Romans 9:17

9:17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh: ¹  “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” ² 

Romans 10:18

10:18 But I ask, have they ³  not heard? ⁴  Yes, they have: ⁵  Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. ⁶ 

[9:17]  ¹ sn Paul uses a typical rabbinic formula here in which the OT scriptures are figuratively portrayed as speaking to Pharaoh. What he means is that the scripture he cites refers (or can be applied) to Pharaoh.

[9:17]  ² sn A quotation from Exod 9:16.

[10:18]  ³ tn That is, Israel (see the following verse).

[10:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “they have not ‘not heard,’ have they?” This question is difficult to render in English. The basic question is a negative sentence (“Have they not heard?”), but it is preceded by the particle μή (mh) which expects a negative response. The end result in English is a double negative (“They have not ‘not heard,’ have they?”). This has been changed to a positive question in the translation for clarity. See BDAG 646 s.v. μή 3.a.; D. Moo, Romans (NICNT), 666, fn. 32; and C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans (ICC), 537, for discussion.

[10:18]  ⁵ tn Here the particle μενοῦνγε (menounge) is correcting the negative response expected by the particle μή (mh) in the preceding question. Since the question has been translated positively, the translation was changed here to reflect that rendering.

[10:18]  ⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 19:4.