Discovery BoxRomans 1:23-28 
Context1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings 1 or birds or four-footed animals 2 or reptiles.
1:24 Therefore God gave them over 3 in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor 4 their bodies among themselves. 5 1:25 They 6 exchanged the truth of God for a lie 7 and worshiped and served the creation 8 rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
1:26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones, 9 1:27 and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women 10 and were inflamed in their passions 11 for one another. Men 12 committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, 13 God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. 14
1 tn Grk “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God in likeness of an image of corruptible man.” Here there is a wordplay on the Greek terms ἄφθαρτος (afqarto", “immortal, imperishable, incorruptible”) and φθαρτός (fqarto", “mortal, corruptible, subject to decay”).
2 sn Possibly an allusion to Ps 106:19-20.
3 sn Possibly an allusion to Ps 81:12.
4 tn The genitive articular infinitive τοῦ ἀτιμάζεσθαι (tou atimazesqai, “to dishonor”) has been taken as (1) an infinitive of purpose; (2) an infinitive of result; or (3) an epexegetical (i.e., explanatory) infinitive, expanding the previous clause.
5 tn Grk “among them.”
6 tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
7 tn Grk “the lie.”
8 tn Or “creature, created things.”
9 tn Grk “for their females exchanged the natural function for that which is contrary to nature.” The term χρῆσις (crhsi") has the force of “sexual relations” here (L&N 23.65).
10 tn Grk “likewise so also the males abandoning the natural function of the female.”
11 tn Grk “burned with intense desire” (L&N 25.16).
12 tn Grk “another, men committing…and receiving,” continuing the description of their deeds. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
13 tn Grk “and just as they did not approve to have God in knowledge.”
14 tn Grk “the things that are improper.”
