Romans 1:8

Paul’s Desire to Visit Rome

1:8 First of all, ¹  I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world.

Romans 1:12

1:12 that is, that we may be mutually comforted by one another’s faith, ²  both yours and mine.

Romans 2:2

2:2 Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth ³  against those who practice such things.

Romans 2:16

2:16 on the day when God will judge ⁴  the secrets of human hearts, ⁵  according to my gospel ⁶  through Christ Jesus.

Romans 2:21

2:21 therefore ⁷  you who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?

Romans 2:24

2:24 For just as it is written, “the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” ⁸ 

Romans 3:7

3:7 For if by my lie the truth of God enhances ⁹  his glory, why am I still actually being judged as a sinner?

Romans 8:33

8:33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? ¹⁰  It is God who justifies.

Romans 8:36

8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ¹¹ 

Romans 10:5

10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.” ¹² 

Romans 10:7

10:7 or “Who will descend into the abyss?” ¹³  (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

Romans 10:10

10:10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness ¹⁴  and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation. ¹⁵ 

Romans 15:3

15:3 For even Christ did not please himself, but just as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” ¹⁶ 

Romans 16:1

Personal Greetings

16:1 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant ¹⁷  of the church in Cenchrea,

Romans 16:10-12

16:10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. 16:11 Greet Herodion, my compatriot. ¹⁸  Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 16:12 Greet Tryphena ¹⁹  and Tryphosa, laborers in the Lord. Greet my dear friend ²⁰  Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord.

¹ tn Grk “First.” Paul never mentions a second point, so J. B. Phillips translated “I must begin by telling you….”

² tn Grk “that is, to be comforted together with you through the faith in one another.”

³ tn Or “based on truth.”

⁴ tn The form of the Greek word is either present or future, but it is best to translate in future because of the context of future judgment.

⁵ tn Grk “of people.”

⁶ sn On my gospel cf. Rom 16:25; 2 Tim 2:8.

⁵ tn The structure of vv. 21-24 is difficult. Some take these verses as the apodosis of the conditional clauses (protases) in vv. 17-20; others see vv. 17-20 as an instance of anacoluthon (a broken off or incomplete construction).

⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 52:5.

⁷ tn Grk “abounded unto.”

⁸ sn An allusion to Isa 50:8 where the reference is singular; Paul applies this to all believers (“God’s elect” is plural here).

⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 44:22.

¹⁰ sn A quotation from Lev 18:5.

¹¹ sn A quotation from Deut 30:13.

¹² tn Grk “believes to righteousness.”

¹³ tn Grk “confesses to salvation.”

¹³ sn A quotation from Ps 69:9.

¹⁴ tn Or “deaconess.” It is debated whether διάκονος (diakonos) here refers to a specific office within the church. One contextual argument used to support this view is that Phoebe is associated with a particular church, Cenchrea, and as such would therefore be a deacon of that church. In the NT some who are called διάκονος are related to a particular church, yet the scholarly consensus is that such individuals are not deacons, but “servants” or “ministers” (other viable translations for διάκονος). For example, Epaphras is associated with the church in Colossians and is called a διάκονος in Col 1:7, but no contemporary translation regards him as a deacon. In 1 Tim 4:6 Paul calls Timothy a διάκονος; Timothy was associated with the church in Ephesus, but he obviously was not a deacon. In addition, the lexical evidence leans away from this view: Within the NT, the διακον- word group rarely functions with a technical nuance. In any case, the evidence is not compelling either way. The view accepted in the translation above is that Phoebe was a servant of the church, not a deaconess, although this conclusion should be regarded as tentative.

¹⁵ tn Or “kinsman,” “relative,” “fellow countryman.”

¹⁶ sn The spelling Tryphena is also used by NIV, NKJV, NLT; the name is alternately spelled Tryphaena (NASB, NRSV).

¹⁷ tn Grk “Greet the beloved.”