Romans 3:25

3:25 God publicly displayed ¹  him ²  at his death ³  as the mercy seat ⁴  accessible through faith. ⁵  This was to demonstrate ⁶  his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed. ⁷ 

Romans 4:12

4:12 And he is also the father of the circumcised, ⁸  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. ⁹ 

Romans 4:19

4:19 Without being weak in faith, he considered ¹⁰  his own body as dead ¹¹  (because he was about one hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.

Romans 5:2

5:2 through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice ¹²  in the hope of God’s glory.

Romans 6:6

6:6 We know that ¹³  our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, ¹⁴  so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Romans 6:17

6:17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed ¹⁵  from the heart that pattern ¹⁶  of teaching you were entrusted to,

Romans 6:22-23

6:22 But now, freed ¹⁷  from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit ¹⁸  leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. 6:23 For the payoff ¹⁹  of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 7:8

7:8 But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires. ²⁰  For apart from the law, sin is dead.

Romans 8:7

8:7 because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so.

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 ²¹  would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ²² 

Romans 8:35

8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ²³ 

Romans 9:27

9:27 And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, “Though the number of the children ²⁴  of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved,

Romans 11:8

11:8 as it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,

eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear,

to this very day.” ²⁵ 

Romans 16:4-5

16:4 who risked their own necks for my life. Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 16:5 Also greet the church in their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, ²⁶  who was the first convert ²⁷  to Christ in the province of Asia. ²⁸ 

Romans 16:20

16:20 The God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

[3:25]  ¹ tn Or “purposed, intended.”

[3:25]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “because of the passing over of sins previously committed in the forbearance of God.”

[4:12]  ⁸ tn Grk “the father of circumcision.”

[4:12]  ⁹ tn Grk “the ‘in-uncircumcision faith’ of our father Abraham.”

[4:19]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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.

[5:2]  ²² tn Or “exult, boast.”

[6:6]  ²⁹ tn Grk “knowing this, that.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:6]  ³⁰ tn Grk “may be rendered ineffective, inoperative,” or possibly “may be destroyed.” The term καταργέω (katargew) has various nuances. In Rom 7:2 the wife whose husband has died is freed from the law (i.e., the law of marriage no longer has any power over her, in spite of what she may feel). A similar point seems to be made here (note v. 7).

[6:17]  ³⁶ tn Grk “you were slaves of sin but you obeyed.”

[6:17]  ³⁷ tn Or “type, form.”

[6:22]  ⁴³ tn The two aorist participles translated “freed” and “enslaved” are causal in force; their full force is something like “But now, since you have become freed from sin and since you have become enslaved to God….”

[6:22]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “fruit.”

[6:23]  ⁵⁰ tn A figurative extension of ὀψώνιον (oywnion), which refers to a soldier’s pay or wages. Here it refers to the end result of an activity, seen as something one receives back in return. In this case the activity is sin, and the translation “payoff” captures this thought. See also L&N 89.42.

[7:8]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “covetousness.”

[8:29]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God’s Son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:29]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[8:35]  ⁷¹ tn Here “sword” is a metonymy that includes both threats of violence and acts of violence, even including death (although death is not necessarily the only thing in view here).

[9:27]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “sons.”

[11:8]  ⁸⁵ sn A quotation from Deut 29:4; Isa 29:10.

[16:5]  ⁹² sn The spelling Epenetus is also used by NIV, NLT; the name is alternately spelled Epaenetus (NASB, NKJV, NRSV).

[16:5]  ⁹³ tn Grk “first fruit.” This is a figurative use referring to Epenetus as the first Christian convert in the region.

[16:5]  ⁹⁴ 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.