Romans 1:13-17

1:13 I do not want you to be unaware, 1  brothers and sisters, 2  that I often intended to come to you (and was prevented until now), so that I may have some fruit even among you, just as I already have among the rest of the Gentiles. 3  1:14 I am a debtor 4  both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 1:15 Thus I am eager 5  also to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome. 6 

The Power of the Gospel

1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 7  1:17 For the righteousness 8  of God is revealed in the gospel 9  from faith to faith, 10  just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will live.” 11 

1 sn The expression “I do not want you to be unaware [Grk ignorant]” also occurs in 1 Cor 10:1; 12:1; 1 Thess 4:13. Paul uses the phrase to signal that he is about to say something very important.

2 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

3 tn Grk “in order that I might have some fruit also among you just as also among the rest of the Gentiles.”

4 tn Or “obligated.”

5 tn Or “willing, ready”; Grk “so my eagerness [is] to preach…” The word πρόθυμος (proqumo", “eager, willing”) is used only elsewhere in the NT in Matt 26:41 = Mark 14:38: “the spirit indeed is willing (πρόθυμος), but the flesh is weak.”

6 map For location see JP4-A1.

7 sn Here the Greek refers to anyone who is not Jewish.

8 tn The nature of the “righteousness” described here and the force of the genitive θεοῦ (“of God”) which follows have been much debated. (1) Some (e.g. C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:98) understand “righteousness” to refer to the righteous status given to believers as a result of God’s justifying activity, and see the genitive “of God” as a genitive of source (= “from God”). (2) Others see the “righteousness” as God’s act or declaration that makes righteous (i.e., justifies) those who turn to him in faith, taking the genitive “of God” as a subjective genitive (see E. Käsemann, Romans, 25-30). (3) Still others see the “righteousness of God” mentioned here as the attribute of God himself, understanding the genitive “of God” as a possessive genitive (“God’s righteousness”).

9 tn Grk “in it”; the referent (the gospel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

10 tn Or “by faith for faith,” or “by faith to faith.” There are many interpretations of the phrase ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (ek pistew" ei" pistin). It may have the idea that this righteousness is obtained by faith (ἐκ πίστεως) because it was designed for faith (εἰς πίστιν). For a summary see J. Murray, Romans (NICNT), 1:363-74.

11 sn A quotation from Hab 2:4.