Roma 1:24-27

1:24 Therefore God gave them over ¹  in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor ²  their bodies among themselves. ³  1:25 They ⁴  exchanged the truth of God for a lie ⁵  and worshiped and served the creation ⁶  rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

1:26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones, ⁷  1:27 and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women ⁸  and were inflamed in their passions ⁹  for one another. Men ¹⁰  committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

Roma 1:31--2:3

1:31 senseless, covenant-breakers, ¹¹  heartless, ruthless. 1:32 Although they fully know ¹²  God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, ¹³  they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them. ¹⁴ 

The Condemnation of the Moralist

2:1 ¹⁵ Therefore ¹⁶  you are without excuse, ¹⁷  whoever you are, ¹⁸  when you judge someone else. ¹⁹  For on whatever grounds ²⁰  you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things. 2:2 Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth ²¹  against those who practice such things. 2:3 And do you think, ²²  whoever you are, when you judge ²³  those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, ²⁴  that you will escape God’s judgment?

Roma 3:21--4:8

3:21 But now ²⁵  apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) ²⁶  has been disclosed – 3:22 namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ ²⁷  for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 3:24 But they are justified ²⁸  freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 3:25 God publicly displayed ²⁹  him ³⁰  at his death ³¹  as the mercy seat ³²  accessible through faith. ³³  This was to demonstrate ³⁴  his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed. ³⁵  3:26 This was ³⁶  also to demonstrate ³⁷  his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just ³⁸  and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness. ³⁹ 

3:27 Where, then, is boasting? ⁴⁰  It is excluded! By what principle? ⁴¹  Of works? No, but by the principle of faith! 3:28 For we consider that a person ⁴²  is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law. ⁴³  3:29 Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles too? Yes, of the Gentiles too! 3:30 Since God is one, ⁴⁴  he will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 3:31 Do we then nullify ⁴⁵  the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead ⁴⁶  we uphold the law.

The Illustration of Justification

4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, ⁴⁷  has discovered regarding this matter? ⁴⁸  4:2 For if Abraham was declared righteous ⁴⁹  by the works of the law, he has something to boast about – but not before God. 4:3 For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited ⁵⁰  to him as righteousness.” ⁵¹  4:4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation. ⁵²  4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, ⁵³  his faith is credited as righteousness.

4:6 So even David himself speaks regarding the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

4:7 “Blessed ⁵⁴  are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;

4:8 blessed is the one ⁵⁵  against whom the Lord will never count ⁵⁶  sin.” ⁵⁷ 

Roma 6:4-23

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. ⁵⁸ 

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. ⁵⁹  6:6 We know that ⁶⁰  our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, ⁶¹  so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 6:7 (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.) ⁶² 

6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 6:9 We know ⁶³  that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he is never going to die ⁶⁴  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 ⁶⁵  dead to sin, but ⁶⁶  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 ⁶⁷  to be used for unrighteousness, ⁶⁸  but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments ⁶⁹  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 ⁷⁰  as obedient slaves, ⁷¹  you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? ⁷²  6:17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed ⁷³  from the heart that pattern ⁷⁴  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.) ⁷⁵  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 ⁷⁶  did you then reap ⁷⁷  from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. 6:22 But now, freed ⁷⁸  from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit ⁷⁹  leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. 6:23 For the payoff ⁸⁰  of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Roma 6:1-16

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. ⁸¹ 

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. ⁸²  6:6 We know that ⁸³  our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, ⁸⁴  so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 6:7 (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.) ⁸⁵ 

6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 6:9 We know ⁸⁶  that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he is never going to die ⁸⁷  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 ⁸⁸  dead to sin, but ⁸⁹  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 ⁹⁰  to be used for unrighteousness, ⁹¹  but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments ⁹²  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 ⁹³  as obedient slaves, ⁹⁴  you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? ⁹⁵ 

Roma 9:16-17

9:16 So then, ⁹⁶  it does not depend on human desire or exertion, ⁹⁷  but on God who shows mercy. 9:17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh: ⁹⁸  “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.” ⁹⁹ 

Roma 9:27

9:27 And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, “Though the number of the children ¹⁰⁰  of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved,

[1:24]  ¹ sn Possibly an allusion to Ps 81:12.

[1:24]  ² tn The genitive articular infinitive τοῦ ἀτιμάζεσθαι (tou atimazesqai, “to dishonor”) has been taken as (1) an infinitive of purpose; (2) an infinitive of result; or (3) an epexegetical (i.e., explanatory) infinitive, expanding the previous clause.

[1:24]  ³ tn Grk “among them.”

[1:25]  ⁴ tn Grk “who.” 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.

[1:25]  ⁵ tn Grk “the lie.”

[1:25]  ⁶ tn Or “creature, created things.”

[1:26]  ⁷ tn Grk “for their females exchanged the natural function for that which is contrary to nature.” The term χρῆσις (crhsi") has the force of “sexual relations” here (L&N 23.65).

[1:27]  ⁸ tn Grk “likewise so also the males abandoning the natural function of the female.”

[1:27]  ⁹ tn Grk “burned with intense desire” (L&N 25.16).

[1:27]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “another, men committing…and receiving,” continuing the description of their deeds. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:31]  ¹¹ tn Or “promise-breakers.”

[1:32]  ¹² tn Grk “who, knowing…, not only do them but also approve…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:32]  ¹³ tn Grk “are worthy of death.”

[1:32]  ¹⁴ sn “Vice lists” like vv. 28-32 can be found elsewhere in the NT in Matt 15:19; Gal 5:19-21; 1 Tim 1:9-10; and 1 Pet 4:3. An example from the intertestamental period can be found in Wis 14:25-26.

[2:1]  ¹⁵ sn Rom 2:1-29 presents unusual difficulties for the interpreter. There have been several major approaches to the chapter and the group(s) it refers to: (1) Rom 2:14 refers to Gentile Christians, not Gentiles who obey the Jewish law. (2) Paul in Rom 2 is presenting a hypothetical viewpoint: If anyone could obey the law, that person would be justified, but no one can. (3) The reference to “the ones who do the law” in 2:13 are those who “do” the law in the right way, on the basis of faith, not according to Jewish legalism. (4) Rom 2:13 only speaks about Christians being judged in the future, along with such texts as Rom 14:10 and 2 Cor 5:10. (5) Paul’s material in Rom 2 is drawn heavily from Diaspora Judaism, so that the treatment of the law presented here cannot be harmonized with other things Paul says about the law elsewhere (E. P. Sanders, Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People, 123); another who sees Rom 2 as an example of Paul’s inconsistency in his treatment of the law is H. Räisänen, Paul and the Law [WUNT], 101-9. (6) The list of blessings and curses in Deut 27–30 provide the background for Rom 2; the Gentiles of 2:14 are Gentile Christians, but the condemnation of Jews in 2:17-24 addresses the failure of Jews as a nation to keep the law as a whole (A. Ito, “Romans 2: A Deuteronomistic Reading,” JSNT 59 [1995]: 21-37).

[2:1]  ¹⁶ tn Some interpreters (e.g., C. K. Barrett, Romans [HNTC], 43) connect the inferential Διό (dio, “therefore”) with 1:32a, treating 1:32b as a parenthetical comment by Paul.

[2:1]  ¹⁷ tn That is, “you have nothing to say in your own defense” (so translated by TCNT).

[2:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “O man.”

[2:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Therefore, you are without excuse, O man, everyone [of you] who judges.”

[2:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “in/by (that) which.”

[2:2]  ²¹ tn Or “based on truth.”

[2:3]  ²² tn Grk “do you think this,” referring to the clause in v. 3b.

[2:3]  ²³ tn Grk “O man, the one who judges.”

[2:3]  ²⁴ tn Grk “and do them.” The other words are supplied to bring out the contrast implied in this clause.

[3:21]  ²⁵ tn Νυνὶ δέ (Nuni de, “But now”) could be understood as either (1) logical or (2) temporal in force, but most recent interpreters take it as temporal, referring to a new phase in salvation history.

[3:21]  ²⁶ tn Grk “being witnessed by the law and the prophets,” a remark which is virtually parenthetical to Paul’s argument.

[3:22]  ²⁷ tn Or “faith in Christ.” A decision is difficult here. Though traditionally translated “faith in Jesus Christ,” an increasing number of NT scholars are arguing that πίστις Χριστοῦ (pisti" Cristou) and similar phrases in Paul (here and in v. 26; Gal 2:16, 20; 3:22; Eph 3:12; Phil 3:9) involve a subjective genitive and mean “Christ’s faith” or “Christ’s faithfulness” (cf., e.g., G. Howard, “The ‘Faith of Christ’,” ExpTim 85 [1974]: 212-15; R. B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ [SBLDS]; Morna D. Hooker, “Πίστις Χριστοῦ,” NTS 35 [1989]: 321-42). Noteworthy among the arguments for the subjective genitive view is that when πίστις takes a personal genitive it is almost never an objective genitive (cf. Matt 9:2, 22, 29; Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; Luke 5:20; 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom 1:8; 12; 3:3; 4:5, 12, 16; 1 Cor 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:17; Col 1:4; 2:5; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:2, 5, 10; 2 Thess 1:3; Titus 1:1; Phlm 6; 1 Pet 1:9, 21; 2 Pet 1:5). On the other hand, the objective genitive view has its adherents: A. Hultgren, “The Pistis Christou Formulations in Paul,” NovT 22 (1980): 248-63; J. D. G. Dunn, “Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ,” SBL Seminar Papers, 1991, 730-44. Most commentaries on Romans and Galatians usually side with the objective view.

[3:22]  sn ExSyn 116, which notes that the grammar is not decisive, nevertheless suggests that “the faith/faithfulness of Christ is not a denial of faith in Christ as a Pauline concept (for the idea is expressed in many of the same contexts, only with the verb πιστεύω rather than the noun), but implies that the object of faith is a worthy object, for he himself is faithful.” Though Paul elsewhere teaches justification by faith, this presupposes that the object of our faith is reliable and worthy of such faith.

[3:24]  ²⁸ tn Or “declared righteous.” Grk “being justified,” as a continuation of the preceding clause. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:25]  ²⁹ tn Or “purposed, intended.”

[3:25]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ tn Grk “because of the passing over of sins previously committed in the forbearance of God.”

[3:26]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ tn Grk “toward a demonstration,” repeating and expanding the purpose of God’s action in v. 25a.

[3:26]  ³⁸ tn Or “righteous.”

[3:26]  ³⁹ 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.”

[3:27]  ⁴⁰ tn Although a number of interpreters understand the “boasting” here to refer to Jewish boasting, others (e.g. C. E. B. Cranfield, “‘The Works of the Law’ in the Epistle to the Romans,” JSNT 43 [1991]: 96) take the phrase to refer to all human boasting before God.

[3:27]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “By what sort of law?”

[3:28]  ⁴² tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon) is used in an indefinite and general sense (BDAG 81 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 4.a.γ).

[3:28]  ⁴³ tn See the note on the phrase “works of the law” in Rom 3:20.

[3:30]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “but if indeed God is one.”

[3:31]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “render inoperative.”

[3:31]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “but” (Greek ἀλλά, alla).

[4:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “according to natural descent” (BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 4).

[4:1]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “has found?”

[4:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “was justified.”

[4:3]  ⁵⁰ tn The term λογίζομαι (logizomai) occurs 11 times in this chapter (vv. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24). In secular usage it could (a) refer to deliberations of some sort, or (b) in commercial dealings (as virtually a technical term) to “reckoning” or “charging up a debt.” See H. W. Heidland, TDNT 4:284, 290-92.

[4:3]  ⁵¹ sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[4:4]  ⁵² tn Grk “not according to grace but according to obligation.”

[4:5]  ⁵³ tn Or “who justifies the ungodly.”

[4:7]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “Happy.”

[4:8]  ⁵⁵ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[4:8]  ⁵⁶ tn The verb translated “count” here is λογίζομαι (logizomai). It occurs eight times in Rom 4:1-12, including here, each time with the sense of “place on someone’s account.” By itself the word is neutral, but in particular contexts it can take on a positive or negative connotation. The other occurrences of the verb have been translated using a form of the English verb “credit” because they refer to a positive event: the application of righteousness to the individual believer. The use here in v. 8 is negative: the application of sin. A form of the verb “credit” was not used here because of the positive connotations associated with that English word, but it is important to recognize that the same concept is used here as in the other occurrences.

[4:8]  ⁵⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 32:1-2.

[6:4]  ⁵⁸ 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]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “we will certainly also of his resurrection.”

[6:6]  ⁶⁰ 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]  ⁶¹ 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]  ⁶² sn Verse 7 forms something of a parenthetical comment in Paul’s argument.

[6:9]  ⁶³ tn Grk “knowing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:9]  ⁶⁴ 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]  ⁶⁵ 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]  ⁶⁶ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

[6:13]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “weapons, tools.”

[6:13]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “wickedness, injustice.”

[6:13]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “weapons, tools.”

[6:16]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “to whom you present yourselves.”

[6:16]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “as slaves for obedience.” See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[6:16]  ⁷² tn Grk “either of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness.”

[6:17]  ⁷³ tn Grk “you were slaves of sin but you obeyed.”

[6:17]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “type, form.”

[6:19]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “because of your natural limitations” (NRSV).

[6:19]  sn Verse 19 forms something of a parenthetical comment in Paul’s argument.

[6:21]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “fruit.”

[6:21]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “have,” in a tense emphasizing their customary condition in the past.

[6:22]  ⁷⁸ 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]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “fruit.”

[6:23]  ⁸⁰ 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.

[6:4]  ⁸¹ 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]  ⁸² tn Grk “we will certainly also of his resurrection.”

[6:6]  ⁸³ 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]  ⁸⁴ 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]  ⁸⁵ sn Verse 7 forms something of a parenthetical comment in Paul’s argument.

[6:9]  ⁸⁶ tn Grk “knowing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:9]  ⁸⁷ 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]  ⁸⁸ 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]  ⁸⁹ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

[6:13]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “weapons, tools.”

[6:13]  ⁹¹ tn Or “wickedness, injustice.”

[6:13]  ⁹² tn Or “weapons, tools.”

[6:16]  ⁹³ tn Grk “to whom you present yourselves.”

[6:16]  ⁹⁴ tn Grk “as slaves for obedience.” See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

[6:16]  ⁹⁵ tn Grk “either of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness.”

[9:16]  ⁹⁶ sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

[9:16]  ⁹⁷ tn Grk “So then, [it does] not [depend] on the one who desires nor on the one who runs.”

[9:17]  ⁹⁸ 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]  ⁹⁹ sn A quotation from Exod 9:16.

[9:27]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Grk “sons.”