Romans 1:25

1:25 They ¹  exchanged the truth of God for a lie ²  and worshiped and served the creation ³  rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Romans 12:2

12:2 Do not be conformed ⁴  to this present world, ⁵  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ⁶  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

[1:25]  ¹ tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:25]  ² tn Grk “the lie.”

[1:25]  ³ tn Or “creature, created things.”

[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.”