ROM 1:14 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. Ἕλλησιν
2. Hellēn
3. To Hellaʸns
4. Greeks
5. 16720
6. N····DMP
7. ˱to˲ Hellaʸns
8. ˱to˲ Greeks
9. US
10. Y60
11. 105345
1. τέ
2. te
3. both
4. -
5. 50370
6. C·······
7. both
8. both
9. -
10. Y60
11. 105346
1. καί
2. kai
3. and
4. -
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y60
11. 105347
1. βαρβαροῖς
2. barbaros
3. to foreigners
4. foreigners
5. 9150
6. S····DMP
7. ˱to˲ foreigners
8. ˱to˲ foreigners
9. -
10. Y60
11. 105348
1. σοφοῖς
2. sofos
3. to +the wise
4. -
5. 46800
6. S····DMP
7. ˱to˲ ˓the˒ wise
8. ˱to˲ ˓the˒ wise
9. -
10. Y60
11. 105349
1. τέ
2. te
3. both
4. -
5. 50370
6. C·······
7. both
8. both
9. -
10. Y60
11. 105350
1. καί
2. kai
3. and
4. -
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y60
11. 105351
1. ἀνοήτοις
2. anoētos
3. +the foolish
4. foolish
5. 4530
6. S····DMP
7. ˓the˒ foolish
8. ˓the˒ foolish
9. -
10. Y60
11. 105352
1. ὀφειλέτης
2. ofeiletēs
3. +a debtor
4. -
5. 37810
6. N····NMS
7. ˓a˒ debtor
8. ˓a˒ debtor
9. -
10. Y60
11. 105353
1. εἰμί
2. eimi
3. I am
4. -
5. 15100
6. VIPA1··S
7. ˱I˲ am
8. ˱I˲ am
9. -
10. Y60; R105120; Person=Paul
11. 105354

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:8–17: Paul wanted to visit the believers at/in Rome

In this section, Paul thanked God that, in many places, people had heard about the faith of the believers in Rome. He also told them that he was asking God to make a way for him to go and visit them. He expected that he and they together would strengthen each other in their faith in Jesus Christ. He told them that he had been wanting to visit them for a long time and was eager to preach the gospel to the people there.

Then Paul wrote down the main things he wanted to talk about in the rest of the letter. He spoke of the gospel and who it is for.

Here are other possible headings for this section:

Paul wanted to visit Rome

Paul hoped to visit them

1:14a

I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks,

It is my duty to preach to all people who are not Jews, to those who live according to the Greeks and to those who live wild/lawless.
God has told me that I must tell the good news to all non-Jews. It does not matter if they think they are civilized like the Greeks or not.

I am obligated: The word obligated indicates that someone must do something. Jesus told Paul to go be his witness among the Gentiles, and so he needed to follow that command. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

I have a duty (NCV)

I truly must tell the good news

God requires me to preach the gospel

I really will have something to answer for to God if I don’t teach people about this Good News.Tagbanwa Back Translation on TW.

both to Greeks and non-Greeks: Paul implied all Gentiles (non-Jews) here.Cranfield (page 83), Dunn (page 33), Witherington (page 44), Fitzmyer (page 250), Moo (on TW). In some languages a literal translation would wrongly refer to a different group of people. If that is true in your language, include the implied information. For example:

to all Gentiles, both Greeks and barbarians

Greeks: This word refers to people who spoke the Greek language and lived according to the Greek culture. The Greeks thought of themselves as living in a civilized way. The Romans also thought of themselves as living in that way.

non-Greeks: The word that the BSB translates as non-Greeks is related to the English word “barbarians.” This word refers to people who did not speak Greek and did not follow Greek culture. The Greeks disliked non-Greeks and thought of them as wild, fierce, rude, and uncivilized. Here are other ways to translate this word:

uncivilized (CEV)

people of the jungleBased on Yongkom Back Translation, by this author, unpublished manuscript.

1:14b

both to the wise and the foolish.

I must preach to all those people, either wise or fools.
It does not matter if they are wise and educated or have no wisdom or education.

both to the wise and the foolish: This refers to all non-Jews, like with “Greeks and non-Greeks,” but divides them into two different groups. The first pair divides the non-Jews by language and culture, but here by wisdom and education.

This phrase should refer to the same group as in 1:14a, only divided differently. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly refer to two new groups of people. If that is true in your language, indicate it refers to the same group as in 1:14a. For example:

indeed, to the wise and the foolish

they can be wise or fools

the wise: The Greek word that the BSB translates as wise refers to people who had wisdom and education. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

the educated and wise people

the learned

the wise/thinking onesTagbanwa Back Translation on TW.

the foolish: The Greek word that the BSB translates as foolish refers to people who did not have wisdom or education. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

the uneducated and foolish people

the stupid

the unwise/unthinking ones

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ὀφειλέτης εἰμί

˓a˒_debtor ˱I˲_am

Paul speaks of himself as if he were a debtor who owed money to people who were not Jews, such as Greeks and barbarians. Paul means that he was obligated to preach the gospel to non-Jews because God had commanded him to do so. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or use a simile. Alternate translation: [I am obliged to preach the gospel]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / merism

Ἕλλησίν τε καὶ βαρβάροις

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἕλλησιν τέ καί βαρβαροῖς σοφοῖς τέ καί ἀνοήτοις ὀφειλέτης εἰμί)

Here Paul uses Greeks and barbarians to represent all the Gentiles referred to in the previous verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: [to all types of Gentiles]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / merism

σοφοῖς τε καὶ ἀνοήτοις

˱to˲_˓the˒_wise (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἕλλησιν τέ καί βαρβαροῖς σοφοῖς τέ καί ἀνοήτοις ὀφειλέτης εἰμί)

Here Paul uses wise ones and foolish ones to represent all types of people among the Gentiles referred to in the previous verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: [to all types of people among the Gentiles]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

Ἕλλησίν τε καὶ βαρβάροις, σοφοῖς τε καὶ ἀνοήτοις

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἕλλησιν τέ καί βαρβαροῖς σοφοῖς τέ καί ἀνοήτοις ὀφειλέτης εἰμί)

These two phrases mean the same thing. Paul uses them to emphasize that he is obligated to preach the gospel to every kind of Gentile. If saying the same thing twice might be confusing for your readers, you can combine the phrases into one. Alternate translation: [to each and every kind of Gentile] or [to every single non-Jewish person]

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 1:14

SR Greek word order

Section 1:8–17: Paul wanted to visit the believers at/in Rome

1:14a

1:14b

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