Romans 2:1

The Condemnation of the Moralist

2:1 ¹ Therefore ²  you are without excuse, ³  whoever you are, ⁴  when you judge someone else. ⁵  For on whatever grounds ⁶  you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things.

Daniel 10:19

10:19 He said to me, “Don’t be afraid, you who are valued. ⁷  Peace be to you! Be strong! Be really strong!” When he spoke to me, I was strengthened. I said, “Sir, you may speak now, ⁸  for you have given me strength.”

Luke 12:14

12:14 But Jesus ⁹  said to him, “Man, ¹⁰  who made me a judge or arbitrator between you two?” ¹¹ 

Luke 22:58

22:58 Then ¹²  a little later someone else ¹³  saw him and said, “You are one of them too.” But Peter said, “Man, ¹⁴  I am not!”

Luke 22:60

22:60 But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” At that moment, ¹⁵  while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. ¹⁶ 

[2:1]  ¹ sn Rom 2:1-29 presents unusual difficulties for the interpreter. There have been several major approaches to the chapter and the group(s) it refers to: (1) Rom 2:14 refers to Gentile Christians, not Gentiles who obey the Jewish law. (2) Paul in Rom 2 is presenting a hypothetical viewpoint: If anyone could obey the law, that person would be justified, but no one can. (3) The reference to “the ones who do the law” in 2:13 are those who “do” the law in the right way, on the basis of faith, not according to Jewish legalism. (4) Rom 2:13 only speaks about Christians being judged in the future, along with such texts as Rom 14:10 and 2 Cor 5:10. (5) Paul’s material in Rom 2 is drawn heavily from Diaspora Judaism, so that the treatment of the law presented here cannot be harmonized with other things Paul says about the law elsewhere (E. P. Sanders, Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People, 123); another who sees Rom 2 as an example of Paul’s inconsistency in his treatment of the law is H. Räisänen, Paul and the Law [WUNT], 101-9. (6) The list of blessings and curses in Deut 27–30 provide the background for Rom 2; the Gentiles of 2:14 are Gentile Christians, but the condemnation of Jews in 2:17-24 addresses the failure of Jews as a nation to keep the law as a whole (A. Ito, “Romans 2: A Deuteronomistic Reading,” JSNT 59 [1995]: 21-37).

[2:1]  ² tn Some interpreters (e.g., C. K. Barrett, Romans [HNTC], 43) connect the inferential Διό (dio, “therefore”) with 1:32a, treating 1:32b as a parenthetical comment by Paul.

[2:1]  ³ tn That is, “you have nothing to say in your own defense” (so translated by TCNT).

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “O man.”

[2:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “Therefore, you are without excuse, O man, everyone [of you] who judges.”

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “in/by (that) which.”

[10:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “treasured man.”

[10:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “my lord may speak.”

[12:14]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:14]  ¹⁰ tn This term of address can be harsh or gentle depending on the context (BDAG 82 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 8). Here it is a rebuke.

[12:14]  ¹¹ tn The pronoun ὑμᾶς (Jumas) is plural, referring to both the man and his brother; thus the translation “you two.”

[22:58]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[22:58]  ¹³ sn In Mark 14:69, the same slave girl made the charge. So apparently Peter was being identified by a variety of people.

[22:58]  ¹⁴ tn Here and in v. 60 “Man” is used as a neutral form of address to a stranger.

[22:60]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And immediately.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:60]  ¹⁶ tn A real rooster crowing is probably in view here (rather than the Roman trumpet call known as gallicinium), in part due to the fact that Mark 14:72 mentions the rooster crowing twice. See the discussion at Matt 26:74.