Romans 9:11

9:11 even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election ¹  would stand, not by works but by ²  his calling) ³  –

Romans 9:32

9:32 Why not? Because they pursued ⁴  it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works. ⁵  They stumbled over the stumbling stone, ⁶ 

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.” ⁷ 

Romans 11:6

11:6 And if it is by grace, it is no longer by works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

Galatians 2:16

2:16 yet we know ⁸  that no one ⁹  is justified by the works of the law ¹⁰  but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. ¹¹  And ¹²  we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ ¹³  and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one ¹⁴  will be justified.

¹ tn Grk “God’s purpose according to election.”

² tn Or “not based on works but based on…”

³ tn Grk “by the one who calls.”

⁴ 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.

⁵ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (א² D Ψ 33 Ï sy), read νόμου (nomou, “of the law”) here, echoing Paul’s usage in Rom 3:20, 28 and elsewhere. The qualifying phrase is lacking in א* A B F G 6 629 630 1739 1881 pc lat co. The longer reading thus is weaker externally and internally, being motivated apparently by a need to clarify.

⁶ tn Grk “the stone of stumbling.”

⁷ sn A quotation from Lev 18:5.

⁸ tn Grk “yet knowing”; the participle εἰδότες (eidotes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁹ tn Grk “no man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.

¹⁰ sn The law is a reference to the law of Moses.

¹¹ tn Or “faith in Jesus Christ.” A decision is difficult here. Though traditionally translated “faith in Jesus Christ,” an increasing number of NT scholars are arguing that πίστις Χριστοῦ (pisti" Cristou) and similar phrases in Paul (here and in v. 20; Rom 3:22, 26; Gal 3:22; Eph 3:12; Phil 3:9) involve a subjective genitive and mean “Christ’s faith” or “Christ’s faithfulness” (cf., e.g., G. Howard, “The ‘Faith of Christ’,” ExpTim 85 [1974]: 212-15; R. B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ [SBLDS]; Morna D. Hooker, “Πίστις Χριστοῦ,” NTS 35 [1989]: 321-42). Noteworthy among the arguments for the subjective genitive view is that when πίστις takes a personal genitive it is almost never an objective genitive (cf. Matt 9:2, 22, 29; Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; Luke 5:20; 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom 1:8; 12; 3:3; 4:5, 12, 16; 1 Cor 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:17; Col 1:4; 2:5; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:2, 5, 10; 2 Thess 1:3; Titus 1:1; Phlm 6; 1 Pet 1:9, 21; 2 Pet 1:5). On the other hand, the objective genitive view has its adherents: A. Hultgren, “The Pistis Christou Formulations in Paul,” NovT 22 (1980): 248-63; J. D. G. Dunn, “Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ,” SBL Seminar Papers, 1991, 730-44. Most commentaries on Romans and Galatians usually side with the objective view.

¹² tn In Greek this is a continuation of the preceding sentence, but the construction is too long and complex for contemporary English style, so a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹³ tn Or “by faith in Christ.” See comment above on “the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.”

¹⁴ tn Or “no human being”; Grk “flesh.”