Romans 12:1--16:27

¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

² tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.

sn Taken as predicate adjectives, the terms alive, holy, and pleasing are showing how unusual is the sacrifice that believers can now offer, for OT sacrifices were dead. As has often been quipped about this text, “The problem with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar.”

³ tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.

⁴ tn Grk “to this age.”

⁵ sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”

⁶ tn The words “of you” have been supplied for clarity.

⁷ tn Or “to each as God has distributed a measure of faith.”

⁸ tn This word comes from the same root as “grace” in the following clause; it means “things graciously given,” “grace-gifts.”

⁹ tn The verb “must be” is understood in the Greek text.

¹⁰ tn Or “but give yourselves to menial tasks.” The translation depends on whether one takes the adjective “lowly” as masculine or neuter.

¹¹ tn Grk “Do not be wise in your thinking.”

¹² tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.

¹³ tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.

¹⁴ tn Grk “the wrath,” referring to God’s wrath as the remainder of the verse shows.

¹⁵ sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.

¹⁶ sn A quotation from Prov 25:21-22.

¹⁷ tn Grk “by God.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “the authority,” referring to the authority just described.

¹⁹ tn Grk “its wrath”; the referent (the governing authorities) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁰ tn Grk “because of (the) conscience,” but the English possessive “your” helps to show whose conscience the context implies.

²¹ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the governing authorities) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²² tn Grk “devoted to this very thing.”

²³ tn Grk “For the…” (with the word “commandments” supplied for clarity). The Greek article (“the”) is used here as a substantiver to introduce the commands that are quoted from the second half of the Decalogue (ExSyn 238).

²⁴ sn A quotation from Exod 20:13-15, 17; Deut 5:17-19, 21.

²⁵ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

²⁶ tn Grk “and this,” probably referring to the command to love (13:8-10); hence, “do” is implied from the previous verses.

²⁷ tn The participle εἰδότες (eidotes) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

²⁸ tn Grk “make no provision for the flesh unto desires.”

²⁹ tn Grk “over opinions.” The qualifier “differing” has been supplied to clarify the meaning.

³⁰ tc Most mss, especially Western and Byzantine (D F G 048 33 1739 1881 Ï latt), read θεός (qeos, “God”) in place of κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) here. However, κύριος is found in many of the most important mss (Ì⁴⁶ א A B C P Ψ pc co), and θεός looks to be an assimilation to θεός in v. 3.

³¹ tn Grk “For one judges day from day, and one judges all days.”

³² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

³³ tn Grk “But why do you judge your brother?” The introductory phrase has been supplied in the translation to clarify whom Paul is addressing, i.e., the “weak” Christian who eats only vegetables (see vv. 2-3). The author uses the singular pronoun here to rhetorically address one person, but the plural has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³⁴ tn Grk “Or again, why do you despise your brother?” The introductory phrase has been supplied in the translation to clarify whom Paul is addressing, i.e., the “strong” Christian who eats everything (see vv. 2-3). The author uses the singular pronoun here to rhetorically address one person, but the plural has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³⁵ sn The judgment seat (βῆμα, bhma) was a raised platform mounted by steps and sometimes furnished with a seat, used by officials in addressing an assembly or making pronouncements, often on judicial matters. The judgment seat was a familiar item in Greco-Roman culture, often located in the agora, the public square or marketplace in the center of a city.

³⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 45:23.

³⁷ tc ‡ The words “to God” are absent from some mss (B F G 6 630 1739 1881 pc) but are found in א A C D Ψ 0209 33 Ï lat sy co. External evidence somewhat favors their inclusion since Alexandrian, Western, and Byzantine mss are well represented. From an internal standpoint, however, it is easy to see the words as a scribal gloss intended to clarify the referent, especially as a reinforcement to the quotation of Isa 45:23 in v. 11. Not only that, but the abrupt ending of the verse without “to God” is harsh, both in Greek and in English. In this instance, the internal considerations seem overwhelming on the side of the omission. At the same time, English stylistic needs require the words and they have been put into the translation, even though they are most likely not original. NA²⁷ places the words in brackets, indicating doubt as to their authenticity.

tn Or “each of us is accountable to God.”

³⁸ tn Grk “brother.”

³⁹ tn Grk “brother.”

⁴⁰ tn Grk “on account of food.”

⁴¹ tn Grk “according to love.”

⁴² tn Grk “do not let your good.”

⁴³ tn Grk “by men”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is generic here (“people”) since the contrast in context is between God and humanity.

⁴⁴ sn Here clean refers to food being ceremonially clean.

⁴⁵ tc A large number of mss, some of them quite important (Ì^46vid א² B D F G Ψ 0209 33 1881 Ï lat sa), read “or to be offended or to be made weak” after “to stumble.” The shorter reading “to stumble” is found only in Alexandrian mss (א* A C 048 81 945 1506 1739 pc bo). Although external evidence favors inclusion, internal evidence points to a scribal expansion, perhaps reminiscent of 1 Cor 8:11-13. The shorter reading is therefore preferred.

⁴⁶ tc ‡ Several important Alexandrian witnesses (א A B C 048) have the relative pronoun ἥν ({hn, “the faith that you have”) at this juncture, but D F G Ψ 1739 1881 Ï lat co lack it. Without the pronoun, the clause is more ambiguous (either “Keep the faith [that] you have between yourself and God” or “Do you have faith? Keep it between yourself and God”). The pronoun thus looks to be a motivated reading, created to clarify the meaning of the text. Even though it is found in the better witnesses, in this instance internal evidence should be given preference. NA²⁷ places the word in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

⁴⁷ tc Some mss insert 16:25-27 at this point. See the tc note at 16:25 for more information.

⁴⁸ tn Grk “and not please ourselves.” NT Greek negatives used in contrast like this are often not absolute, but relative: “not so much one as the other.”

⁴⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 69:9.

⁵⁰ tn Grk “grant you to think the same among one another.”

⁵¹ tn Grk “of the circumcision”; that is, the Jews.

⁵² tn Or “to the patriarchs.”

⁵³ tn There are two major syntactical alternatives which are both awkward: (1) One could make “glorify” dependent on “Christ has become a minister” and coordinate with “to confirm” and the result would be rendered “Christ has become a minister of circumcision to confirm the promises…and so that the Gentiles might glorify God.” (2) One could make “glorify” dependent on “I tell you” and coordinate with “Christ has become a minister” and the result would be rendered “I tell you that Christ has become a minister of circumcision…and that the Gentiles glorify God.” The second rendering is preferred.

⁵⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 18:49.

⁵⁵ sn A quotation from Deut 32:43.

⁵⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 117:1.

⁵⁷ sn A quotation from Isa 11:10.

⁵⁸ tn Grk “in the believing” or “as [you] believe,” with the object “him” supplied from the context. The referent could be God (15:13a) or Christ (15:12).

⁵⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

⁶⁰ tn Grk “serving.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but in keeping with contemporary English style, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁶¹ tn The genitive in the phrase τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ (to euangelion tou qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself.

⁶² tn Grk “so that the offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable.” This could be understood to refer to an offering belonging to the Gentiles (a possessive genitive) or made by the Gentiles (subjective genitive), but more likely the phrase should be understood as an appositive genitive, with the Gentiles themselves consisting of the offering (so J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC 38], 2:860). The latter view is reflected in the translation “so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering.”

⁶³ tc ‡ After οὖν (oun), several important Alexandrian and Western mss (B C D F G 81 365 pc) have τήν (thn). The article is lacking in א A Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï however. Ì⁴⁶ supplies a relative pronoun and has a different reading entirely (“which I have [as a] boast”). Articles were frequently introduced to clarify the meaning of the text. In this instance, since the word modified (καύχησιν, kauchsin) is third declension, a visual oversight (resulting in omission) is less likely. Hence, the shorter reading is probably original. The difference in translation between these first two options is negligible (“I have the boast” or “I have a boast”). NA²⁷ puts the article in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

tn Grk “Therefore I have a boast.”

⁶⁴ tn Grk “unto obedience.”

⁶⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 52:15.

⁶⁶ tn Grk “now no longer having a place…I have.”

⁶⁷ tn Grk “but having a desire…for many years.”

⁶⁸ tn Grk “and to be helped by you.” The passive construction was changed to an active one in the translation.

⁶⁹ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the Jerusalem saints) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷⁰ tn Grk “have sealed this fruit to them.”

⁷¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

⁷² tn Verses 30-31 form one long sentence in the Greek but have been divided into two distinct sentences for clarity in English.

⁷³ tc Some mss lack the word “Amen” here, one of them (Ì⁴⁶) also inserting 16:25-27 at this point. See the tc note at 16:25 for more information.

⁷⁴ 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.

⁷⁵ sn On Prisca and Aquila see also Acts 18:2, 18, 26; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tim 4:19. In the NT “Priscilla” and “Prisca” are the same person. The author of Acts uses the full name Priscilla, while Paul uses the diminutive form Prisca.

⁷⁶ sn The spelling Epenetus is also used by NIV, NLT; the name is alternately spelled Epaenetus (NASB, NKJV, NRSV).

⁷⁷ tn Grk “first fruit.” This is a figurative use referring to Epenetus as the first Christian convert in the region.

⁷⁸ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

⁷⁹ tn Or “Junias.”

sn The feminine name Junia, though common in Latin, is quite rare in Greek (apparently only three instances of it occur in Greek literature outside Rom 16:7, according to the data in the TLG [D. Moo, Romans [NICNT], 922]). The masculine Junias (as a contraction for Junianas), however, is rarer still: Only one instance of the masculine name is known in extant Greek literature (Epiphanius mentions Junias in his Index discipulorum 125). Further, since there are apparently other husband-wife teams mentioned in this salutation (Prisca and Aquila [v. 3], Philologus and Julia [v. 15]), it might be natural to think of Junia as a feminine name. (This ought not be pressed too far, however, for in v. 12 all three individuals are women [though the first two are linked together], and in vv. 9-11 all the individuals are men.) In Greek only a difference of accent distinguishes between Junias (male) and Junia (female). If it refers to a woman, it is possible (1) that she had the gift of apostleship (not the office), or (2) that she was not an apostle but along with Andronicus was esteemed by (or among) the apostles. As well, the term “prominent” probably means “well known,” suggesting that Andronicus and Junia(s) were well known to the apostles (see note on the phrase “well known” which follows).

⁸⁰ tn Or “kinsmen,” “relatives,” “fellow countrymen.”

⁸¹ tn Or “prominent, outstanding, famous.” The term ἐπίσημος (epishmo") is used either in an implied comparative sense (“prominent, outstanding”) or in an elative sense (“famous, well known”). The key to determining the meaning of the term in any given passage is both the general context and the specific collocation of this word with its adjuncts. When a comparative notion is seen, that to which ἐπίσημος is compared is frequently, if not usually, put in the genitive case (cf., e.g., 3 Macc 6:1 [Ελεαζαρος δέ τις ἀνὴρ ἐπίσημος τῶν ἀπὸ τής χώρας ἱερέων “Eleazar, a man prominent among the priests of the country”]; cf. also Pss. Sol. 17:30). When, however, an elative notion is found, ἐν (en) plus a personal plural dative is not uncommon (cf. Pss. Sol. 2:6). Although ἐν plus a personal dative does not indicate agency, in collocation with words of perception, (ἐν plus) dative personal nouns are often used to show the recipients. In this instance, the idea would then be “well known to the apostles.” See M. H. Burer and D. B. Wallace, “Was Junia Really an Apostle? A Re-examination of Rom 16.7,” NTS 47 (2001): 76-91, who argue for the elative notion here.

⁸² tn Or “among the apostles.” See discussion in the note on “well known” for these options.

⁸³ tn Or “kinsman,” “relative,” “fellow countryman.”

⁸⁴ sn The spelling Tryphena is also used by NIV, NKJV, NLT; the name is alternately spelled Tryphaena (NASB, NRSV).

⁸⁵ tn Grk “Greet the beloved.”

⁸⁶ tn Grk “and his mother and mine.”

⁸⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

⁸⁸ tn Grk “saints.”

⁸⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

⁹⁰ tn Grk “hearts.”

⁹¹ tn Grk “kinsmen, relatives, fellow countrymen.”

⁹² tc Most mss (D [F G 629 without “Jesus Christ”] Ψ [630] 1881 Ï al) include here 16:24 “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.” Other mss (P 33 104 365 pc) include the verse after 16:27. The verse is entirely lacking in Ì^46,61 (א A) B C 81 1739 2464 pc co. The strength of the external evidence, combined with uncertainty in other mss over where the verse should be located and the fact that it is a repetition of v. 20b, strongly favors omission of the verse. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

⁹³ tc There is a considerable degree of difference among the mss regarding the presence and position of the doxology of 16:25-27. Five situations present themselves from the ms tradition. The doxology is found in the ancient witnesses in three separate locations: (1) here after 16:23 (Ì⁶¹ א B C D 81 365 630 1739 2464 al co), (2) after 14:23 (Ψ 0209^vid Ï), or (3) after 15:33 (Ì⁴⁶). The situation is further complicated in that some of the mss have these verses in two places: (4) after 14:23 and after 16:23 (A P 33 104 2805 pc); or (5) after 14:23 and after 15:33 (1506). The uncertain position of the doxology might suggest that it was added by later scribes. But since the mss containing the doxology are so early and widespread, it almost certainly belongs in Romans; it is only a question of where. Further, the witnesses that omit the doxology are few: F G 629 Hier^mss. (And of these, G has a blank space of several lines large enough for the doxology to belong there.) Only two positions (after chapter 14 only and at the end of the letter only) deserve particular notice because the situation of the mss showing the doxology in two places dates back to the 5th century. Later copyists, faced with the doxology in two different places in the mss they knew, may have decided to copy the doxology in both places, since they were unwilling to consciously omit any text. Because the textual disruption of the doxology is so early, TCGNT 472 suggests two possibilities: either (1) that Paul may have sent two different copies of Romans – a copy lacking chapter 16 and a copy with the full text of the epistle as we now have it, or (2) Marcion or some of his followers circulated a shortened form of the epistle that lacked chapters 15 and 16. Those mss that lacked chapters 15-16 would naturally conclude with some kind of doxology after chapter 14. On the other hand, H. Gamble (The Textual History of the Letter to the Romans [SD], 123-32) argues for the position of the doxology at 14:23, since to put the doxology at 16:25 would violate Paul’s normal pattern of a grace-benediction at the close of the letter. Gamble further argues for the inclusion of 16:24, since the mss that put the doxology after chapter 14 almost always present 16:24 as the letter’s closing, whereas most of the mss that put the doxology at its traditional position drop 16:24, perhaps because it would be redundant before 16:25-27. A decision is difficult, but the weight of external evidence, since it is both early and geographically widespread, suggests that the doxology belongs here after 16:23. For a full discussion, see TCGNT 470-73.