Romans 10:21

10:21 But about Israel he says, “All day long I held out my hands to this disobedient and stubborn people!” ¹ 

Romans 4:2

4:2 For if Abraham was declared righteous ²  by the works of the law, he has something to boast about – but not before God.

Romans 8:31

8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 15:2

15:2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up.

Romans 15:17

15:17 So I boast ³  in Christ Jesus about the things that pertain to God.

Romans 15:22

Paul’s Intention of Visiting the Romans

15:22 This is the reason I was often hindered from coming to you.

Romans 15:29

15:29 and I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of Christ’s blessing.

Romans 15:32

15:32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.

Romans 5:1

The Expectation of Justification

5:1 ⁴ Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have ⁵  peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Romans 8:18

8:18 For I consider that our present sufferings cannot even be compared ⁶  to the glory that will be revealed to us.

Romans 10:1

10:1 Brothers and sisters, ⁷  my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites ⁸  is for their salvation.

Romans 1:10

1:10 and I always ask ⁹  in my prayers, if perhaps now at last I may succeed in visiting you according to the will of God. ¹⁰ 

Romans 15:23

15:23 But now there is nothing more to keep me ¹¹  in these regions, and I have for many years desired ¹²  to come to you

Romans 1:13

1:13 I do not want you to be unaware, ¹³  brothers and sisters, ¹⁴  that I often intended to come to you (and was prevented until now), so that I may have some fruit even among you, just as I already have among the rest of the Gentiles. ¹⁵ 

Romans 3:26

3:26 This was ¹⁶  also to demonstrate ¹⁷  his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just ¹⁸  and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness. ¹⁹ 

Romans 15:30

15:30 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, ²⁰  through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to join fervently with me in prayer to God on my behalf.

[10:21]  ¹ sn A quotation from Isa 65:2.

[4:2]  ² tn Or “was justified.”

[15:17]  ³ tc ‡ After οὖν (oun), several important Alexandrian and Western mss (B C D F G 81 365 pc) have τήν (thn). The article is lacking in א A Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï however. Ì⁴⁶ supplies a relative pronoun and has a different reading entirely (“which I have [as a] boast”). Articles were frequently introduced to clarify the meaning of the text. In this instance, since the word modified (καύχησιν, kauchsin) is third declension, a visual oversight (resulting in omission) is less likely. Hence, the shorter reading is probably original. The difference in translation between these first two options is negligible (“I have the boast” or “I have a boast”). NA²⁷ puts the article in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[5:1]  ⁴ sn Many interpreters see Rom 5:1 as beginning the second major division of the letter.

[5:1]  ⁵ tc A number of important witnesses have the subjunctive ἔχωμεν (ecwmen, “let us have”) instead of ἔχομεν (ecomen, “we have”) in v. 1. Included in the subjunctive’s support are א* A B* C D K L 33 81 630 1175 1739* pm lat bo. But the indicative is not without its supporters: א¹ B² F G P Ψ 0220^vid 104 365 1241 1505 1506 1739^c 1881 2464 pm. If the problem were to be solved on an external basis only, the subjunctive would be preferred. Because of this, the “A” rating on behalf of the indicative in the UBS⁴ appears overly confident. Nevertheless, the indicative is probably correct. First, the earliest witness to Rom 5:1 has the indicative (0220^vid, third century). Second, the first set of correctors is sometimes, if not often, of equal importance with the original hand. Hence, א¹ might be given equal value with א*. Third, there is a good cross-section of witnesses for the indicative: Alexandrian (in 0220^vid, probably א¹ 1241 1506 1881 al), Western (in F G), and Byzantine (noted in NA²⁷ as pm). Thus, although the external evidence is strongly in favor of the subjunctive, the indicative is represented well enough that its ancestry could easily go back to the original. Turning to the internal evidence, the indicative gains much ground. (1) The variant may have been produced via an error of hearing (since omicron and omega were pronounced alike in ancient Greek). This, of course, does not indicate which reading was original – just that an error of hearing may have produced one of them. In light of the indecisiveness of the transcriptional evidence, intrinsic evidence could play a much larger role. This is indeed the case here. (2) The indicative fits well with the overall argument of the book to this point. Up until now, Paul has been establishing the “indicatives of the faith.” There is only one imperative (used rhetorically) and only one hortatory subjunctive (and this in a quotation within a diatribe) up till this point, while from ch. 6 on there are sixty-one imperatives and seven hortatory subjunctives. Clearly, an exhortation would be out of place in ch. 5. (3) Paul presupposes that the audience has peace with God (via reconciliation) in 5:10. This seems to assume the indicative in v. 1. (4) As C. E. B. Cranfield notes, “it would surely be strange for Paul, in such a carefully argued writing as this, to exhort his readers to enjoy or to guard a peace which he has not yet explicitly shown to be possessed by them” (Romans [ICC], 1:257). (5) The notion that εἰρήνην ἔχωμεν (eirhnhn ecwmen) can even naturally mean “enjoy peace” is problematic (ExSyn 464), yet those who embrace the subjunctive have to give the verb some such force. Thus, although the external evidence is stronger in support of the subjunctive, the internal evidence points to the indicative. Although a decision is difficult, ἔχομεν appears to be the authentic reading.

[8:18]  ⁵ tn Grk “are not worthy [to be compared].”

[10:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[10:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “on behalf of them”; the referent (Paul’s fellow Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:10]  ⁷ tn Grk “remember you, always asking.”

[1:10]  ⁸ tn Grk “succeed in coming to you in the will of God.”

[15:23]  ⁸ tn Grk “now no longer having a place…I have.”

[15:23]  ⁹ tn Grk “but having a desire…for many years.”

[1:13]  ⁹ sn The expression “I do not want you to be unaware [Grk ignorant]” also occurs in 1 Cor 10:1; 12:1; 1 Thess 4:13. Paul uses the phrase to signal that he is about to say something very important.

[1:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in order that I might have some fruit also among you just as also among the rest of the Gentiles.”

[3:26]  ¹⁰ tn The words “This was” have been repeated from the previous verse to clarify that this is a continuation of that thought. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:26]  ¹¹ tn Grk “toward a demonstration,” repeating and expanding the purpose of God’s action in v. 25a.

[3:26]  ¹² tn Or “righteous.”

[3:26]  ¹³ tn Or “of the one who has faith in Jesus.” See note on “faithfulness of Jesus Christ” in v. 22 for the rationale behind the translation “Jesus’ faithfulness.”

[15:30]  ¹¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.