4:9 Is this blessedness 2 then for 3 the circumcision 4 or also for 5 the uncircumcision? For we say, “faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” 6
4:13 For the promise 7 to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
6:5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection. 8
“I will call those who were not my people, ‘My people,’ and I will call her who was unloved, 12 ‘My beloved.’” 13
10:18 But I ask, have they 18 not heard? 19 Yes, they have: 20 Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. 21
1 sn This is the first occurrence of law (nomos) in Romans. Exactly what Paul means by the term has been the subject of much scholarly debate. According to J. A. Fitzmyer (Romans [AB], 131-35; 305-6) there are at least four different senses: (1) figurative, as a “principle”; (2) generic, meaning “a law”; (3) as a reference to the OT or some part of the OT; and (4) as a reference to the Mosaic law. This last usage constitutes the majority of Paul’s references to “law” in Romans.
2 tn Or “happiness.”
3 tn Grk “upon.”
4 sn See the note on “circumcision” in 2:25.
5 tn Grk “upon.”
6 sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.
3 sn Although a singular noun, the promise is collective and does not refer only to Gen 12:7, but as D. Moo (Romans 1-8 [WEC], 279) points out, refers to multiple aspects of the promise to Abraham: multiplied descendants (Gen 12:2), possession of the land (Gen 13:15-17), and his becoming the vehicle of blessing to all people (Gen 12:13).
4 tn Grk “we will certainly also of his resurrection.”
5 tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.
6 tn Or “life-giving.” Grk “the Spirit is life.”
6 sn A quotation from Exod 33:19.
7 tn Grk “and her who was not beloved, ‘Beloved.’”
8 sn A quotation from Hos 2:23.
8 tn Grk “Why? Because not by faith but as though by works.” The verb (“they pursued [it]”) is to be supplied from the preceding verse for the sake of English style; yet a certain literary power is seen in Paul’s laconic style.
9 tc Most
10 tn Grk “the stone of stumbling.”
9 sn A quotation from Deut 30:14.
10 tn That is, Israel (see the following verse).
11 tn Grk “they have not ‘not heard,’ have they?” This question is difficult to render in English. The basic question is a negative sentence (“Have they not heard?”), but it is preceded by the particle μή (mh) which expects a negative response. The end result in English is a double negative (“They have not ‘not heard,’ have they?”). This has been changed to a positive question in the translation for clarity. See BDAG 646 s.v. μή 3.a.; D. Moo, Romans (NICNT), 666, fn. 32; and C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans (ICC), 537, for discussion.
12 tn Here the particle μενοῦνγε (menounge) is correcting the negative response expected by the particle μή (mh) in the preceding question. Since the question has been translated positively, the translation was changed here to reflect that rendering.
13 sn A quotation from Ps 19:4.
11 sn A quotation from Isa 65:1.
12 tn Grk “well!”, an adverb used to affirm a statement. It means “very well,” “you are correct.”
13 tc Some important Alexandrian and Western