ROM 12:12 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 12:1–21: Paul taught about our body, love, and revenge

In this section, Paul taught that believers should use their bodies in ways that are holy and acceptable to God. Our thinking must change so that it follows the will of God and not the thinking of the people of this world.

Paul also taught that believers should not be more proud of themselves than what is right before God. We all have different gifts from the Holy Spirit, and we should use them.

Believers should love in a genuine way, avoid evil deeds, honor others, be full of eagerness to serve the Lord. They should rejoice, be patient, pray, help others, and show hospitality.

Believers should bless the people who persecute them, and live in sympathy and harmony with other believers. They are not to be proud such that they avoid people with no status in society. They are not to think of themselves as wise.

Believers are not to take revenge, but leave that for God to do something about the evil done to them. They are to do things that are honorable and live at peace with others, if they can. They are to bless their enemies by doing good to them.

Here are other possible headings for this section:

The New Life in Christ (NRSV)

Our bodies, thinking, and deeds must be holy and good

12:12a

Be joyful in hope,

Be happy in the hope that you^(plur) have.
Be joyful in the fact that you are confidently waiting for God to fulfill his promises to you.

Be joyful in hope: There are several ways to interpret the Greek grammar that the BSB translates as in:

It indicates what we are to feel joy about, as in the BSB. (BSB, RSV, NIV, NJB, ESV, NABRE, NASB, KJV, NLT, GW, NET)
It indicates what makes our rejoicing possible. Hope helps us to rejoice. For example:
Let your hope keep you joyful (GNT) (GNT, CEV, REB)
It indicates what the source of our rejoicing is. For example:
Be joyful because you have hope (NCV) (NCV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because many English versions and the BDAG support it.Jewett, Longenecker, Schreiner, and Nicoll support interpretation (1). Morris supports interpretation (2), and Alford supports interpretation (3). But no scholar this author has explains why he chooses the interpretation he does.

Be joyful: The Greek word here refers to being happy and feeling well.BDAG (sense (1)) and L&N (sense (a)).

hope: The word hope means “the looking forward to something happening with some reason for confidence that it will indeed happen.”See BDAG (page 319–320). Here this hope is probably the general hope of a believer, that God will fulfill his promises in Scriptures to him. See how you translated this word in 5:4 or 8:24.

In some languages hope must include the thing hoped in. For interpretations (2) and (3) above, something must be added for these languages. For example:

hope in God

hope in the fulfillment of God’s promises

12:12b

patient in affliction,

Persevere during troubles/hardship.
When difficulty/suffering comes, endure it.

patient: The Greek word here refers to continuing to believe (or hope) or to do as planned in the midst of opposition or difficulty. Here are other ways to translate this Greek word:

persevere (NJB)

endure (NABRE)

in: Here this word means “during” or “while experiencing.”

affliction: The Greek word here refers to any kind of trouble, oppression, suffering, or persecution.

trouble

hardship (NJB)

difficulty

See how you translated this word in 2:9 or 8:35 (BSB: “distress”).

12:12c

persistent in prayer.

Persist in praying.
Be praying to God often.

persistent: The Greek word refers to making the effort to continue doing something. Here are other ways to translate this Greek word:

persevere (NABRE)

keep praying regularly (NJB)

in prayer: Here the word in indicates that praying is what the believer is supposed to constantly do.

prayer: This word refers to talking to God, praising him, thanking him, and asking him to do something. See how you translated this word in 1:10.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / declarative

τῇ ἐλπίδι χαίροντες, τῇ θλίψει ὑπομένοντες, τῇ προσευχῇ προσκαρτεροῦντες

¬the ˱in˲_hope rejoicing ¬the ˱in˲_tribulation enduring ¬the ˱in˲_prayer attending

Paul is using statements to give commands. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a more natural form for commands. Alternate translation: [in hope, rejoice; in suffering, be patient; in prayer, persist]

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

τῇ ἐλπίδι

¬the ˱in˲_hope

Here, in indicates that hope is the reason for rejoicing. Use a natural way in your language for indicating a reason. Alternate translation: [because of hope, rejoicing]

Note 3 topic: grammar-connect-time-simultaneous

τῇ θλίψει ὑπομένοντες

¬the ¬the ˱in˲_tribulation enduring

Here, in indicates the situation in which someone should be patient. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [at the time of suffering, being patient]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τῇ προσευχῇ προσκαρτεροῦντες

¬the ¬the ¬the ˱in˲_prayer attending

Here, in indicates that prayer is what one needs to do persistently. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [in regard to prayer, persisting]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

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.

OET interlinear ROM 12:12

SR Greek word order

Section 12:1–21: Paul taught about our body, love, and revenge

12:12a

12:12b

12:12c

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)