Romans 9:1

¹ I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me ²  in the Holy Spirit –

I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit—

I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit,

In the presence of Christ, I speak with utter truthfulness––I do not lie––and my conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm that what I am saying is true.

At the same time, you need to know that I carry with me at all times a huge sorrow.

I say what is true in Christ, and not what is false, my mind giving witness with me in the Holy Spirit,

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit—

I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,

¹ I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me ²  in the Holy Spirit –

¹ sn Rom 9:1–11:36. These three chapters are among the most difficult and disputed in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. One area of difficulty is the relationship between Israel and the church, especially concerning the nature and extent of Israel’s election. Many different models have been constructed to express this relationship. For a representative survey, see M. Barth, The People of God (JSNTSup), 22-27. The literary genre of these three chapters has been frequently identified as a diatribe, a philosophical discussion or conversation evolved by the Cynic and Stoic schools of philosophy as a means of popularizing their ideas (E. Käsemann, Romans, 261 and 267). But other recent scholars have challenged the idea that Rom 9–11 is characterized by diatribe. Scholars like R. Scroggs and E. E. Ellis have instead identified the material in question as midrash. For a summary and discussion of the rabbinic connections, see W. R. Stegner, “Romans 9.6-29 – A Midrash,” JSNT 22 (1984): 37-52.

² tn Or “my conscience bears witness to me.”