Romans 1:17

Context
1:17 For the righteousness¹ of God is revealed in the gospel² from faith to faith,³ just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will live.”⁴

Romans 10:16-17

Context
10:16 But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”⁵ 10:17 Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word⁶ of Christ.⁷

[1:17] ¹tn The nature of the “righteousness” described here and the force of the genitive θεοῦ (“of God”) which follows have been much debated. (1) Some (e.g. C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:98) understand “righteousness” to refer to the righteous status given to believers as a result of God’s justifying activity, and see the genitive “of God” as a genitive of source (= “from God”). (2) Others see the “righteousness” as God’s act or declaration that makes righteous (i.e., justifies) those who turn to him in faith, taking the genitive “of God” as a subjective genitive (see E. Käsemann, Romans, 25-30). (3) Still others see the “righteousness of God” mentioned here as the attribute of God himself, understanding the genitive “of God” as a possessive genitive (“God’s righteousness”).

[1:17] ²tn Grk “in it”; the referent (the gospel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17] ³tn Or “by faith for faith,” or “by faith to faith.” There are many interpretations of the phrase ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (ek pistew" ei" pistin). It may have the idea that this righteousness is obtained by faith (ἐκ πίστεως) because it was designed for faith (εἰς πίστιν). For a summary see J. Murray, Romans (NICNT), 1:363-74.

[1:17] ⁴sn A quotation from Hab 2:4.

[10:16] ⁵sn A quotation from Isa 53:1.

[10:17] ⁶tn The Greek term here is ῥῆμα (rJhma), which often (but not exclusively) focuses on the spoken word.

[10:17] ⁷tc Most mss (א¹ A D¹ Ψ 33 1881 Ï sy) have θεοῦ (qeou) here rather than Χριστοῦ (Cristou; found in Ì^46vid א* B C D* 6 81 629 1506 1739 pc lat co). External evidence strongly favors the reading “Christ” here. Internal evidence is also on its side, for the expression ῥῆμα Χριστοῦ (rJhma Cristou) occurs nowhere else in the NT; thus scribes would be prone to change it to a known expression.