Psalms 81:5

81:5 He decreed it as a regulation in Joseph,

when he attacked the land of Egypt. ¹ 

I heard a voice I did not recognize. ² 

Psalms 119:152

119:152 I learned long ago that

you ordained your rules to last. ³ 

Psalms 147:19

147:19 He proclaims his word to Jacob,

his statutes and regulations to Israel.

Deuteronomy 4:45

4:45 These are the stipulations, statutes, and ordinances that Moses spoke to the Israelites after he had brought them out of Egypt,

Deuteronomy 6:7

6:7 and you must teach ⁴  them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, ⁵  as you lie down, and as you get up.

Deuteronomy 11:19

11:19 Teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, ⁶  as you lie down, and as you get up.

Isaiah 8:20

8:20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. ⁷  Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. ⁸ 

Romans 3:2

3:2 Actually, there are many advantages. ⁹  First of all, ¹⁰  the Jews ¹¹  were entrusted with the oracles of God. ¹² 

Romans 3:1

3:1 Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of circumcision?

Romans 5:9-12

5:9 Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous ¹³  by his blood, ¹⁴  we will be saved through him from God’s wrath. ¹⁵  5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life? 5:11 Not ¹⁶  only this, but we also rejoice ¹⁷  in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

The Amplification of Justification

5:12 So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people ¹⁸  because ¹⁹  all sinned –

¹ tn Heb “in his going out against the land of Egypt.” This apparently refers to the general time period of Israel’s exodus from Egypt. The LXX reads, “from Egypt,” in which case “Joseph” (see the preceding line) would be the subject of the verb, “when he [Joseph = Israel] left Egypt.”

² tn Heb “a lip I did not know, I heard.” Here the term “lip” probably stands for speech or a voice. Apparently the psalmist speaks here and refers to God’s voice, whose speech is recorded in the following verses.

³ tn Heb “long ago I knew concerning your rules, that forever you established them.” See v. 89 for the same idea. The translation assumes that the preposition מִן (min) prefixed to “your rules” introduces the object of the verb יָדַע (yada’), as in 1 Sam 23:23. Another option is that the preposition indicates source, in which case one might translate, “Long ago I realized from your rules that forever you established them” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

⁴ tn Heb “repeat” (so NLT). If from the root I שָׁנַן (shanan), the verb means essentially to “engrave,” that is, “to teach incisively” (Piel); note NAB “Drill them into your children.” Cf. BDB 1041-42 s.v.

⁵ tn Or “as you are away on a journey” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT); NAB “at home and abroad.”

⁶ tn Or “as you are away on a journey” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT); NAB “at home and abroad.”

⁷ tn Heb “to [the] instruction and to [the] testimony.” The words “then you must recall” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20a are one long sentence, reading literally, “When they say to you…, to the instruction and to the testimony.” On the identity of the “instruction” and “testimony” see the notes at v. 16.

⁸ tn Heb “If they do not speak according to this word, [it is] because it has no light of dawn.” The literal translation suggests that “this word” refers to the instruction/testimony. However, it is likely that אִם־לֹא (’im-lo’) is asseverative here, as in 5:9. In this case “this word” refers to the quotation recorded in v. 19. For a discussion of the problem see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 230, n. 9. The singular pronoun in the second half of the verse is collective, referring back to the nation (see v. 19b).

⁹ tn Grk “much in every way.”

¹⁰ tc ‡ Most witnesses (א A D² 33 Ï) have γάρ (gar) after μέν (men), though some significant Alexandrian and Western witnesses lack the conjunction (B D* G Ψ 81 365 1506 2464* pc latt). A few mss have γάρ, but not μέν (6 1739 1881). γάρ was frequently added by scribes as a clarifying conjunction, making it suspect here. NA²⁷ has the γάρ in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

¹¹ tn Grk “they were.”

¹² tn The referent of λόγια (logia, “oracles”) has been variously understood: (1) BDAG 598 s.v. λόγιον takes the term to refer here to “God’s promises to the Jews”; (2) some have taken this to refer more narrowly to the national promises of messianic salvation given to Israel (so S. L. Johnson, Jr., “Studies in Romans: Part VII: The Jews and the Oracles of God,” BSac 130 [1973]: 245); (3) perhaps the most widespread interpretation sees the term as referring to the entire OT generally.

¹³ tn Grk “having now been declared righteous.” The participle δικαιωθέντες (dikaiwqente") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

¹⁴ tn Or, according to BDF §219.3, “at the price of his blood.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “the wrath,” referring to God’s wrath as v. 10 shows.

¹⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁷ tn Or “exult, boast.”

¹⁸ tn Here ἀνθρώπους (anqrwpou") has been translated as a generic (“people”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.

¹⁹ tn The translation of the phrase ἐφ᾿ ᾧ (ef Jw) has been heavily debated. For a discussion of all the possibilities, see C. E. B. Cranfield, “On Some of the Problems in the Interpretation of Romans 5.12,” SJT 22 (1969): 324-41. Only a few of the major options can be mentioned here: (1) the phrase can be taken as a relative clause in which the pronoun refers to Adam, “death spread to all people in whom [Adam] all sinned.” (2) The phrase can be taken with consecutive (resultative) force, meaning “death spread to all people with the result that all sinned.” (3) Others take the phrase as causal in force: “death spread to all people because all sinned.”