Psalms 71:19

71:19 Your justice, O God, extends to the skies above; ¹ 

you have done great things. ² 

O God, who can compare to you? ³ 

Psalms 97:2

97:2 Dark clouds surround him;

equity and justice are the foundation of his throne. ⁴ 

Psalms 145:17

145:17 The Lord is just in all his actions, ⁵ 

and exhibits love in all he does. ⁶ 

Genesis 18:25

18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge ⁷  of the whole earth do what is right?” ⁸ 

Deuteronomy 32:4

32:4 As for the Rock, ⁹  his work is perfect,

for all his ways are just.

He is a reliable God who is never unjust,

he is fair ¹⁰  and upright.

Isaiah 45:19

45:19 I have not spoken in secret,

in some hidden place. ¹¹ 

I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain!’ ¹² 

I am the Lord,

the one who speaks honestly,

who makes reliable announcements. ¹³ 

Isaiah 45:21-24

45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence! ¹⁴ 

Let them consult with one another!

Who predicted this in the past?

Who announced it beforehand?

Was it not I, the Lord?

I have no peer, there is no God but me,

a God who vindicates and delivers; ¹⁵ 

there is none but me.

45:22 Turn to me so you can be delivered, ¹⁶ 

all you who live in the earth’s remote regions!

For I am God, and I have no peer.

45:23 I solemnly make this oath ¹⁷  –

what I say is true and reliable: ¹⁸ 

‘Surely every knee will bow to me,

every tongue will solemnly affirm; ¹⁹ 

45:24 they will say about me,

“Yes, the Lord is a powerful deliverer.”’” ²⁰ 

All who are angry at him will cower before him. ²¹ 

Romans 3:25

3:25 God publicly displayed ²²  him ²³  at his death ²⁴  as the mercy seat ²⁵  accessible through faith. ²⁶  This was to demonstrate ²⁷  his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed. ²⁸ 

[71:19]  ¹ tn Heb “your justice, O God, [is] unto the height.” The Hebrew term מָרוֹם (marom, “height”) is here a title for the sky/heavens.

[71:19]  ² tn Heb “you who have done great things.”

[71:19]  ³ tn Or “Who is like you?”

[97:2]  ⁴ sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.

[145:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “in all his ways.”

[145:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “and [is] loving in all his deeds.”

[18:25]  ⁷ tn Or “ruler.”

[18:25]  ⁸ sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.

[32:4]  ⁹ tc The LXX reads Θεός (qeos, “God”) for the MT’s “Rock.”

[32:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “just” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “righteous” (NASB).

[45:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”

[45:19]  ¹² tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”

[45:19]  ¹³ tn The translation above assumes that צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim) are adverbial accusatives (see 33:15). If they are taken as direct objects, indicating the content of what is spoken, one might translate, “who proclaims deliverance, who announces justice.”

[45:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.

[45:21]  ¹⁵ tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”

[45:22]  ¹⁶ tn The Niphal imperative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose after the preceding imperative. The Niphal probably has a tolerative sense, “allow yourselves to be delivered, accept help.”

[45:23]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I swear by myself”; KJV, NASB “have sworn.”

[45:23]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a word goes out from my mouth [in] truth and will not return.”

[45:23]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “swear” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “confess allegiance.”

[45:24]  ²⁰ tn Heb “‘Yes, in the Lord,’ one says about me, ‘is deliverance and strength.’”

[45:24]  ²¹ tn Heb “will come to him and be ashamed.”

[3:25]  ²² tn Or “purposed, intended.”

[3:25]  ²³ tn Grk “whom God publicly displayed.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:25]  ²⁴ tn Grk “in his blood.” The prepositional phrase ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι (ejn tw aujtou {aimati) is difficult to interpret. It is traditionally understood to refer to the atoning sacrifice Jesus made when he shed his blood on the cross, and as a modifier of ἱλαστήριον (Jilasthrion). This interpretation fits if ἱλαστήριον is taken to refer to a sacrifice. But if ἱλαστήριον is taken to refer to the place where atonement is made as this translation has done (see note on the phrase “mercy seat”), this interpretation of ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι creates a violent mixed metaphor. Within a few words Paul would switch from referring to Jesus as the place where atonement was made to referring to Jesus as the atoning sacrifice itself. A viable option which resolves this problem is to see ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι as modifying the verb προέθετο (proeqeto). If it modifies the verb, it would explain the time or place in which God publicly displayed Jesus as the mercy seat; the reference to blood would be a metaphorical way of speaking of Jesus’ death. This is supported by the placement of ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι in the Greek text (it follows the noun, separated from it by another prepositional phrase) and by stylistic parallels with Rom 1:4. This is the interpretation the translation has followed, although it is recognized that many interpreters favor different options and translations. The prepositional phrase has been moved forward in the sentence to emphasize its connection with the verb, and the referent of the metaphorical language has been specified in the translation. For a detailed discussion of this interpretation, see D. P. Bailey, “Jesus As the Mercy Seat: The Semantics and Theology of Paul’s Use of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25” (Ph.D. diss., University of Cambridge, 1999).

[3:25]  ²⁵ tn The word ἱλαστήριον (Jilasthrion) may carry the general sense “place of satisfaction,” referring to the place where God’s wrath toward sin is satisfied. More likely, though, it refers specifically to the “mercy seat,” i.e., the covering of the ark where the blood was sprinkled in the OT ritual on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This term is used only one other time in the NT: Heb 9:5, where it is rendered “mercy seat.” There it describes the altar in the most holy place (holy of holies). Thus Paul is saying that God displayed Jesus as the “mercy seat,” the place where propitiation was accomplished. See N. S. L. Fryer, “The Meaning and Translation of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25,” EvQ 59 (1987): 99-116, who concludes the term is a neuter accusative substantive best translated “mercy seat” or “propitiatory covering,” and D. P. Bailey, “Jesus As the Mercy Seat: The Semantics and Theology of Paul’s Use of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25” (Ph.D. diss., University of Cambridge, 1999), who argues that this is a direct reference to the mercy seat which covered the ark of the covenant.

[3:25]  ²⁶ tn The prepositional phrase διὰ πίστεως (dia pistew") here modifies the noun ἱλαστήριον (Jilasthrion). As such it forms a complete noun phrase and could be written as “mercy-seat-accessible-through-faith” to emphasize the singular idea. See Rom 1:4 for a similar construction. The word “accessible” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied to clarify the idea expressed by the prepositional phrase (cf. NRSV: “effective through faith”).

[3:25]  ²⁷ tn Grk “for a demonstration,” giving the purpose of God’s action in v. 25a. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:25]  ²⁸ tn Grk “because of the passing over of sins previously committed in the forbearance of God.”