Romans 9:31

9:31 but Israel even though pursuing ¹  a law of righteousness ²  did not attain it. ³ 

Romans 3:25

3:25 God publicly displayed ⁴  him ⁵  at his death ⁶  as the mercy seat ⁷  accessible through faith. ⁸  This was to demonstrate ⁹  his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed. ¹⁰ 

Romans 4:13

4:13 For the promise ¹¹  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 5:21

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.

Romans 3:26

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 

Romans 4:11

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, ¹⁶  so that he would become ¹⁷  the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, ¹⁸  that they too could have righteousness credited to them.

Romans 5:17

5:17 For if, by the transgression of the one man, ¹⁹  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!

Romans 6:13

6:13 and do not present your members to sin as instruments ²⁰  to be used for unrighteousness, ²¹  but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments ²²  to be used for righteousness.

[9:31]  ¹ tn Or “who pursued.” The participle could be taken adverbially or adjectivally.

[9:31]  ² tn Or “a legal righteousness,” that is, a righteousness based on law. This translation would treat the genitive δικαιοσύνης (dikaiosunh") as an attributed genitive (see ExSyn 89-91).

[9:31]  ³ tn Grk “has not attained unto the law.”

[3:25]  ⁴ tn Or “purposed, intended.”

[3:25]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “because of the passing over of sins previously committed in the forbearance of God.”

[4:13]  ⁷ 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).

[3:26]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Grk “toward a demonstration,” repeating and expanding the purpose of God’s action in v. 25a.

[3:26]  ¹² tn Or “righteous.”

[3:26]  ¹³ 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.”

[4:11]  ¹³ tn Grk “of the faith, the one [existing] in uncircumcision.”

[4:11]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “that he might be,” giving the purpose of v. 11a.

[4:11]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “through uncircumcision.”

[5:17]  ¹⁶ sn Here the one man refers to Adam (cf. 5:14).

[6:13]  ¹⁹ tn Or “weapons, tools.”

[6:13]  ²⁰ tn Or “wickedness, injustice.”

[6:13]  ²¹ tn Or “weapons, tools.”