7:21 So, I find the law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me. 7:22 For I delight in the law of God in my inner being. 7:23 But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members. 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
3:1 Finally, my brothers and sisters, 16 rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.
1:15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.
1 tn Grk “under sin.”
2 tn Grk “but what I hate, this I do.”
3 tn Grk “I agree with the law that it is good.”
4 tn Grk “For to wish is present in/with me, but not to do it.”
5 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
6 tn Or “among my race.”
7 tn Grk “was advancing beyond…nation, being.” The participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) was translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
8 sn The traditions of my ancestors refers to both Pharisaic and popular teachings of this time which eventually were codified in Jewish literature such as the Mishnah, Midrashim, and Targums.
6 tc ‡ Several important witnesses have ὁ θεός (Jo qeos) after εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen; so א A D Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï co) while the shorter reading is supported by Ì46 B F G 629 1505 pc lat. There is hardly any reason why scribes would omit the words (although the Beatty papyrus and the Western text do at times omit words and phrases), but several reasons why scribes would add the words (especially the need to clarify). The confluence of witnesses for the shorter reading (including a few fathers and versions) adds strong support for its authenticity. It is also in keeping with Paul’s style to refrain from mentioning God by name as a rhetorical device (cf. ExSyn 437 [although this section deals with passive constructions, the principle is the same]). NA27 includes the words in brackets, indicating some doubts as to their authenticity.
7 tn Grk “from my mother’s womb.”
7 tn Or “to me”; the Greek preposition ἐν (en) can mean either, depending on the context.
8 tn This pronoun refers to “his Son,” mentioned earlier in the verse.
9 tn Or “I did not consult with.” For the translation “I did not go to ask advice from” see L&N 33.175.
10 tn Grk “from flesh and blood.”
8 tn The word here translated “dung” was often used in Greek as a vulgar term for fecal matter. As such it would most likely have had a certain shock value for the readers. This may well be Paul’s meaning here, especially since the context is about what the flesh produces.
9 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.
10 tn Grk “so that the whole imperial guard.” The ὥστε (Jwste) clause that begins v. 13 indicates two results of the spread of the gospel: Outsiders know why Paul is imprisoned (v. 13) and believers are emboldened by his imprisonment (v. 14).
11 sn The whole imperial guard (Grk “praetorium”) can refer to the elite troops stationed in Rome or the headquarters of administrators in the provinces (cf. Matt 27:27; Mark 15:16; John 18:28, 33; 19:9; Acts 23:35). In either case a metonymy is involved, with the place (the praetorium) put for those (soldiers or government officials) who were connected with it or stationed in it.
12 tn Grk “it has become known by the whole imperial guard and all the rest.”
13 tn Grk “my bonds [are].”
11 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.
12 tn Or “most of the brothers and sisters in the Lord, having confidence.”
13 tn Grk “even more so.”
14 tc A number of significant