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OET (OET-LV) according_to zeal persecuting the assembly, according_to righteousness which is by the_law having_become blameless.
OET (OET-RV) zealously persecuted assembled believers, and without fault in terms of obeying the law.
Paul told the believers to watch out for those who were teaching that believers must be circumcised. He also warned them against those who were proud of doing evil. He encouraged them to follow his example instead. Paul tried to be like Christ and depended on him alone in order to become righteous.
In both 3:1 and 4:1, Paul talked about being joyful. Therefore, it is possible to consider that 3:1 is an introduction to this section and 4:1 is a summary of this section. However, some English versions consider that 3:1a is the final statement in the previous section and so attach it to the end of chapter 2 (REB, NJB, NRSV). You may want to follow whatever the national language version in your area does here.
Paul was saying, “If it would do any good, I could trust in my Jewish background and my custom of strictly following the Jewish laws, in order that God would consider me, more than anyone else, as one who belongs to him.”
Translator’s Notes places a paragraph break here (see also SSA) as do some English versions. Other English versions keep 3:4b together with 3:4a. This is perhaps because it divides up a single Greek sentence.
as to zeal, persecuting the church;
I wanted so strongly to do what I thought God wanted me to do that I made the followers of Jesus suffer.
I was so loyal to what I thought would please God that I greatly harmed the disciples of Christ.
zeal: The word zeal means “a strong feeling in favor of something.” Here it means that Paul strongly desired to be religious and to encourage people to honor God. This was an attitude that the Jews highly respected. You could translate the word zeal (or the phrase “as for zeal”) as:
I strongly desired to honor God.
persecuting the church: Before Paul became a believer, he had greatly harmed those who followed Christ. He beat some, put others in prison and caused others to die (Acts 8:1–3, 9:1–2). He did this because he thought they were against the Jewish laws and the Jewish religion. He thought the best way he could serve God was to get rid of Jesus’ disciples.
the church: This refers to Christ’s followers, not to any building they met in. You could translate this as “those who believed in Jesus” or “the people who followed Jesus.”
as to righteousness in the law, faultless.
In obeying our(excl) Jewish laws, I was as righteous as a person could become because I obeyed them all.
No one could find any cause for blame in me, because I obeyed all the Jewish laws.
righteousness in the law: This is literally “righteousness that is in law.” This law refers to the law of Moses, found in the first five books of the Old Testament. Paul meant that he did what was right according to the Jewish laws. He was righteous in an external or legal sense. But this is different from being righteous according to God’s standard, which is based on what people think and desire, not just what they do.
faultless: When Paul wrote this letter, he knew he was a sinner. But here in 3:6 he was thinking about the time before he believed in Christ. He claimed that at that previous time he had obeyed all the Jewish laws. No one could have blamed him or said he was at fault for disobeying any of the Jewish laws. You could translate the word faultless here as “no one could find one law that I disobeyed.” In some languages it may be helpful to reverse the order in this phrase. For example:
There is no one who can accuse me of disobeying the law, because I obeyed it all.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
κατὰ ζῆλος διώκων τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, κατὰ δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐν νόμῳ γενόμενος ἄμεμπτος
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: κατά ζῆλος διώκων τήν ἐκκλησίαν κατά δικαιοσύνην τήν ἐν νόμῳ γενόμενος ἄμεμπτος)
In this verse Paul finishes naming the things in which he put his confidence before he believed in Christ.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
κατὰ ζῆλος διώκων τὴν ἐκκλησίαν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: κατά ζῆλος διώκων τήν ἐκκλησίαν κατά δικαιοσύνην τήν ἐν νόμῳ γενόμενος ἄμεμπτος)
The phrase persecuting the church is explaining the extent of Paul’s zeal. Before Paul believed in Jesus, he thought that by persecuting the church, he was serving God and ensuring that the law of Moses was honored and obeyed. If it would be helpful in your language, consider stating the meaning of the phrase according to zeal, persecuting the church plainly. Alternate translation: [having so much desire to serve God that I persecuted the church] or [wanting so much to honor God, I persecuted the church]
Note 3 topic: grammar-collectivenouns
τὴν ἐκκλησίαν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: κατά ζῆλος διώκων τήν ἐκκλησίαν κατά δικαιοσύνην τήν ἐν νόμῳ γενόμενος ἄμεμπτος)
Here, church is a collective noun. The phrase the church refers to Christians as a whole and includes anyone belonging to the group of people who follow Jesus. What Paul means by saying that he had persecuted the church is that he formerly persecuted anyone who was a Christian. Alternate translation: [persecuting Christians] or [persecuting anyone who was a Christian]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
κατὰ δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐν νόμῳ γενόμενος ἄμεμπτος
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: κατά ζῆλος διώκων τήν ἐκκλησίαν κατά δικαιοσύνην τήν ἐν νόμῳ γενόμενος ἄμεμπτος)
The phrase righteousness that is in the law refers to obeying the righteous guidelines for living that the law of Moses required. Paul obeyed the law so carefully that he believed that no one could find any part of it that he disobeyed. If it would be helpful in your language, consider stating it plainly. Alternate translation: [As regards obeying the law of Moses, no one could say that I ever disobeyed the law]
OET (OET-LV) according_to zeal persecuting the assembly, according_to righteousness which is by the_law having_become blameless.
OET (OET-RV) zealously persecuted assembled believers, and without fault in terms of obeying the law.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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