Romans 1:8

Paul’s Desire to Visit Rome

1:8 First of all, ¹  I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world.

Romans 2:9-10

2:9 There will be ²  affliction and distress on everyone ³  who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek, ⁴  2:10 but ⁵  glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, for the Jew first and also the Greek.

Romans 11:35

11:35 Or who has first given to God, ⁶ 

that God ⁷  needs to repay him? ⁸ 

Romans 16:5

16:5 Also greet the church in their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, ⁹  who was the first convert ¹⁰  to Christ in the province of Asia. ¹¹ 

Romans 3:2

3:2 Actually, there are many advantages. ¹²  First of all, ¹³  the Jews ¹⁴  were entrusted with the oracles of God. ¹⁵ 

Romans 1:16

The Power of the Gospel

1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁶ 

Romans 10:19

10:19 But again I ask, didn’t Israel understand? ¹⁷  First Moses says, “I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; with a senseless nation I will provoke you to anger.” ¹⁸ 

Romans 11:16

11:16 If the first portion ¹⁹  of the dough offered is holy, then the whole batch is holy, and if the root is holy, so too are the branches. ²⁰ 

Romans 13:11

Motivation to Godly Conduct

13:11 And do this ²¹  because we know ²²  the time, that it is already the hour for us to awake from sleep, for our salvation is now nearer than when we became believers.

Romans 15:24

15:24 when I go to Spain. For I hope to visit you when I pass through and that you will help me ²³  on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.

Romans 8:23

8:23 Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, ²⁴  groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, ²⁵  the redemption of our bodies. ²⁶ 

Romans 4:10

4:10 How then was it credited to him? Was he circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised!

Romans 11:21

11:21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you.

Romans 1:17

1:17 For the righteousness ²⁷  of God is revealed in the gospel ²⁸  from faith to faith, ²⁹  just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will live.” ³⁰ 

Romans 8:29

8:29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son ³¹  would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³² 

Romans 1:20

1:20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people ³³  are without excuse.

[1:8]  ¹ tn Grk “First.” Paul never mentions a second point, so J. B. Phillips translated “I must begin by telling you….”

[2:9]  ² tn No verb is expressed in this verse, but the verb “to be” is implied by the Greek construction. Literally “suffering and distress on everyone…”

[2:9]  ³ tn Grk “every soul of man.”

[2:9]  ⁴ sn Paul uses the term Greek here and in v. 10 to refer to non-Jews, i.e., Gentiles.

[2:10]  ³ tn Grk “but even,” to emphasize the contrast. The second word has been omitted since it is somewhat redundant in English idiom.

[11:35]  ⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:35]  ⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:35]  ⁶ sn A quotation from Job 41:11.

[16:5]  ⁵ sn The spelling Epenetus is also used by NIV, NLT; the name is alternately spelled Epaenetus (NASB, NKJV, NRSV).

[16:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “first fruit.” This is a figurative use referring to Epenetus as the first Christian convert in the region.

[16:5]  ⁷ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[3:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “much in every way.”

[3:2]  ⁷ tc ‡ Most witnesses (א A D² 33 Ï) have γάρ (gar) after μέν (men), though some significant Alexandrian and Western witnesses lack the conjunction (B D* G Ψ 81 365 1506 2464* pc latt). A few mss have γάρ, but not μέν (6 1739 1881). γάρ was frequently added by scribes as a clarifying conjunction, making it suspect here. NA²⁷ has the γάρ in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[3:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “they were.”

[3:2]  ⁹ tn The referent of λόγια (logia, “oracles”) has been variously understood: (1) BDAG 598 s.v. λόγιον takes the term to refer here to “God’s promises to the Jews”; (2) some have taken this to refer more narrowly to the national promises of messianic salvation given to Israel (so S. L. Johnson, Jr., “Studies in Romans: Part VII: The Jews and the Oracles of God,” BSac 130 [1973]: 245); (3) perhaps the most widespread interpretation sees the term as referring to the entire OT generally.

[1:16]  ⁷ sn Here the Greek refers to anyone who is not Jewish.

[10:19]  ⁸ tn Grk “Israel did not ‘not know,’ did he?” The double negative in Greek has been translated as a positive affirmation for clarity (see v. 18 above for a similar situation).

[10:19]  ⁹ sn A quotation from Deut 32:21.

[11:16]  ⁹ tn Grk “firstfruits,” a term for the first part of something that has been set aside and offered to God before the remainder can be used.

[11:16]  ¹⁰ sn Most interpreters see Paul as making use of a long-standing metaphor of the olive tree (the root…the branches) as a symbol for Israel. See, in this regard, Jer 11:16, 19. A. T. Hanson, Studies in Paul’s Technique and Theology, 121-24, cites rabbinic use of the figure of the olive tree, and goes so far as to argue that Rom 11:17-24 is a midrash on Jer 11:16-19.

[13:11]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and this,” probably referring to the command to love (13:8-10); hence, “do” is implied from the previous verses.

[13:11]  ¹¹ tn The participle εἰδότες (eidotes) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[15:24]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and to be helped by you.” The passive construction was changed to an active one in the translation.

[8:23]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn See the note on “adoption” in v. 15.

[8:23]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “body.”

[1:17]  ¹³ tn 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]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “in it”; the referent (the gospel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ¹⁵ tn 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]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Hab 2:4.

[8:29]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God’s Son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:29]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[1:20]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “they”; the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.