14:10 But you who eat vegetables only – why do you judge your brother or sister? 3 And you who eat everything – why do you despise your brother or sister? 4 For we will all stand before the judgment seat 5 of God.
2:25 For circumcision 14 has its value if you practice the law, but 15 if you break the law, 16 your circumcision has become uncircumcision.
1 sn A quotation from Deut 30:14.
2 sn A quotation from 1 Kgs 19:10, 14.
3 tn Grk “But why do you judge your brother?” The introductory phrase has been supplied in the translation to clarify whom Paul is addressing, i.e., the “weak” Christian who eats only vegetables (see vv. 2-3). The author uses the singular pronoun here to rhetorically address one person, but the plural has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
4 tn Grk “Or again, why do you despise your brother?” The introductory phrase has been supplied in the translation to clarify whom Paul is addressing, i.e., the “strong” Christian who eats everything (see vv. 2-3). The author uses the singular pronoun here to rhetorically address one person, but the plural has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5 sn The judgment seat (βῆμα, bhma) was a raised platform mounted by steps and sometimes furnished with a seat, used by officials in addressing an assembly or making pronouncements, often on judicial matters. The judgment seat was a familiar item in Greco-Roman culture, often located in the agora, the public square or marketplace in the center of a city.
4 tn Grk “brother.”
5 tn Grk “on account of food.”
6 tn Grk “according to love.”
5 tn Or “the Lord.” The Greek construction, along with the quotation from Joel 2:32 in v. 13 (in which the same “Lord” seems to be in view) suggests that κύριον (kurion) is to be taken as “the Lord,” that is, Yahweh. Cf. D. B. Wallace, “The Semantics and Exegetical Significance of the Object-Complement Construction in the New Testament,” GTJ 6 (1985): 91-112.
6 sn A quotation from Ps 44:22.
7 tc A large number of
8 tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.
9 tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”
9 sn Circumcision refers to male circumcision as prescribed in the OT, which was given as a covenant to Abraham in Gen 17:10-14. Its importance for Judaism can hardly be overstated: According to J. D. G. Dunn (Romans [WBC], 1:120) it was the “single clearest distinguishing feature of the covenant people.” J. Marcus has suggested that the terms used for circumcision (περιτομή, peritomh) and uncircumcision (ἀκροβυστία, akrobustia) were probably derogatory slogans used by Jews and Gentiles to describe their opponents (“The Circumcision and the Uncircumcision in Rome,” NTS 35 [1989]: 77-80).
10 tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.
11 tn Grk “if you should be a transgressor of the law.”
10 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 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.
12 sn A quotation from Gen 17:5.
13 tn Grk “according to that which had been spoken.”
14 sn A quotation from Gen 15:5.
11 sn A quotation from Deut 9:4.
12 sn A quotation from Deut 30:12.
12 tn There are two major syntactical alternatives which are both awkward: (1) One could make “glorify” dependent on “Christ has become a minister” and coordinate with “to confirm” and the result would be rendered “Christ has become a minister of circumcision to confirm the promises…and so that the Gentiles might glorify God.” (2) One could make “glorify” dependent on “I tell you” and coordinate with “Christ has become a minister” and the result would be rendered “I tell you that Christ has become a minister of circumcision…and that the Gentiles glorify God.” The second rendering is preferred.
13 sn A quotation from Ps 18:49.
13 tn Grk “every man”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to stress humanity rather than masculinity.
14 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.
15 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.
16 tn Or “prevail when you judge.” A quotation from Ps 51:4.
14 sn A quotation from Prov 25:21-22.
15 tn Grk “For the…” (with the word “commandments” supplied for clarity). The Greek article (“the”) is used here as a substantiver to introduce the commands that are quoted from the second half of the Decalogue (ExSyn 238).
16 sn A quotation from Exod 20:13-15, 17; Deut 5:17-19, 21.
17 sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.