-6; 1:137-38).
8 tn “Their” is implied in the Greek, but is supplied because of English style.
9 tn Or “by means of unrighteousness.” Grk “in (by) unrighteousness.”
10 sn A quotation from Lev 18:5.
11 sn A quotation from Deut 9:4.
12 sn A quotation from Deut 30:12.
13 tn Grk “they have a zeal for God.”
14 tn Grk “in accord with knowledge.”
15 tc Since “the word of Christ” occurs nowhere else in the NT, two predictable variants arose: “word of God” and “word of the Lord.” Even though some of the witnesses for these variants are impressive (κυρίου [kuriou, “of the Lord”] in א* I 1175 pc bo; θεοῦ [qeou, “of God”] in A C* 33 104 323 945 al), the reading Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “of Christ”) is read by an excellent cross-section of witnesses (Ì46 א2 B C2 D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï lat sa). On both internal and external grounds, Χριστοῦ is strongly preferred.
16 tn Grk “with grace”; “all” is supplied as it is implicitly related to all the previous instructions in the verse.