Discovery BoxRomans 5:1-2 
Context5:1 1 Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have 2 peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 5:2 through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice 3 in the hope of God’s glory.
Romans 5:15-21
Context5:15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. 4 For if the many died through the transgression of the one man, 5 how much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ multiply to the many! 5:16 And the gift is not like the one who sinned. 6 For judgment, resulting from the one transgression, 7 led to condemnation, but 8 the gracious gift from the many failures 9 led to justification. 5:17 For if, by the transgression of the one man, 10 death reigned through the one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ!
5:18 Consequently, 11 just as condemnation 12 for all people 13 came 14 through one transgression, 15 so too through the one righteous act 16 came righteousness leading to life 17 for all people. 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man 18 many 19 were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man 20 many 21 will be made righteous. 5:20 Now the law came in 22 so that the transgression 23 may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more, 5:21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 sn Many interpreters see Rom 5:1 as beginning the second major division of the letter.
2 tc A number of important witnesses have the subjunctive ἔχωμεν (ecwmen, “let us have”) instead of ἔχομεν (ecomen, “we have”) in v. 1. Included in the subjunctive’s support are א* A B* C D K L 33 81 630 1175 1739* pm lat bo. But the indicative is not without its supporters: א1 B2 F G P Ψ 0220vid 104 365 1241 1505 1506 1739c 1881 2464 pm. If the problem were to be solved on an external basis only, the subjunctive would be preferred. Because of this, the “A” rating on behalf of the indicative in the UBS4 appears overly confident. Nevertheless, the indicative is probably correct. First, the earliest witness to Rom 5:1 has the indicative (0220vid, third century). Second, the first set of correctors is sometimes, if not often, of equal importance with the original hand. Hence, א1 might be given equal value with א*. Third, there is a good cross-section of witnesses for the indicative: Alexandrian (in 0220vid, probably א1 1241 1506 1881 al), Western (in F G), and Byzantine (noted in NA27 as pm). Thus, although the external evidence is strongly in favor of the subjunctive, the indicative is represented well enough that its ancestry could easily go back to the original. Turning to the internal evidence, the indicative gains much ground. (1) The variant may have been produced via an error of hearing (since omicron and omega were pronounced alike in ancient Greek). This, of course, does not indicate which reading was original – just that an error of hearing may have produced one of them. In light of the indecisiveness of the transcriptional evidence, intrinsic evidence could play a much larger role. This is indeed the case here. (2) The indicative fits well with the overall argument of the book to this point. Up until now, Paul has been establishing the “indicatives of the faith.” There is only one imperative (used rhetorically) and only one hortatory subjunctive (and this in a quotation within a diatribe) up till this point, while from ch. 6 on there are sixty-one imperatives and seven hortatory subjunctives. Clearly, an exhortation would be out of place in ch. 5. (3) Paul presupposes that the audience has peace with God (via reconciliation) in 5:10. This seems to assume the indicative in v. 1. (4) As C. E. B. Cranfield notes, “it would surely be strange for Paul, in such a carefully argued writing as this, to exhort his readers to enjoy or to guard a peace which he has not yet explicitly shown to be possessed by them” (Romans [ICC], 1:257). (5) The notion that εἰρήνην ἔχωμεν (eirhnhn ecwmen) can even naturally mean “enjoy peace” is problematic (ExSyn 464), yet those who embrace the subjunctive have to give the verb some such force. Thus, although the external evidence is stronger in support of the subjunctive, the internal evidence points to the indicative. Although a decision is difficult, ἔχομεν appears to be the authentic reading.
3 tn Or “exult, boast.”
4 tn Grk “but not as the transgression, so also [is] the gracious gift.”
5 sn Here the one man refers to Adam (cf. 5:14).
6 tn Grk “and not as through the one who sinned [is] the gift.”
7 tn The word “transgression” is not in the Greek text at this point, but has been supplied for clarity.
8 tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.
9 tn Or “falls, trespasses,” the same word used in vv. 15, 17, 18, 20.
10 sn Here the one man refers to Adam (cf. 5:14).
11 tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.
12 tn Grk “[it is] unto condemnation for all people.”
13 tn Here ἀνθρώπους (anqrwpou") has been translated as a generic (“people”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.
14 tn There are no verbs in the Greek text of v. 18, forcing translators to supply phrases like “came through one transgression,” “resulted from one transgression,” etc.
15 sn One transgression refers to the sin of Adam in Gen 3:1-24.
16 sn The one righteous act refers to Jesus’ death on the cross.
17 tn Grk “righteousness of life.”
18 sn Here the one man refers to Adam (cf. 5:14).
19 tn Grk “the many.”
20 sn One man refers here to Jesus Christ.
21 tn Grk “the many.”
22 tn Grk “slipped in.”
23 tn Or “trespass.”
