ROM 1:17 Interlinear View

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

1:17a

For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God

For God reveals his righteousness in the/that gospel
For, by means of that Good News, God is showing his straight/upright ways/living

For: Here this word introduces an explanation for why the gospel is God’s power to save everyone who believes (1:16).

the gospel: The word that the BSB translates as the gospel is literally “in/by it.” When people hear the gospel, God reveals his righteousness to them. In some languages it may not be clear what “it” refers to here. If that is true in your language, use your normal word or phrase for the gospel. For example:

in/through the gospel

reveals the righteousness of God: The Greek word that the BSB translates as reveals is passive. The whole verse part is more literally “For the righteousness of God is revealed in it.” It is likely that God (or the Holy Spirit) reveals here. The present tense indicates an ongoing action. Some languages must use an active clause here. For example:

God is revealing his righteousness

the righteousness of God: The Greek word that the BSB translates as righteousness refers to doing what is right here. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

God’s righteousness

the right/straight living/deeds of God

The scholars understand this phrase in several different ways here, including “God calling someone righteous” and “God’s “righteous activity.” But the above definition seems best here, since the gospel reveals it.

1:17b

that comes by faith from start to finish,

from someone’s faith to another’s faith,
from their faith/believing to the faith/believing of those who hear and so believe.

by faith from start to finish: The phrase that the BSB translates as by faith from start to finish is literally “from faith to faith.” The expression indicates that revealing God’s righteousness is connected to or requires faith. The Greek word that the BSB translates as by can also mean “to” or “for.” For example:

from faith to faith (NASB)

Some languages can translate these words literally. Scholars understand them in many different ways here. Here are some of the interpretations:

It means “from God’s faithfulness to believers’ faith.”Dunn (pages 43–44), Longenecker (pages 178–179), and Witherington (page 55).
It refers to a progression, from person to person as the gospel is shared and new people believe it.Jewett (page 143) supports this interpretation. He refers to similar use of “from…to…” in Psalms 83:8, Jeremiah 9:2, 2 Corinthians 2:16, and 3:18. He calls it “the missionary expansion of the gospel.”
It refers to a progression within a person’s faith.Schreiner (page 72–73). For example:
a righteousness that is by faith from first to last (NIV)
It is an idiom that means “by faith alone.”Cranfield (page 99–100). For example:
God accepts everyone who has faith, but only those who have faith (CEV)

The Greek seems to allow interpretation (1) or (2), and, less likely, (3) or (4).Witherington (page 55) says, “The notion that this is simply an intensified way of saying ‘by faith’ or ‘by faith alone’…entirely ignores the usual force of the preposition ek (‘from’).” Scholars of one interpretation argue against other interpretations, but no one argument seems to stand out as clearly best. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) or (2). But if the major language version follows interpretation (3) or (4), you may want to follow that.

1:17c

just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

as it was written long ago, “The righteous person will live according to his faith.”
It is just as the Scriptures say, “Righteous people will live following/obeying their faith.”

The quote here is from Habakkuk 2:4. If you indicate the location of quotes from the Old Testament with cross-references, you may want to do so here.

just as: Here this word indicates a comparison between “the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish” (1:17a–b) and “The righteous will live by faith” (1:17c).

it is written: The Greek is more literally “it has been written.” Habakkuk wrote more than 600 years before Paul wrote the letter to the Romans. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate the quote was written at the same time as Paul wrote here. If that is true in your language, indicate it was long before Paul wrote. For example:

it was written long ago

This clause refers to what was written in the Old Testament. Some languages must make that explicit to make that clear. For example:

As the scripture says (GNT)

The clause is passive. The prophet Habakkuk wrote what God told him to write. Some languages must use a clause that is not passive here. For example:

the prophet wrote long ago

what God caused-to-be-written which says,Kankanaey Back Translation on TW.

It is like it says in the Holy BookOtomi Back Translation on TW.

The righteous will live by faith: This quote is from Habakkuk 2:4. If you indicate the location of quotes from the Old Testament with cross-references, you may want to do so here.

The Greek is literally “a righteous-one from faith will live.” There are several ways to interpret how “from faith” connects to the rest of the clause. Here are the two main ones:

It connects to shall/will live. For example:
The righteous will live by faith (BSB) (BSB, NIV, NRSV, NASB, KJV, ESV, NCV)
It connects to the righteous. For example:
He who through faith is righteous shall live (RSV) (RSV, GNT, CEV, REB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because it is a common way to connect such a phrase to the verb.See Jewett (page 146). Also, it is closer to the Hebrew in Habakkuk 2:4 (Lenski, page 71). But interpretation (2) is also possible, so if the major language version follows that, you may want to follow it.

Some English versions try to copy the perceived ambiguity in the Greek. For example:

The one who is righteous by faith will live (NABRE)

The righteous: The Greek word that the BSB translates as righteous here refers to people who do what is right. It implies doing what God says is right to do. It does not refer to people who think they are righteous according to their own power or thinking. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

Righteous people

People who do what is right

This has a similar meaning to “righteousness” in 1:17a.

by faith: The word by indicates that righteous people live by means of their faith. Their faith guides how they live. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

through his faith

according to their faith

In this division, Paul wrote about people sinning, God’s anger against sin, God judging all people according to what they have done, and no person being righteous before God.

Here are other possible headings for this division:

All people have sinned against God and therefore God is right to punish them

The Unrighteousness of All Mankind (NIV)

God is right to be angry with all people

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

γὰρ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: δικαιοσύνη Γάρ Θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ ἀποκαλύπτεται ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν καθώς γέγραπται ὁ Δέ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται)

For indicates that what follows is the reason why the gospel is the power of God that leads to salvation, as stated in the previous verse. Use a natural way in your language for indicating a reason. Alternate translation: [The gospel can save everyone who believes because]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

δικαιοσύνη & Θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ ἀποκαλύπτεται

˓the˒_righteousness & ˱of˲_God in it ˓is_being˒_revealed

If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can state this in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [it reveals the righteousness of God]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

δικαιοσύνη & Θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ ἀποκαλύπτεται

˓the˒_righteousness & ˱of˲_God in it ˓is_being˒_revealed

Paul speaks about the righteousness of God as if it were an object that could be revealed. He means that people learn about the righteousness of God when someone proclaims the gospel to them. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or use a simile. Alternate translation: [when people preach the gospel, those who hear it learn about the righteousness of God]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

δικαιοσύνη & Θεοῦ

˓the˒_righteousness & ˱of˲_God

Here Paul is using the possessive form of God that could refer to: (1) righteousness that comes from God. Alternate translation: [the righteousness from God] (2) righteousness that characterizes God. Alternate translation: [God’s righteousness]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

δικαιοσύνη & Θεοῦ

˓the˒_righteousness & ˱of˲_God

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of righteousness, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [the way in which God causes people to become righteous]

Note 6 topic: writing-pronouns

ἐν αὐτῷ

in it

The pronoun it here refers to “the gospel” that was mentioned in the previous verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [in the gospel]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν

by faith to faith

Here, from faith to faith describes how the righteousness of God is revealed. It is an idiom that could mean: (1) completely by faith alone. Alternate translation: [by faith from beginning to end] or [through faith from first to last] (2) by the faith that all believers share, in the way that the phrase “from sea to sea” means “from one sea to another sea.” Alternate translation: [from one person’s faith to another person’s faith] (3) by faith that leads to increasing faith. Alternate translation: [through faith for faith] or [from one degree of faith to another]

Note 8 topic: writing-quotations

καθὼς γέγραπται

Here Paul uses just as it is written to introduce a quotation from an Old Testament book ([Habakkuk 2:4](../hab/02/04.md)). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase that indicates that Paul is quoting from an important text. Alternate translation: [just as it is written in the Scriptures]

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

καθὼς γέγραπται

If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can state this in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you must state who did the action, the quotation was written by the prophet Habakkuk. Alternate translation: [just as the prophet Habakkuk wrote]

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / quotemarks

ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται

the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: δικαιοσύνη Γάρ Θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ ἀποκαλύπτεται ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν καθώς γέγραπται ὁ Δέ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται)

In this sentence Paul quotes [Habakkuk 2:4](../hab/02/04.md). It may be helpful to your readers to indicate this by setting off all of this material with quotation marks or with whatever punctuation or convention your language uses to indicate a quotation.

Note 11 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται

by faith by faith ˓will_be˒_living

Here, live could refer to: (1) eternal life. Alternate translation: [will live eternally by faith] (2) the quality of one’s physical life. Alternate translation: [will truly live by faith]

Note 12 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

(Occurrence 2) πίστεως

faith

See how you translated faith in [1:5](../01/05.md)

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 1:17

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

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

1:17a

1:17b

1:17c

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