Romans 1:28

1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, ¹  God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. ² 

Romans 2:15

2:15 They ³  show that the work of the law is written ⁴  in their hearts, as their conscience bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or else defend ⁵  them, ⁶ 

Romans 8:23

8:23 Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, ⁷  groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, ⁸  the redemption of our bodies. ⁹ 

Romans 12:2

12:2 Do not be conformed ¹⁰  to this present world, ¹¹  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ¹²  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

[1:28]  ¹ tn Grk “and just as they did not approve to have God in knowledge.”

[1:28]  ² tn Grk “the things that are improper.”

[2:15]  ³ 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.

[2:15]  ⁴ tn Grk “show the work of the law [to be] written,” with the words in brackets implied by the Greek construction.

[2:15]  ⁵ tn Or “excuse.”

[2:15]  ⁶ tn Grk “their conscience bearing witness and between the thoughts accusing or also defending one another.”

[8:23]  ⁵ tn Or “who have the Spirit as firstfruits.” The genitive πνεύματος (pneumatos) can be understood here as possessive (“the firstfruits belonging to the Spirit”) although it is much more likely that this is a genitive of apposition (“the firstfruits, namely, the Spirit”); cf. TEV, NLT.

[8:23]  ⁶ tn See the note on “adoption” in v. 15.

[8:23]  ⁷ tn Grk “body.”

[12:2]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Grk “to this age.”

[12:2]  ⁹ sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”