Romans 5:1--8:39

The Expectation of Justification

5:1 ¹ Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have ²  peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 5:2 through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice ³  in the hope of God’s glory. 5:3 Not ⁴  only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 5:4 and endurance, character, and character, hope. 5:5 And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God ⁵  has been poured out ⁶  in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

5:6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 5:7 (For rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might possibly dare to die.) ⁷  5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 5:9 Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous ⁸  by his blood, ⁹  we will be saved through him from God’s wrath. ¹⁰  5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life? 5:11 Not ¹¹  only this, but we also rejoice ¹²  in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

The Amplification of Justification

5:12 So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people ¹³  because ¹⁴  all sinned – 5:13 for before the law was given, ¹⁵  sin was in the world, but there is no accounting for sin ¹⁶  when there is no law. 5:14 Yet death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam (who is a type ¹⁷  of the coming one) transgressed. ¹⁸  5:15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. ¹⁹  For if the many died through the transgression of the one man, ²⁰  how much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ multiply to the many! 5:16 And the gift is not like the one who sinned. ²¹  For judgment, resulting from the one transgression, ²²  led to condemnation, but ²³  the gracious gift from the many failures ²⁴  led to justification. 5:17 For if, by the transgression of the one man, ²⁵  death reigned through the one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ!

5:18 Consequently, ²⁶  just as condemnation ²⁷  for all people ²⁸  came ²⁹  through one transgression, ³⁰  so too through the one righteous act ³¹  came righteousness leading to life ³²  for all people. 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man ³³  many ³⁴  were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man ³⁵  many ³⁶  will be made righteous. 5:20 Now the law came in ³⁷  so that the transgression ³⁸  may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more, 5:21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Believer’s Freedom from Sin’s Domination

6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? 6:2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 6:3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life. ³⁹ 

6:5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection. ⁴⁰  6:6 We know that ⁴¹  our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, ⁴²  so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 6:7 (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.) ⁴³ 

6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 6:9 We know ⁴⁴  that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he is never going to die ⁴⁵  again; death no longer has mastery over him. 6:10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. 6:11 So you too consider yourselves ⁴⁶  dead to sin, but ⁴⁷  alive to God in Christ Jesus.

6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, 6:13 and do not present your members to sin as instruments ⁴⁸  to be used for unrighteousness, ⁴⁹  but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments ⁵⁰  to be used for righteousness. 6:14 For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace.

The Believer’s Enslavement to God’s Righteousness

6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves ⁵¹  as obedient slaves, ⁵²  you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? ⁵³  6:17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed ⁵⁴  from the heart that pattern ⁵⁵  of teaching you were entrusted to, 6:18 and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. 6:19 (I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.) ⁵⁶  For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.

6:21 So what benefit ⁵⁷  did you then reap ⁵⁸  from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. 6:22 But now, freed ⁵⁹  from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit ⁶⁰  leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. 6:23 For the payoff ⁶¹  of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Believer’s Relationship to the Law

7:1 Or do you not know, brothers and sisters ⁶²  (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law is lord over a person ⁶³  as long as he lives? 7:2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives, but if her ⁶⁴  husband dies, she is released from the law of the marriage. ⁶⁵  7:3 So then, ⁶⁶  if she is joined to another man while her husband is alive, she will be called an adulteress. But if her ⁶⁷  husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she is joined to another man, she is not an adulteress. 7:4 So, my brothers and sisters, ⁶⁸  you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God. ⁶⁹  7:5 For when we were in the flesh, ⁷⁰  the sinful desires, ⁷¹  aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body ⁷²  to bear fruit for death. 7:6 But now we have been released from the law, because we have died ⁷³  to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code. ⁷⁴ 

7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! Certainly, I ⁷⁵  would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else ⁷⁶  if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” ⁷⁷  7:8 But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires. ⁷⁸  For apart from the law, sin is dead. 7:9 And I was once alive apart from the law, but with the coming of the commandment sin became alive 7:10 and I died. So ⁷⁹  I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life brought death! ⁸⁰  7:11 For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it I died. ⁸¹  7:12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.

7:13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual – but I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. ⁸²  7:15 For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want – instead, I do what I hate. ⁸³  7:16 But if I do what I don’t want, I agree that the law is good. ⁸⁴  7:17 But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me. 7:18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it. ⁸⁵  7:19 For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want! 7:20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me.

7:21 So, I find the law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me. 7:22 For I delight in the law of God in my inner being. 7:23 But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members. 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 7:25 Thanks be ⁸⁶  to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, ⁸⁷  I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but ⁸⁸  with my flesh I serve ⁸⁹  the law of sin.

The Believer’s Relationship to the Holy Spirit

8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ⁹⁰  8:2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit ⁹¹  in Christ Jesus has set you ⁹²  free from the law of sin and death. 8:3 For God achieved what the law could not do because ⁹³  it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 8:4 so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

8:5 For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by ⁹⁴  the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit. 8:6 For the outlook ⁹⁵  of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace, 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. 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 8:9 You, however, are not in ⁹⁶  the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him. 8:10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but ⁹⁷  the Spirit is your life ⁹⁸  because of righteousness. 8:11 Moreover if the Spirit of the one ⁹⁹  who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ ¹⁰⁰  from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you. ¹⁰¹ 

8:12 So then, ¹⁰²  brothers and sisters, ¹⁰³  we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh 8:13 (for if you live according to the flesh, you will ¹⁰⁴  die), ¹⁰⁵  but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are ¹⁰⁶  the sons of God. 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, ¹⁰⁷  but you received the Spirit of adoption, ¹⁰⁸  by whom ¹⁰⁹  we cry, “Abba, Father.” 8:16 The Spirit himself bears witness to ¹¹⁰  our spirit that we are God’s children. 8:17 And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ) ¹¹¹  – if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him.

8:18 For I consider that our present sufferings cannot even be compared ¹¹²  to the glory that will be revealed to us. 8:19 For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God. 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility – not willingly but because of God ¹¹³  who subjected it – in hope 8:21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now. 8:23 Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, ¹¹⁴  groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, ¹¹⁵  the redemption of our bodies. ¹¹⁶  8:24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance. ¹¹⁷ 

8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, ¹¹⁸  but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. 8:27 And he ¹¹⁹  who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit ¹²⁰  intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will. 8:28 And we know that all things work together ¹²¹  for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, 8:29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son ¹²²  would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ¹²³  8:30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 8:32 Indeed, he who ¹²⁴  did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things? 8:33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? ¹²⁵  It is God who justifies. 8:34 Who is the one who will condemn? Christ ¹²⁶  is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us. 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? ¹²⁷  8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ¹²⁸  8:37 No, in all these things we have complete victory ¹²⁹  through him ¹³⁰  who loved us! 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, ¹³¹  nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[5:1]  ¹ sn Many interpreters see Rom 5:1 as beginning the second major division of the letter.

[5:1]  ² tc A number of important witnesses have the subjunctive ἔχωμεν (ecwmen, “let us have”) instead of ἔχομεν (ecomen, “we have”) in v. 1. Included in the subjunctive’s support are א* A B* C D K L 33 81 630 1175 1739* pm lat bo. But the indicative is not without its supporters: א¹ B² F G P Ψ 0220^vid 104 365 1241 1505 1506 1739^c 1881 2464 pm. If the problem were to be solved on an external basis only, the subjunctive would be preferred. Because of this, the “A” rating on behalf of the indicative in the UBS⁴ appears overly confident. Nevertheless, the indicative is probably correct. First, the earliest witness to Rom 5:1 has the indicative (0220^vid, third century). Second, the first set of correctors is sometimes, if not often, of equal importance with the original hand. Hence, א¹ might be given equal value with א*. Third, there is a good cross-section of witnesses for the indicative: Alexandrian (in 0220^vid, probably א¹ 1241 1506 1881 al), Western (in F G), and Byzantine (noted in NA²⁷ as pm). Thus, although the external evidence is strongly in favor of the subjunctive, the indicative is represented well enough that its ancestry could easily go back to the original. Turning to the internal evidence, the indicative gains much ground. (1) The variant may have been produced via an error of hearing (since omicron and omega were pronounced alike in ancient Greek). This, of course, does not indicate which reading was original – just that an error of hearing may have produced one of them. In light of the indecisiveness of the transcriptional evidence, intrinsic evidence could play a much larger role. This is indeed the case here. (2) The indicative fits well with the overall argument of the book to this point. Up until now, Paul has been establishing the “indicatives of the faith.” There is only one imperative (used rhetorically) and only one hortatory subjunctive (and this in a quotation within a diatribe) up till this point, while from ch. 6 on there are sixty-one imperatives and seven hortatory subjunctives. Clearly, an exhortation would be out of place in ch. 5. (3) Paul presupposes that the audience has peace with God (via reconciliation) in 5:10. This seems to assume the indicative in v. 1. (4) As C. E. B. Cranfield notes, “it would surely be strange for Paul, in such a carefully argued writing as this, to exhort his readers to enjoy or to guard a peace which he has not yet explicitly shown to be possessed by them” (Romans [ICC], 1:257). (5) The notion that εἰρήνην ἔχωμεν (eirhnhn ecwmen) can even naturally mean “enjoy peace” is problematic (ExSyn 464), yet those who embrace the subjunctive have to give the verb some such force. Thus, although the external evidence is stronger in support of the subjunctive, the internal evidence points to the indicative. Although a decision is difficult, ἔχομεν appears to be the authentic reading.

[5:2]  ³ tn Or “exult, boast.”

[5:3]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:5]  ⁵ tn The phrase ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ (Jh agaph tou qeou, “the love of God”) could be interpreted as either an objective genitive (“our love for God”), subjective genitive (“God’s love for us”), or both (M. Zerwick’s “general” genitive [Biblical Greek, §§36-39]; D. B. Wallace’s “plenary” genitive [ExSyn 119-21]). The immediate context, which discusses what God has done for believers, favors a subjective genitive, but the fact that this love is poured out within the hearts of believers implies that it may be the source for believers’ love for God; consequently an objective genitive cannot be ruled out. It is possible that both these ideas are meant in the text and that this is a plenary genitive: “The love that comes from God and that produces our love for God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (ExSyn 121).

[5:5]  ⁶ sn On the OT background of the Spirit being poured out, see Isa 32:15; Joel 2:28-29.

[5:7]  ⁷ sn Verse 7 forms something of a parenthetical comment in Paul’s argument.

[5:9]  ⁸ tn Grk “having now been declared righteous.” The participle δικαιωθέντες (dikaiwqente") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[5:9]  ⁹ tn Or, according to BDF §219.3, “at the price of his blood.”

[5:9]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the wrath,” referring to God’s wrath as v. 10 shows.

[5:11]  ¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:11]  ¹² tn Or “exult, boast.”

[5:12]  ¹³ tn Here ἀνθρώπους (anqrwpou") has been translated as a generic (“people”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.

[5:12]  ¹⁴ tn The translation of the phrase ἐφ᾿ ᾧ (ef Jw) has been heavily debated. For a discussion of all the possibilities, see C. E. B. Cranfield, “On Some of the Problems in the Interpretation of Romans 5.12,” SJT 22 (1969): 324-41. Only a few of the major options can be mentioned here: (1) the phrase can be taken as a relative clause in which the pronoun refers to Adam, “death spread to all people in whom [Adam] all sinned.” (2) The phrase can be taken with consecutive (resultative) force, meaning “death spread to all people with the result that all sinned.” (3) Others take the phrase as causal in force: “death spread to all people because all sinned.”

[5:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “for before the law.”

[5:13]  ¹⁶ tn Or “sin is not reckoned.”

[5:14]  ¹⁷ tn Or “pattern.”

[5:14]  ¹⁸ tn Or “disobeyed”; Grk “in the likeness of Adam’s transgression.”

[5:15]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “but not as the transgression, so also [is] the gracious gift.”

[5:15]  ²⁰ sn Here the one man refers to Adam (cf. 5:14).

[5:16]  ²¹ tn Grk “and not as through the one who sinned [is] the gift.”

[5:16]  ²² tn The word “transgression” is not in the Greek text at this point, but has been supplied for clarity.

[5:16]  ²³ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

[5:16]  ²⁴ tn Or “falls, trespasses,” the same word used in vv. 15, 17, 18, 20.

[5:17]  ²⁵ sn Here the one man refers to Adam (cf. 5:14).

[5:18]  ²⁶ tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

[5:18]  ²⁷ tn Grk “[it is] unto condemnation for all people.”

[5:18]  ²⁸ tn Here ἀνθρώπους (anqrwpou") has been translated as a generic (“people”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.

[5:18]  ²⁹ tn There are no verbs in the Greek text of v. 18, forcing translators to supply phrases like “came through one transgression,” “resulted from one transgression,” etc.

[5:18]  ³⁰ sn One transgression refers to the sin of Adam in Gen 3:1-24.

[5:18]  ³¹ sn The one righteous act refers to Jesus’ death on the cross.

[5:18]  ³² tn Grk “righteousness of life.”

[5:19]  ³³ sn Here the one man refers to Adam (cf. 5:14).

[5:19]  ³⁴ tn Grk “the many.”

[5:19]  ³⁵ sn One man refers here to Jesus Christ.

[5:19]  ³⁶ tn Grk “the many.”

[5:20]  ³⁷ tn Grk “slipped in.”

[5:20]  ³⁸ tn Or “trespass.”

[6:4]  ³⁹ tn Grk “may walk in newness of life,” in which ζωῆς (zwhs) functions as an attributed genitive (see ExSyn 89-90, where this verse is given as a prime example).

[6:5]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “we will certainly also of his resurrection.”

[6:6]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² 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).

[6:7]  ⁴³ sn Verse 7 forms something of a parenthetical comment in Paul’s argument.

[6:9]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “knowing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:9]  ⁴⁵ tn The present tense here has been translated as a futuristic present (see ExSyn 536, where this verse is listed as an example).

[6:11]  ⁴⁶ tc ‡ Some Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (Ì^94vid א* B C 81 365 1506 1739 1881 pc) have the infinitive “to be” (εἶναι, einai) following “yourselves”. The infinitive is lacking from some mss of the Alexandrian and Western texttypes (Ì^46vid A D*^,c F G 33^vid pc). The infinitive is found elsewhere in the majority of Byzantine mss, suggesting a scribal tendency toward clarification. The lack of infinitive best explains the rise of the other readings. The meaning of the passage is not significantly altered by inclusion or omission, but on internal grounds omission is more likely. NA²⁷ includes the infinitive in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[6:11]  ⁴⁷ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

[6:13]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “weapons, tools.”

[6:13]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “wickedness, injustice.”

[6:13]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “weapons, tools.”

[6:16]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “to whom you present yourselves.”

[6:16]  ⁵² tn Grk “as slaves for obedience.” See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[6:16]  ⁵³ tn Grk “either of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness.”

[6:17]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “you were slaves of sin but you obeyed.”

[6:17]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “type, form.”

[6:19]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “because of your natural limitations” (NRSV).

[6:21]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “fruit.”

[6:21]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “have,” in a tense emphasizing their customary condition in the past.

[6:22]  ⁵⁹ 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]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “fruit.”

[6:23]  ⁶¹ 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.

[7:1]  ⁶² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[7:1]  ⁶³ sn Here person refers to a human being.

[7:2]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “the,” with the article used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[7:2]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “husband.”

[7:3]  ⁶⁶ tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

[7:3]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “the,” with the article used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[7:4]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[7:4]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “that we might bear fruit to God.”

[7:5]  ⁷⁰ tn That is, before we were in Christ.

[7:5]  ⁷¹ tn Or “sinful passions.”

[7:5]  ⁷² tn Grk “our members”; the words “of our body” have been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[7:6]  ⁷³ tn Grk “having died.” The participle ἀποθανόντες (apoqanonte") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[7:6]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”

[7:7]  ⁷⁵ sn Romans 7:7-25. There has been an enormous debate over the significance of the first person singular pronouns (“I”) in this passage and how to understand their referent. Did Paul intend (1) a reference to himself and other Christians too; (2) a reference to his own pre-Christian experience as a Jew, struggling with the law and sin (and thus addressing his fellow countrymen as Jews); or (3) a reference to himself as a child of Adam, reflecting the experience of Adam that is shared by both Jews and Gentiles alike (i.e., all people everywhere)? Good arguments can be assembled for each of these views, and each has problems dealing with specific statements in the passage. The classic argument against an autobiographical interpretation was made by W. G. Kümmel, Römer 7 und die Bekehrung des Paulus. A good case for seeing at least an autobiographical element in the chapter has been made by G. Theissen, Psychologische Aspekte paulinischer Theologie [FRLANT], 181-268. One major point that seems to favor some sort of an autobiographical reading of these verses is the lack of any mention of the Holy Spirit for empowerment in the struggle described in Rom 7:7-25. The Spirit is mentioned beginning in 8:1 as the solution to the problem of the struggle with sin (8:4-6, 9).

[7:7]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “I would not have known covetousness.”

[7:7]  ⁷⁷ sn A quotation from Exod 20:17 and Deut 5:21.

[7:8]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “covetousness.”

[7:10]  ⁷⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate the result of the statement in the previous verse. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[7:10]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “and there was found in/for me the commandment which was for life – this was for death.”

[7:11]  ⁸¹ tn Or “and through it killed me.”

[7:14]  ⁸² tn Grk “under sin.”

[7:15]  ⁸³ tn Grk “but what I hate, this I do.”

[7:16]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “I agree with the law that it is good.”

[7:18]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk “For to wish is present in/with me, but not to do it.”

[7:25]  ⁸⁶ tc ‡ Most mss (א* A 1739 1881 Ï sy) read “I give thanks to God” rather than “Now thanks be to God” (א¹ [B] Ψ 33 81 104 365 1506 pc), the reading of NA²⁷. The reading with the verb (εὐχαριστῶ τῷ θεῷ, eucaristw tw qew) possibly arose from a transcriptional error in which several letters were doubled (TCGNT 455). The conjunction δέ (de, “now”) is included in some mss as well (א¹ Ψ 33 81 104 365 1506 pc), but it should probably not be considered original. The ms support for the omission of δέ is both excellent and widespread (א* A B D 1739 1881 Ï lat sy), and its addition can be explained as an insertion to smooth out the transition between v. 24 and 25.

[7:25]  ⁸⁷ tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

[7:25]  ⁸⁸ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

[7:25]  ⁸⁹ tn The words “I serve” have been repeated here for clarity.

[8:1]  ⁹⁰ tc The earliest and best witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texts, as well as a few others (א* B D* F G 6 1506 1739 1881 pc co), have no additional words for v. 1. Later scribes (A D¹ Ψ 81 365 629 pc vg) added the words μὴ κατὰ σάρκα περιπατοῦσιν (mh kata sarka peripatousin, “who do not walk according to the flesh”), while even later ones (א² D² 33^vid Ï) added ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα (alla kata pneuma, “but [who do walk] according to the Spirit”). Both the external evidence and the internal evidence are compelling for the shortest reading. The scribes were evidently motivated to add such qualifications (interpolated from v. 4) to insulate Paul’s gospel from charges that it was characterized too much by grace. The KJV follows the longest reading found in Ï.

[8:2]  ⁹¹ tn Grk “for the law of the Spirit of life.”

[8:2]  ⁹² tc Most mss read the first person singular pronoun με (me) here (A D 1739^c 1881 Ï lat sa). The second person singular pronoun σε (se) is superior because of external support (א B {F which reads σαι} G 1506* 1739*) and internal support (it is the harder reading since ch. 7 was narrated in the first person). At the same time, it could have arisen via dittography from the final syllable of the verb preceding it (ἠλευθέρωσεν, hleuqerwsen; “has set free”). But for this to happen in such early and diverse witnesses is unlikely, especially as it depends on various scribes repeatedly overlooking either the nu or the nu-bar at the end of the verb.

[8:3]  ⁹³ tn Grk “in that.”

[8:5]  ⁹⁴ tn Grk “think on” or “are intent on” (twice in this verse). What is in view here is not primarily preoccupation, however, but worldview. Translations like “set their mind on” could be misunderstood by the typical English reader to refer exclusively to preoccupation.

[8:6]  ⁹⁵ tn Or “mindset,” “way of thinking” (twice in this verse and once in v. 7). The Greek term φρόνημα does not refer to one’s mind, but to one’s outlook or mindset.

[8:9]  ⁹⁶ tn Or “are not controlled by the flesh but by the Spirit.”

[8:10]  ⁹⁷ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

[8:10]  ⁹⁸ tn Or “life-giving.” Grk “the Spirit is life.”

[8:11]  ⁹⁹ sn The one who raised Jesus from the dead refers to God (also in the following clause).

[8:11]  ¹⁰⁰ tc Several mss read ᾿Ιησοῦν (Ihsoun, “Jesus”) after Χριστόν (Criston, “Christ”; א* A D* 630 1506 1739 1881 pc bo); C 81 104 lat have ᾿Ιησοῦν Χριστόν. The shorter reading is more likely to be original, though, both because of external evidence (א² B D² F G Ψ 33 Ï sa) and internal evidence (scribes were much more likely to add the name “Jesus” if it were lacking than to remove it if it were already present in the text, especially to harmonize with the earlier mention of Jesus in the verse).

[8:11]  ¹⁰¹ tc Most mss (B D F G Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï lat) have διά (dia) followed by the accusative: “because of his Spirit who lives in you.” The genitive “through his Spirit” is supported by א A C⁽*⁾ 81 104 1505 1506 al, and is slightly preferred.

[8:12]  ¹⁰² tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

[8:12]  ¹⁰³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[8:13]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Grk “are about to, are certainly going to.”

[8:13]  ¹⁰⁵ sn This remark is parenthetical to Paul’s argument.

[8:14]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Grk “For as many as are being led by the Spirit of God, these are.”

[8:15]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Grk “slavery again to fear.”

[8:15]  ¹⁰⁸ tn The Greek term υἱοθεσία (Juioqesia) was originally a legal technical term for adoption as a son with full rights of inheritance. BDAG 1024 s.v. notes, “a legal t.t. of ‘adoption’ of children, in our lit., i.e. in Paul, only in a transferred sense of a transcendent filial relationship between God and humans (with the legal aspect, not gender specificity, as major semantic component).”

[8:15]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Or “in that.”

[8:16]  ¹¹⁰ tn Or possibly “with.” ExSyn 160-61, however, notes the following: “At issue, grammatically, is whether the Spirit testifies alongside of our spirit (dat. of association), or whether he testifies to our spirit (indirect object) that we are God’s children. If the former, the one receiving this testimony is unstated (is it God? or believers?). If the latter, the believer receives the testimony and hence is assured of salvation via the inner witness of the Spirit. The first view has the advantage of a σύν- (sun-) prefixed verb, which might be expected to take an accompanying dat. of association (and is supported by NEB, JB, etc.). But there are three reasons why πνεύματι (pneumati) should not be taken as association: (1) Grammatically, a dat. with a σύν- prefixed verb does not necessarily indicate association. This, of course, does not preclude such here, but this fact at least opens up the alternatives in this text. (2) Lexically, though συμμαρτυρέω (summarturew) originally bore an associative idea, it developed in the direction of merely intensifying μαρτυρέω (marturew). This is surely the case in the only other NT text with a dat. (Rom 9:1). (3) Contextually, a dat. of association does not seem to support Paul’s argument: ‘What standing has our spirit in this matter? Of itself it surely has no right at all to testify to our being sons of God’ [C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:403]. In sum, Rom 8:16 seems to be secure as a text in which the believer’s assurance of salvation is based on the inner witness of the Spirit. The implications of this for one’s soteriology are profound: The objective data, as helpful as they are, cannot by themselves provide assurance of salvation; the believer also needs (and receives) an existential, ongoing encounter with God’s Spirit in order to gain that familial comfort.”

[8:17]  ¹¹¹ tn Grk “on the one hand, heirs of God; on the other hand, fellow heirs with Christ.” Some prefer to render v. 17 as follows: “And if children, then heirs – that is, heirs of God. Also fellow heirs with Christ if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him.” Such a translation suggests two distinct inheritances, one coming to all of God’s children, the other coming only to those who suffer with Christ. The difficulty of this view, however, is that it ignores the correlative conjunctions μέν…δέ (men…de, “on the one hand…on the other hand”): The construction strongly suggests that the inheritances cannot be separated since both explain “then heirs.” For this reason, the preferred translation puts this explanation in parentheses.

[8:18]  ¹¹² tn Grk “are not worthy [to be compared].”

[8:20]  ¹¹³ tn Grk “because of the one”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:23]  ¹¹⁴ tn Or “who have the Spirit as firstfruits.” The genitive πνεύματος (pneumatos) can be understood here as possessive (“the firstfruits belonging to the Spirit”) although it is much more likely that this is a genitive of apposition (“the firstfruits, namely, the Spirit”); cf. TEV, NLT.

[8:23]  ¹¹⁵ tn See the note on “adoption” in v. 15.

[8:23]  ¹¹⁶ tn Grk “body.”

[8:25]  ¹¹⁷ tn Or “perseverance.”

[8:26]  ¹¹⁸ tn Or “for we do not know what we ought to pray for.”

[8:27]  ¹¹⁹ sn He refers to God here; Paul has not specifically identified him for the sake of rhetorical power (for by leaving the subject slightly ambiguous, he draws his audience into seeing God’s hand in places where he is not explicitly mentioned).

[8:27]  ¹²⁰ tn Grk “he,” or “it”; the referent (the Spirit) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:28]  ¹²¹ tc ὁ θεός (Jo qeos, “God”) is found after the verb συνεργεῖ (sunergei, “work”) in v. 28 by Ì⁴⁶ A B 81 sa; the shorter reading is found in א C D F G Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï latt sy bo. Although the inclusion is supported by a significant early papyrus, the alliance of significant Alexandrian and Western witnesses favors the shorter reading. As well, the longer reading is evidently motivated by a need for clarification. Since ὁ θεός is textually suspect, it is better to read the text without it. This leaves two good translational options: either “he works all things together for good” or “all things work together for good.” In the first instance the subject is embedded in the verb and “God” is clearly implied (as in v. 29). In the second instance, πάντα (panta) becomes the subject of an intransitive verb. In either case, “What is expressed is a truly biblical confidence in the sovereignty of God” (C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:427).

[8:29]  ¹²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (God’s Son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:29]  ¹²³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[8:32]  ¹²⁴ tn Grk “[he] who.” The relative clause continues the question of v. 31 in a way that is awkward in English. The force of v. 32 is thus: “who indeed did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – How will he not also with him give us all things?”

[8:33]  ¹²⁵ sn An allusion to Isa 50:8 where the reference is singular; Paul applies this to all believers (“God’s elect” is plural here).

[8:34]  ¹²⁶ tc ‡ A number of significant and early witnesses, along with several others (Ì^46vid א A C F G L Ψ 6 33 81 104 365 1505 al lat bo), read ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsous, “Jesus”) after Χριστός (Cristos, “Christ”) in v. 34. But the shorter reading is not unrepresented (B D 0289 1739 1881 Ï sa). Once ᾿Ιησοῦς got into the text, what scribe would omit it? Although the external evidence is on the side of the longer reading, internally such an expansion seems suspect. The shorter reading is thus preferred. NA²⁷ has the word in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[8:35]  ¹²⁷ 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).

[8:36]  ¹²⁸ sn A quotation from Ps 44:22.

[8:37]  ¹²⁹ tn BDAG 1034 s.v. ὑπερνικάω states, “as a heightened form of νικᾶν prevail completely ὑπερνικῶμεν we are winning a most glorious victory Ro 8:37.”

[8:37]  ¹³⁰ tn Here the referent could be either God or Christ, but in v. 39 it is God’s love that is mentioned.

[8:38]  ¹³¹ tn BDAG 138 s.v. ἀρχή 6 takes this term as a reference to angelic or transcendent powers (as opposed to merely human rulers). To clarify this, the adjective “heavenly” has been supplied in the translation. Some interpreters see this as a reference to fallen angels or demonic powers, and this view is reflected in some recent translations (NIV, NLT).