Romans 1:11-12

1:11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift ¹  to strengthen you, 1:12 that is, that we may be mutually comforted by one another’s faith, ²  both yours and mine.

Romans 3:22

3:22 namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ ³  for all who believe. For there is no distinction,

Romans 5:7

5:7 (For rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might possibly dare to die.) ⁴ 

Romans 6:3

6:3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

Romans 6:21

6:21 So what benefit ⁵  did you then reap ⁶  from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death.

Romans 8:24

8:24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees?

Romans 8:36

8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ⁷ 

Romans 9:1

Israel’s Rejection Considered

9:1 ⁸ I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me ⁹  in the Holy Spirit –

Romans 9:15

9:15 For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁰ 

Romans 15:28

15:28 Therefore after I have completed this and have safely delivered this bounty to them, ¹¹  I will set out for Spain by way of you,

[1:11]  ¹ sn Paul does not mean here that he is going to bestow upon the Roman believers what is commonly known as a “spiritual gift,” that is, a special enabling for service given to believers by the Holy Spirit. Instead, this is either a metonymy of cause for effect (Paul will use his own spiritual gifts to edify the Romans), or it simply means something akin to a blessing or benefit in the spiritual realm. It is possible that Paul uses this phrase to connote specifically the broader purpose of his letter, which is for the Romans to understand his gospel, but this seems less likely.

[1:12]  ² tn Grk “that is, to be comforted together with you through the faith in one another.”

[3:22]  ³ tn Or “faith in 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. 26; Gal 2:16, 20; 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.

[5:7]  ⁴ sn Verse 7 forms something of a parenthetical comment in Paul’s argument.

[6:21]  ⁵ tn Grk “fruit.”

[6:21]  ⁶ tn Grk “have,” in a tense emphasizing their customary condition in the past.

[8:36]  ⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 44:22.

[9:1]  ⁷ sn Rom 9:1–11:36. These three chapters are among the most difficult and disputed in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. One area of difficulty is the relationship between Israel and the church, especially concerning the nature and extent of Israel’s election. Many different models have been constructed to express this relationship. For a representative survey, see M. Barth, The People of God (JSNTSup), 22-27. The literary genre of these three chapters has been frequently identified as a diatribe, a philosophical discussion or conversation evolved by the Cynic and Stoic schools of philosophy as a means of popularizing their ideas (E. Käsemann, Romans, 261 and 267). But other recent scholars have challenged the idea that Rom 9–11 is characterized by diatribe. Scholars like R. Scroggs and E. E. Ellis have instead identified the material in question as midrash. For a summary and discussion of the rabbinic connections, see W. R. Stegner, “Romans 9.6-29 – A Midrash,” JSNT 22 (1984): 37-52.

[9:1]  ⁸ tn Or “my conscience bears witness to me.”

[9:15]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Exod 33:19.

[15:28]  ⁹ tn Grk “have sealed this fruit to them.”