Romans 3:3-4

3:3 What then? If some did not believe, does their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God? 3:4 Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being ¹  shown up as a liar, ²  just as it is written: “so that you will be justified ³  in your words and will prevail when you are judged.” ⁴ 

Romans 4:18-21

4:18 Against hope Abraham ⁵  believed ⁶  in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations ⁷  according to the pronouncement, ⁸  “so will your descendants be.” ⁹  4:19 Without being weak in faith, he considered ¹⁰  his own body as dead ¹¹  (because he was about one hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 4:20 He ¹²  did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. 4:21 He was ¹³  fully convinced that what God ¹⁴  promised he was also able to do.

Romans 4:2

4:2 For if Abraham was declared righteous ¹⁵  by the works of the law, he has something to boast about – but not before God.

Colossians 1:18

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ¹⁶  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ¹⁷ 

Titus 1:1-2

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁸  a slave ¹⁹  of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith ²⁰  of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness, 1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. ²¹ 

Hebrews 6:17

6:17 In the same way ²²  God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, ²³  and so he intervened with an oath,

Hebrews 6:1

6:1 Therefore we must progress beyond ²⁴  the elementary ²⁵  instructions about Christ ²⁶  and move on ²⁷  to maturity, not laying this foundation again: repentance from dead works and faith in God,

Hebrews 5:9-10

5:9 And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 5:10 and he was designated ²⁸  by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek. ²⁹ 

¹ tn Grk “every man”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to stress humanity rather than masculinity.

² tn Grk “Let God be true, and every man a liar.” The words “proven” and “shown up” are supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning.

³ tn Grk “might be justified,” a subjunctive verb, but in this type of clause it carries the same sense as the future indicative verb in the latter part. “Will” is more idiomatic in contemporary English.

⁴ tn Or “prevail when you judge.” A quotation from Ps 51:4.

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Grk “who against hope believed,” referring to Abraham. The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

³ sn A quotation from Gen 17:5.

⁴ tn Grk “according to that which had been spoken.”

⁵ sn A quotation from Gen 15:5.

¹ tc Most mss (D F G Ψ 33 1881 Ï it) read “he did not consider” by including the negative particle (οὐ, ou), but others (א A B C 6 81 365 1506 1739 pc co) lack οὐ. The reading which includes the negative particle probably represents a scribal attempt to exalt the faith of Abraham by making it appear that his faith was so strong that he did not even consider the physical facts. But “here Paul does not wish to imply that faith means closing one’s eyes to reality, but that Abraham was so strong in faith as to be undaunted by every consideration” (TCGNT 451). Both on external and internal grounds, the reading without the negative particle is preferred.

² tc ‡ Most witnesses (א A C D Ψ 33 Ï bo) have ἤδη (hdh, “already”) at this point in v. 19. But B F G 630 1739 1881 pc lat sa lack it. Since it appears to heighten the style of the narrative and since there is no easy accounting for an accidental omission, it is best to regard the shorter text as original. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

¹ tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here.

¹ tn Grk “and being.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹ tn Or “was justified.”

¹ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

² tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”

¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

² tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

³ tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”

¹ tn Grk “before eternal ages.”

¹ tn Grk “in which.”

² tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”

¹ tn Grk “Therefore leaving behind.” The implication is not of abandoning this elementary information, but of building on it.

² tn Or “basic.”

³ tn Grk “the message of the beginning of Christ.”

⁴ tn Grk “leaving behind…let us move on.”

¹ tn Grk “having been designated,” continuing the thought of Heb 5:9.

² sn The phrase in the order of Melchizedek picks up the quotation from Ps 110:4 in Heb 5:6.