Romans 3:21--4:25

3:21 But now ¹  apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) ²  has been disclosed – 3:22 namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ ³  for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 3:24 But they are justified ⁴  freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 3:25 God publicly displayed ⁵  him ⁶  at his death ⁷  as the mercy seat ⁸  accessible through faith. ⁹  This was to demonstrate ¹⁰  his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed. ¹¹  3:26 This was ¹²  also to demonstrate ¹³  his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just ¹⁴  and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness. ¹⁵ 

3:27 Where, then, is boasting? ¹⁶  It is excluded! By what principle? ¹⁷  Of works? No, but by the principle of faith! 3:28 For we consider that a person ¹⁸  is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law. ¹⁹  3:29 Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles too? Yes, of the Gentiles too! 3:30 Since God is one, ²⁰  he will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 3:31 Do we then nullify ²¹  the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead ²²  we uphold the law.

The Illustration of Justification

4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, ²³  has discovered regarding this matter? ²⁴  4:2 For if Abraham was declared righteous ²⁵  by the works of the law, he has something to boast about – but not before God. 4:3 For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited ²⁶  to him as righteousness.” ²⁷  4:4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation. ²⁸  4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, ²⁹  his faith is credited as righteousness.

4:6 So even David himself speaks regarding the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

4:7 “Blessed ³⁰  are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;

4:8 blessed is the one ³¹  against whom the Lord will never count ³²  sin.” ³³ 

4:9 Is this blessedness ³⁴  then for ³⁵  the circumcision ³⁶  or also for ³⁷  the uncircumcision? For we say, “faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” ³⁸  4:10 How then was it credited to him? Was he circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised! 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, ³⁹  so that he would become ⁴⁰  the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, ⁴¹  that they too could have righteousness credited to them. 4:12 And he is also the father of the circumcised, ⁴²  who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised. ⁴³ 

4:13 For the promise ⁴⁴  to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 4:14 For if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. ⁴⁵  4:15 For the law brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression ⁴⁶  either. 4:16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, ⁴⁷  with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants – not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, ⁴⁸  who is the father of us all 4:17 (as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”). ⁴⁹  He is our father ⁵⁰  in the presence of God whom he believed – the God who ⁵¹  makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do. ⁵²  4:18 Against hope Abraham ⁵³  believed ⁵⁴  in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations ⁵⁵  according to the pronouncement, ⁵⁶  “so will your descendants be.” ⁵⁷  4:19 Without being weak in faith, he considered ⁵⁸  his own body as dead ⁵⁹  (because he was about one hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 4:20 He ⁶⁰  did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. 4:21 He was ⁶¹  fully convinced that what God ⁶²  promised he was also able to do. 4:22 So indeed it was credited to Abraham ⁶³  as righteousness.

4:23 But the statement it was credited to him ⁶⁴  was not written only for Abraham’s ⁶⁵  sake, 4:24 but also for our sake, to whom it will be credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 4:25 He ⁶⁶  was given over ⁶⁷  because of our transgressions and was raised for the sake of ⁶⁸  our justification. ⁶⁹ 

[3:21]  ¹ tn Νυνὶ δέ (Nuni de, “But now”) could be understood as either (1) logical or (2) temporal in force, but most recent interpreters take it as temporal, referring to a new phase in salvation history.

[3:21]  ² tn Grk “being witnessed by the law and the prophets,” a remark which is virtually parenthetical to Paul’s argument.

[3:22]  ³ tn Or “faith in Christ.” A decision is difficult here. Though traditionally translated “faith in Jesus Christ,” an increasing number of NT scholars are arguing that πίστις Χριστοῦ (pisti" Cristou) and similar phrases in Paul (here and in v. 26; Gal 2:16, 20; 3:22; Eph 3:12; Phil 3:9) involve a subjective genitive and mean “Christ’s faith” or “Christ’s faithfulness” (cf., e.g., G. Howard, “The ‘Faith of Christ’,” ExpTim 85 [1974]: 212-15; R. B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ [SBLDS]; Morna D. Hooker, “Πίστις Χριστοῦ,” NTS 35 [1989]: 321-42). Noteworthy among the arguments for the subjective genitive view is that when πίστις takes a personal genitive it is almost never an objective genitive (cf. Matt 9:2, 22, 29; Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; Luke 5:20; 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom 1:8; 12; 3:3; 4:5, 12, 16; 1 Cor 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:17; Col 1:4; 2:5; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:2, 5, 10; 2 Thess 1:3; Titus 1:1; Phlm 6; 1 Pet 1:9, 21; 2 Pet 1:5). On the other hand, the objective genitive view has its adherents: A. Hultgren, “The Pistis Christou Formulations in Paul,” NovT 22 (1980): 248-63; J. D. G. Dunn, “Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ,” SBL Seminar Papers, 1991, 730-44. Most commentaries on Romans and Galatians usually side with the objective view.

[3:24]  ⁴ tn Or “declared righteous.” Grk “being justified,” as a continuation of the preceding clause. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:25]  ⁵ tn Or “purposed, intended.”

[3:25]  ⁶ tn Grk “whom God publicly displayed.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:25]  ⁷ tn Grk “in his blood.” The prepositional phrase ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι (ejn tw aujtou {aimati) is difficult to interpret. It is traditionally understood to refer to the atoning sacrifice Jesus made when he shed his blood on the cross, and as a modifier of ἱλαστήριον (Jilasthrion). This interpretation fits if ἱλαστήριον is taken to refer to a sacrifice. But if ἱλαστήριον is taken to refer to the place where atonement is made as this translation has done (see note on the phrase “mercy seat”), this interpretation of ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι creates a violent mixed metaphor. Within a few words Paul would switch from referring to Jesus as the place where atonement was made to referring to Jesus as the atoning sacrifice itself. A viable option which resolves this problem is to see ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι as modifying the verb προέθετο (proeqeto). If it modifies the verb, it would explain the time or place in which God publicly displayed Jesus as the mercy seat; the reference to blood would be a metaphorical way of speaking of Jesus’ death. This is supported by the placement of ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι in the Greek text (it follows the noun, separated from it by another prepositional phrase) and by stylistic parallels with Rom 1:4. This is the interpretation the translation has followed, although it is recognized that many interpreters favor different options and translations. The prepositional phrase has been moved forward in the sentence to emphasize its connection with the verb, and the referent of the metaphorical language has been specified in the translation. For a detailed discussion of this interpretation, see D. P. Bailey, “Jesus As the Mercy Seat: The Semantics and Theology of Paul’s Use of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25” (Ph.D. diss., University of Cambridge, 1999).

[3:25]  ⁸ tn The word ἱλαστήριον (Jilasthrion) may carry the general sense “place of satisfaction,” referring to the place where God’s wrath toward sin is satisfied. More likely, though, it refers specifically to the “mercy seat,” i.e., the covering of the ark where the blood was sprinkled in the OT ritual on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This term is used only one other time in the NT: Heb 9:5, where it is rendered “mercy seat.” There it describes the altar in the most holy place (holy of holies). Thus Paul is saying that God displayed Jesus as the “mercy seat,” the place where propitiation was accomplished. See N. S. L. Fryer, “The Meaning and Translation of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25,” EvQ 59 (1987): 99-116, who concludes the term is a neuter accusative substantive best translated “mercy seat” or “propitiatory covering,” and D. P. Bailey, “Jesus As the Mercy Seat: The Semantics and Theology of Paul’s Use of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25” (Ph.D. diss., University of Cambridge, 1999), who argues that this is a direct reference to the mercy seat which covered the ark of the covenant.

[3:25]  ⁹ tn The prepositional phrase διὰ πίστεως (dia pistew") here modifies the noun ἱλαστήριον (Jilasthrion). As such it forms a complete noun phrase and could be written as “mercy-seat-accessible-through-faith” to emphasize the singular idea. See Rom 1:4 for a similar construction. The word “accessible” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied to clarify the idea expressed by the prepositional phrase (cf. NRSV: “effective through faith”).

[3:25]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “for a demonstration,” giving the purpose of God’s action in v. 25a. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:25]  ¹¹ tn Grk “because of the passing over of sins previously committed in the forbearance of God.”

[3:26]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Grk “toward a demonstration,” repeating and expanding the purpose of God’s action in v. 25a.

[3:26]  ¹⁴ tn Or “righteous.”

[3:26]  ¹⁵ 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.”

[3:27]  ¹⁶ tn Although a number of interpreters understand the “boasting” here to refer to Jewish boasting, others (e.g. C. E. B. Cranfield, “‘The Works of the Law’ in the Epistle to the Romans,” JSNT 43 [1991]: 96) take the phrase to refer to all human boasting before God.

[3:27]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “By what sort of law?”

[3:28]  ¹⁸ tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon) is used in an indefinite and general sense (BDAG 81 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 4.a.γ).

[3:28]  ¹⁹ tn See the note on the phrase “works of the law” in Rom 3:20.

[3:30]  ²⁰ tn Grk “but if indeed God is one.”

[3:31]  ²¹ tn Grk “render inoperative.”

[3:31]  ²² tn Grk “but” (Greek ἀλλά, alla).

[4:1]  ²³ tn Or “according to natural descent” (BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 4).

[4:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “has found?”

[4:2]  ²⁵ tn Or “was justified.”

[4:3]  ²⁶ tn The term λογίζομαι (logizomai) occurs 11 times in this chapter (vv. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24). In secular usage it could (a) refer to deliberations of some sort, or (b) in commercial dealings (as virtually a technical term) to “reckoning” or “charging up a debt.” See H. W. Heidland, TDNT 4:284, 290-92.

[4:3]  ²⁷ sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[4:4]  ²⁸ tn Grk “not according to grace but according to obligation.”

[4:5]  ²⁹ tn Or “who justifies the ungodly.”

[4:7]  ³⁰ tn Or “Happy.”

[4:8]  ³¹ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[4:8]  ³² tn The verb translated “count” here is λογίζομαι (logizomai). It occurs eight times in Rom 4:1-12, including here, each time with the sense of “place on someone’s account.” By itself the word is neutral, but in particular contexts it can take on a positive or negative connotation. The other occurrences of the verb have been translated using a form of the English verb “credit” because they refer to a positive event: the application of righteousness to the individual believer. The use here in v. 8 is negative: the application of sin. A form of the verb “credit” was not used here because of the positive connotations associated with that English word, but it is important to recognize that the same concept is used here as in the other occurrences.

[4:8]  ³³ sn A quotation from Ps 32:1-2.

[4:9]  ³⁴ tn Or “happiness.”

[4:9]  ³⁵ tn Grk “upon.”

[4:9]  ³⁶ sn See the note on “circumcision” in 2:25.

[4:9]  ³⁷ tn Grk “upon.”

[4:9]  ³⁸ sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[4:11]  ³⁹ tn Grk “of the faith, the one [existing] in uncircumcision.”

[4:11]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “that he might be,” giving the purpose of v. 11a.

[4:11]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “through uncircumcision.”

[4:12]  ⁴² tn Grk “the father of circumcision.”

[4:12]  ⁴³ tn Grk “the ‘in-uncircumcision faith’ of our father Abraham.”

[4:13]  ⁴⁴ sn Although a singular noun, the promise is collective and does not refer only to Gen 12:7, but as D. Moo (Romans 1-8 [WEC], 279) points out, refers to multiple aspects of the promise to Abraham: multiplied descendants (Gen 12:2), possession of the land (Gen 13:15-17), and his becoming the vehicle of blessing to all people (Gen 12:13).

[4:14]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “rendered inoperative.”

[4:15]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “violation.”

[4:16]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “that it might be according to grace.”

[4:16]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “those who are of the faith of Abraham.”

[4:17]  ⁴⁹ tn Verses 16-17 comprise one sentence in Greek, but this has been divided into two sentences due to English requirements.

[4:17]  ⁵⁰ tn The words “He is our father” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to show that they resume Paul’s argument from 16b. (It is also possible to supply “Abraham had faith” here [so REB], taking the relative clause [“who is the father of us all”] as part of the parenthesis, and making the connection back to “the faith of Abraham,” but such an option is not as likely [C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:243].)

[4:17]  ⁵¹ tn “The God” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[4:17]  ⁵² tn Or “calls into existence the things that do not exist.” The translation of ὡς ὄντα (Jw" onta) allows for two different interpretations. If it has the force of result, then creatio ex nihilo is in view and the variant rendering is to be accepted (so C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:244). A problem with this view is the scarcity of ὡς plus participle to indicate result (though for the telic idea with ὡς plus participle, cf. Rom 15:15; 1 Thess 2:4). If it has a comparative force, then the translation given in the text is to be accepted: “this interpretation fits the immediate context better than a reference to God’s creative power, for it explains the assurance with which God can speak of the ‘many nations’ that will be descended from Abraham” (D. Moo, Romans [NICNT], 282; so also W. Sanday and A. C. Headlam, Romans [ICC], 113). Further, this view is in line with a Pauline idiom, viz., verb followed by ὡς plus participle (of the same verb or, in certain contexts, its antonym) to compare present reality with what is not a present reality (cf. 1 Cor 4:7; 5:3; 7:29, 30 (three times), 31; Col 2:20 [similarly, 2 Cor 6:9, 10]).

[4:18]  ⁵³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:18]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “who against hope believed,” referring to Abraham. 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.

[4:18]  ⁵⁵ sn A quotation from Gen 17:5.

[4:18]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “according to that which had been spoken.”

[4:18]  ⁵⁷ sn A quotation from Gen 15:5.

[4:19]  ⁵⁸ tc Most mss (D F G Ψ 33 1881 Ï it) read “he did not consider” by including the negative particle (οὐ, ou), but others (א A B C 6 81 365 1506 1739 pc co) lack οὐ. The reading which includes the negative particle probably represents a scribal attempt to exalt the faith of Abraham by making it appear that his faith was so strong that he did not even consider the physical facts. But “here Paul does not wish to imply that faith means closing one’s eyes to reality, but that Abraham was so strong in faith as to be undaunted by every consideration” (TCGNT 451). Both on external and internal grounds, the reading without the negative particle is preferred.

[4:19]  ⁵⁹ tc ‡ Most witnesses (א A C D Ψ 33 Ï bo) have ἤδη (hdh, “already”) at this point in v. 19. But B F G 630 1739 1881 pc lat sa lack it. Since it appears to heighten the style of the narrative and since there is no easy accounting for an accidental omission, it is best to regard the shorter text as original. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[4:20]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here.

[4:21]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “and being.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:21]  ⁶² tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:22]  ⁶³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:23]  ⁶⁴ tn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[4:23]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:25]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “who,” referring to Jesus. 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.

[4:25]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “handed over.”

[4:25]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “because of.” However, in light of the unsatisfactory sense that a causal nuance would here suggest, it has been argued that the second διά (dia) is prospective rather than retrospective (D. Moo, Romans [NICNT], 288-89). The difficulty of this interpretation is the structural balance that both διά phrases provide (“given over because of our transgressions…raised because of our justification”). However the poetic structure of this verse strengthens the likelihood that the clauses each have a different force.

[4:25]  ⁶⁹ sn Many scholars regard Rom 4:25 to be poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage.