Roma 4:2

4:2 For if Abraham was declared righteous ¹  by the works of the law, he has something to boast about – but not before God.

Roma 7:11

7:11 For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it I died. ² 

Roma 7:24

7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

Roma 8:33

8:33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? ³  It is God who justifies.

Roma 10:2

10:2 For I can testify that they are zealous for God, ⁴  but their zeal is not in line with the truth. ⁵ 

Roma 10:10

10:10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness ⁶  and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation. ⁷ 

Roma 14:1

Exhortation to Mutual Forbearance

14:1 Now receive the one who is weak in the faith, and do not have disputes over differing opinions. ⁸ 

Roma 16:1

Personal Greetings

16:1 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant ⁹  of the church in Cenchrea,

Roma 16:10

16:10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.

[4:2]  ¹ tn Or “was justified.”

[7:11]  ² tn Or “and through it killed me.”

[8:33]  ³ sn An allusion to Isa 50:8 where the reference is singular; Paul applies this to all believers (“God’s elect” is plural here).

[10:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “they have a zeal for God.”

[10:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “in accord with knowledge.”

[10:2]  sn Their zeal is not in line with the truth means that the Jews’ passion for God was strong, but it ignored the true righteousness of God (v. 3; cf. also 3:21).

[10:10]  ⁶ tn Grk “believes to righteousness.”

[10:10]  ⁷ tn Grk “confesses to salvation.”

[14:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “over opinions.” The qualifier “differing” has been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[16:1]  ⁹ tn Or “deaconess.” It is debated whether διάκονος (diakonos) here refers to a specific office within the church. One contextual argument used to support this view is that Phoebe is associated with a particular church, Cenchrea, and as such would therefore be a deacon of that church. In the NT some who are called διάκονος are related to a particular church, yet the scholarly consensus is that such individuals are not deacons, but “servants” or “ministers” (other viable translations for διάκονος). For example, Epaphras is associated with the church in Colossians and is called a διάκονος in Col 1:7, but no contemporary translation regards him as a deacon. In 1 Tim 4:6 Paul calls Timothy a διάκονος; Timothy was associated with the church in Ephesus, but he obviously was not a deacon. In addition, the lexical evidence leans away from this view: Within the NT, the διακον- word group rarely functions with a technical nuance. In any case, the evidence is not compelling either way. The view accepted in the translation above is that Phoebe was a servant of the church, not a deaconess, although this conclusion should be regarded as tentative.