Romans 8:23

8:23 Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, ¹  groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, ²  the redemption of our bodies. ³ 

Romans 2:29

2:29 but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart ⁴  by the Spirit ⁵  and not by the written code. ⁶  This person’s ⁷  praise is not from people but from God.

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¹ tn Or “who have the Spirit as firstfruits.” The genitive πνεύματος (pneumatos) can be understood here as possessive (“the firstfruits belonging to the Spirit”) although it is much more likely that this is a genitive of apposition (“the firstfruits, namely, the Spirit”); cf. TEV, NLT.

² tn See the note on “adoption” in v. 15.

³ tn Grk “body.”

⁴ sn On circumcision is of the heart see Lev 26:41; Deut 10:16; Jer 4:4; Ezek 44:9.

⁵ tn Some have taken the phrase ἐν πνεύματι (en pneumati, “by/in [the] S/spirit”) not as a reference to the Holy Spirit, but referring to circumcision as “spiritual and not literal” (RSV).

⁶ tn Grk “letter.”

⁷ tn Grk “whose.” The relative pronoun has been replaced by the phrase “this person’s” and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation.