Romans 4:13

4:13 For the promise ¹  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.

Romans 4:18

4:18 Against hope Abraham ²  believed ³  in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations ⁴  according to the pronouncement, ⁵  “so will your descendants be.” ⁶ 

Romans 9:8

9:8 This means ⁷  it is not the children of the flesh ⁸  who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants.

Romans 9:29

9:29 Just ⁹  as Isaiah predicted,

“If the Lord of armies ¹⁰  had not left us descendants,

we would have become like Sodom,

and we would have resembled Gomorrah.” ¹¹ 

Romans 11:1

Israel’s Rejection not Complete nor Final

11:1 So I ask, God has not rejected his people, has he? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

[4:13]  ¹ 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).

[4:18]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:18]  ³ 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]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Gen 17:5.

[4:18]  ⁵ tn Grk “according to that which had been spoken.”

[4:18]  ⁶ sn A quotation from Gen 15:5.

[9:8]  ³ tn Grk “That is,” or “That is to say.”

[9:8]  ⁴ tn Because it forms the counterpoint to “the children of promise” the expression “children of the flesh” has been retained in the translation.

[9:29]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:29]  ⁵ tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts”; Grk “Lord Sabaoth,” which means “Lord of the [heavenly] armies,” sometimes translated more generally as “Lord Almighty.”

[9:29]  ⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 1:9.