15:22 This is the reason I was often hindered from coming to you.
1 sn Here the one man refers to Adam (cf. 5:14).
2 tn Grk “the many.”
3 sn One man refers here to Jesus Christ.
4 tn Grk “the many.”
1 tn Grk “much in every way.”
2 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
3 tn Grk “they were.”
4 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.
1 tn Grk “having now been declared righteous.” The participle δικαιωθέντες (dikaiwqente") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
2 tn Or, according to BDF §219.3, “at the price of his blood.”
3 tn Grk “the wrath,” referring to God’s wrath as v. 10 shows.
1 tn Grk “but not as the transgression, so also [is] the gracious gift.”
2 sn Here the one man refers to Adam (cf. 5:14).
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 tn Grk “and not as through the one who sinned [is] the gift.”
2 tn The word “transgression” is not in the Greek text at this point, but has been supplied for clarity.
3 tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.
4 tn Or “falls, trespasses,” the same word used in vv. 15, 17, 18, 20.
1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God’s Son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
1 tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.
2 tn Or “vessels destined for wrath.” The genitive ὀργῆς (orghs) could be taken as a genitive of destination.
3 tn Or possibly “objects of wrath that have fit themselves for destruction.” The form of the participle could be taken either as a passive or middle (reflexive). ExSyn 417-18 argues strongly for the passive sense (which is followed in the translation), stating that “the middle view has little to commend it.” First, καταρτίζω (katartizw) is nowhere else used in the NT as a direct or reflexive middle (a usage which, in any event, is quite rare in the NT). Second, the lexical force of this verb, coupled with the perfect tense, suggests something of a “done deal” (against some commentaries that see these vessels as ready for destruction yet still able to avert disaster). Third, the potter-clay motif seems to have one point: The potter prepares the clay.
1 sn The spelling Tryphena is also used by NIV, NKJV, NLT; the name is alternately spelled Tryphaena (NASB, NRSV).
2 tn Grk “Greet the beloved.”
1 tn Verses 16-17 comprise one sentence in Greek, but this has been divided into two sentences due to English requirements.
2 tn The words “He is our father” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to show that they resume Paul’s argument from 16b. (It is also possible to supply “Abraham had faith” here [so REB], taking the relative clause [“who is the father of us all”] as part of the parenthesis, and making the connection back to “the faith of Abraham,” but such an option is not as likely [C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:243].)
3 tn “The God” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.
4 tn Or “calls into existence the things that do not exist.” The translation of ὡς ὄντα (Jw" onta) allows for two different interpretations. If it has the force of result, then creatio ex nihilo is in view and the variant rendering is to be accepted (so C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:244). A problem with this view is the scarcity of ὡς plus participle to indicate result (though for the telic idea with ὡς plus participle, cf. Rom 15:15; 1 Thess 2:4). If it has a comparative force, then the translation given in the text is to be accepted: “this interpretation fits the immediate context better than a reference to God’s creative power, for it explains the assurance with which God can speak of the ‘many nations’ that will be descended from Abraham” (D. Moo, Romans [NICNT], 282; so also W. Sanday and A. C. Headlam, Romans [ICC], 113). Further, this view is in line with a Pauline idiom, viz., verb followed by ὡς plus participle (of the same verb or, in certain contexts, its antonym) to compare present reality with what is not a present reality (cf. 1 Cor 4:7; 5:3; 7:29, 30 (three times), 31; Col 2:20 [similarly, 2 Cor 6:9, 10]).
1 sn Here the one man refers to Adam (cf. 5:14).