Roma 1:5

1:5 Through him ¹  we have received grace and our apostleship ²  to bring about the obedience ³  of faith ⁴  among all the Gentiles on behalf of his name.

Roma 2:25

2:25 For circumcision ⁵  has its value if you practice the law, but ⁶  if you break the law, ⁷  your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

Roma 2:27

2:27 And will not the physically uncircumcised man ⁸  who keeps the law judge you who, despite ⁹  the written code ¹⁰  and circumcision, transgress the law?

Roma 3:20

3:20 For no one is declared righteous before him ¹¹  by the works of the law, ¹²  for through the law comes ¹³  the knowledge of sin.

Roma 6:17

6:17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed ¹⁴  from the heart that pattern ¹⁵  of teaching you were entrusted to,

Roma 8:13

8:13 (for if you live according to the flesh, you will ¹⁶  die), ¹⁷  but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.

Roma 8:20

8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility – not willingly but because of God ¹⁸  who subjected it – in hope

Roma 9:1

Israel’s Rejection Considered

9:1 ¹⁹ I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me ²⁰  in the Holy Spirit –

Roma 11:31

11:31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now ²¹  receive mercy.

Roma 15:26

15:26 For Macedonia and Achaia are pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

[1:5]  ¹ tn Grk “through whom.”

[1:5]  ² tn Some interpreters understand the phrase “grace and apostleship” as a hendiadys, translating “grace [i.e., gift] of apostleship.” The pronoun “our” is supplied in the translation to clarify the sense of the statement.

[1:5]  ³ tn Grk “and apostleship for obedience.”

[1:5]  ⁴ tn The phrase ὑπακοὴν πίστεως has been variously understood as (1) an objective genitive (a reference to the Christian faith, “obedience to [the] faith”); (2) a subjective genitive (“the obedience faith produces [or requires]”); (3) an attributive genitive (“believing obedience”); or (4) as a genitive of apposition (“obedience, [namely] faith”) in which “faith” further defines “obedience.” These options are discussed by C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans (ICC), 1:66. Others take the phrase as deliberately ambiguous; see D. B. Garlington, “The Obedience of Faith in the Letter to the Romans: Part I: The Meaning of ὑπακοὴ πίστεως (Rom 1:5; 16:26),” WTJ 52 (1990): 201-24.

[2:25]  ⁵ sn Circumcision refers to male circumcision as prescribed in the OT, which was given as a covenant to Abraham in Gen 17:10-14. Its importance for Judaism can hardly be overstated: According to J. D. G. Dunn (Romans [WBC], 1:120) it was the “single clearest distinguishing feature of the covenant people.” J. Marcus has suggested that the terms used for circumcision (περιτομή, peritomh) and uncircumcision (ἀκροβυστία, akrobustia) were probably derogatory slogans used by Jews and Gentiles to describe their opponents (“The Circumcision and the Uncircumcision in Rome,” NTS 35 [1989]: 77-80).

[2:25]  ⁶ tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.

[2:25]  ⁷ tn Grk “if you should be a transgressor of the law.”

[2:27]  ⁸ tn Grk “the uncircumcision by nature.” The word “man” is supplied here to make clear that male circumcision (or uncircumcision) is in view.

[2:27]  ⁹ tn Grk “through,” but here the preposition seems to mean “(along) with,” “though provided with,” as BDAG 224 s.v. διά A.3.c indicates.

[2:27]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “letter.”

[3:20]  ¹¹ sn An allusion to Ps 143:2.

[3:20]  ¹² tn Grk “because by the works of the law no flesh is justified before him.” Some recent scholars have understood the phrase ἒργα νόμου (erga nomou, “works of the law”) to refer not to obedience to the Mosaic law generally, but specifically to portions of the law that pertain to things like circumcision and dietary laws which set the Jewish people apart from the other nations (e.g., J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC], 1:155). Other interpreters, like C. E. B. Cranfield (“‘The Works of the Law’ in the Epistle to the Romans,” JSNT 43 [1991]: 89-101) reject this narrow interpretation for a number of reasons, among which the most important are: (1) The second half of v. 20, “for through the law comes the knowledge of sin,” is hard to explain if the phrase “works of the law” is understood in a restricted sense; (2) the plural phrase “works of the law” would have to be understood in a different sense from the singular phrase “the work of the law” in 2:15; (3) similar phrases involving the law in Romans (2:13, 14; 2:25, 26, 27; 7:25; 8:4; and 13:8) which are naturally related to the phrase “works of the law” cannot be taken to refer to circumcision (in fact, in 2:25 circumcision is explicitly contrasted with keeping the law). Those interpreters who reject the “narrow” interpretation of “works of the law” understand the phrase to refer to obedience to the Mosaic law in general.

[3:20]  ¹³ tn Grk “is.”

[6:17]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “you were slaves of sin but you obeyed.”

[6:17]  ¹⁵ tn Or “type, form.”

[8:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “are about to, are certainly going to.”

[8:13]  ¹⁷ sn This remark is parenthetical to Paul’s argument.

[8:20]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “because of the one”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:1]  ¹⁹ sn Rom 9:1–11:36. These three chapters are among the most difficult and disputed in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. One area of difficulty is the relationship between Israel and the church, especially concerning the nature and extent of Israel’s election. Many different models have been constructed to express this relationship. For a representative survey, see M. Barth, The People of God (JSNTSup), 22-27. The literary genre of these three chapters has been frequently identified as a diatribe, a philosophical discussion or conversation evolved by the Cynic and Stoic schools of philosophy as a means of popularizing their ideas (E. Käsemann, Romans, 261 and 267). But other recent scholars have challenged the idea that Rom 9–11 is characterized by diatribe. Scholars like R. Scroggs and E. E. Ellis have instead identified the material in question as midrash. For a summary and discussion of the rabbinic connections, see W. R. Stegner, “Romans 9.6-29 – A Midrash,” JSNT 22 (1984): 37-52.

[9:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “my conscience bears witness to me.”

[11:31]  ²¹ tc Some important Alexandrian and Western mss (א B D*^,c 1506 pc bo) read νῦν (nun, “now”) here. A few other mss (33 365 pc sa) have ὕστερον (Justeron, “finally”). mss that lack the word are Ì⁴⁶ A D² F G Ψ 1739 1881 Ï latt. External evidence slightly favors omission with good representatives from the major texttypes, and because of the alliance of Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (with the Byzantine going against its normal tendency to embrace the longer reading). Internally, scribes could have added νῦν here to give balance to the preceding clause (οὗτοι νῦν ἠπείθησαν…αὐτοὶ νῦν ἐλεηθῶσιν [|outoi nun hpeiqhsan…autoi nun elehqwsin; “they have now been disobedient…they may now receive mercy”]). However, it seems much more likely that they would have deleted it because of its seeming inappropriateness in this context. That some witnesses have ὕστερον presupposes the presence of νῦν in their ancestors. A decision is difficult, but νῦν is slightly preferred, since it is the more difficult reading and is adequately represented in the mss.