Romans 2:17-18

The Condemnation of the Jew

2:17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law ¹  and boast of your relationship to God ²  2:18 and know his will ³  and approve the superior things because you receive instruction from the law, ⁴ 

Ezra 7:25

7:25 “Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess, ⁵  appoint judges ⁶  and court officials who can arbitrate cases on behalf of all the people who are in Trans-Euphrates who know the laws of your God. Those who do not know this law should be taught.

Proverbs 6:23

6:23 For the commandments ⁷  are like ⁸  a lamp, ⁹ 

instruction is like a light,

and rebukes of discipline are like ¹⁰  the road leading to life, ¹¹ 

Proverbs 6:1

Admonitions and Warnings against Dangerous and Destructive Acts ¹² 

6:1 My child, ¹³  if you have made a pledge ¹⁴  for your neighbor,

and ¹⁵  have become a guarantor ¹⁶  for a stranger, ¹⁷ 

Colossians 1:8

1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Galatians 4:21

An Appeal from Allegory

4:21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand the law? ¹⁸ 

[2:17]  ¹ sn The law refers to the Mosaic law, described mainly in the OT books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

[2:17]  ² tn Grk “boast in God.” This may be an allusion to Jer 9:24.

[2:18]  ³ tn Grk “the will.”

[2:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “because of being instructed out of the law.”

[7:25]  ⁵ tn Aram “in your hand.”

[7:25]  ⁶ tc For the MT reading שָׁפְטִין (shoftim, “judges”) the LXX uses the noun γραμματεῖς (grammatei", “scribes”).

[6:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “the commandment” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[6:23]  ⁸ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[6:23]  ⁹ sn The terms “lamp,” “light,” and “way” are all metaphors. The positive teachings and commandments will illumine or reveal to the disciple the way to life; the disciplinary correctives will provide guidance into fullness of life.

[6:23]  ¹⁰ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[6:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the way of life” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV, NLT “the way to life.” The noun “life” is a genitive following the construct “way.” It could be an attributive genitive modifying the kind of way/course of life that instruction provides, but it could also be objective in that the course of life followed would produce and lead to life.

[6:1]  ¹² sn The chapter advises release from foolish indebtedness (1-5), admonishes avoiding laziness (6-11), warns of the danger of poverty (9-11) and deviousness (12-15), lists conduct that the Lord hates (16-19), and warns about immorality (20-35).

[6:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “my son” (likewise in vv. 3, 20).

[6:1]  ¹⁴ sn It was fairly common for people to put up some kind of financial security for someone else, that is, to underwrite another’s debts. But the pledge in view here was foolish because the debtor was a neighbor who was not well known (זָר, zar), perhaps a misfit in the community. The one who pledged security for this one was simply gullible.

[6:1]  ¹⁵ tn The conjunction “and” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[6:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “struck your hands”; NIV “have struck hands in pledge”; NASB “have given a pledge.” The guarantee of a pledge was signaled by a handshake (e.g., 11:15; 17:18; 22:26).

[6:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “stranger.” The term זוּר (zur, “stranger”) probably refers to a neighbor who was not well-known. Alternatively, it could describe a person who is living outside the norms of convention, a moral misfit in the community. In any case, this “stranger” is a high risk in any financial arrangement.

[4:21]  ¹⁸ tn Or “will you not hear what the law says?” The Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw) means “hear, listen to,” but by figurative extension it can also mean “obey.” It can also refer to the process of comprehension that follows hearing, and that sense fits the context well here.