Romans 1:14

1:14 I am a debtor ¹  both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

Romans 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²  a slave ³  of Christ Jesus, ⁴  called to be an apostle, ⁵  set apart for the gospel of God. ⁶ 

Romans 12:1-21

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ⁷  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ⁸  – which is your reasonable service. 12:2 Do not be conformed ⁹  to this present world, ¹⁰  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ¹¹  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Conduct in Humility

12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you ¹²  a measure of faith. ¹³  12:4 For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, 12:5 so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. 12:6 And we have different gifts ¹⁴  according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. 12:7 If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; 12:8 if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

Conduct in Love

12:9 Love must be ¹⁵  without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. 12:10 Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another. 12:11 Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. 12:12 Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer. 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality. 12:14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 12:16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. ¹⁶  Do not be conceited. ¹⁷  12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people. ¹⁸  12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people. ¹⁹  12:19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, ²⁰  for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” ²¹  says the Lord. 12:20 Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head. ²²  12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

[1:14]  ¹ tn Or “obligated.”

[1:1]  ² tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ³ tn Traditionally, “servant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ⁴ tc Many important mss, as well as several others (̲⁶ א A G Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï), have a reversed order of these words and read “Jesus Christ” rather than “Christ Jesus” (̹⁰ B 81 pc). The meaning is not affected in either case, but the reading “Christ Jesus” is preferred as slightly more difficult and thus more likely the original (a scribe who found it would be prone to change it to the more common expression). At the same time, Paul is fond of the order “Christ Jesus,” especially in certain letters such as Romans, Galatians, and Philippians. As well, the later Pauline letters almost uniformly use this order in the salutations. A decision is difficult, but “Christ Jesus” is slightly preferred.

[1:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “a called apostle.”

[1:1]  ⁶ tn The genitive in the phrase εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ (euangelion qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as (1) a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or (2) an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself. However, in view of God’s action in v. 2 concerning this gospel, a subjective genitive notion (“the gospel which God brings”) is slightly preferred.

[12:1]  ³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[12:1]  ⁴ tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.

[12:2]  ⁴ tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.

[12:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “to this age.”

[12:2]  ⁶ sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”

[12:3]  ⁵ tn The words “of you” have been supplied for clarity.

[12:3]  ⁶ tn Or “to each as God has distributed a measure of faith.”

[12:6]  ⁶ tn This word comes from the same root as “grace” in the following clause; it means “things graciously given,” “grace-gifts.”

[12:9]  ⁷ tn The verb “must be” is understood in the Greek text.

[12:16]  ⁸ tn Or “but give yourselves to menial tasks.” The translation depends on whether one takes the adjective “lowly” as masculine or neuter.

[12:16]  ⁹ tn Grk “Do not be wise in your thinking.”

[12:17]  ⁹ tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.

[12:18]  ¹⁰ tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.

[12:19]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the wrath,” referring to God’s wrath as the remainder of the verse shows.

[12:19]  ¹² sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.

[12:20]  ¹² sn A quotation from Prov 25:21-22.