OET interlinear ROM 1:5

1:5a

Paul talked about the gospel in 1:2a–1:4c. In 1:5a he again discussed more about himself and his work for Jesus. But he connected his next words to “Jesus Christ our Lord” with “through Him.” In the Greek, the sentence continues. However, the BSB begins a new sentence here. In some languages, a new sentence here would be more natural or more clear. For example:

Through him we have received… (NABRE)

Through Him and on behalf of His name: The phrase that the BSB translates as Through Him is literally “through whom.” This clause further describes Jesus. It does not separate this Jesus from other men named Jesus. For the correct meaning in some languages, translators must avoid the word “whom.” The word Through indicates that Paul received grace and apostleship by means of Jesus. God enabled Jesus to give Paul grace and apostleship. Here are other ways to translate this word:

by the authority given to him he gave to us

God enabled him to give us

God gave power to Jesus and so he/Jesus was kind to us and gave us the work of being apostles

on behalf of His name: This phrase refers to helping, causing advantage for, or honoring the one named. The apostles taught others about Jesus, spread the news of Jesus, and did good deeds in his name.

In some languages it is more natural to say “him” instead of His name here. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

for the honor of his name (GW)

for him (NCV)

to benefit him

This phrase connects to the end of the clause (1:5c). For example:

…^5cof winning the obedience of faith among all the nations ^5afor the honour of his name (NJB)

1:5b

we received: In English, the word received implies someone gave what was received. The English word “take” does not imply that someone gave it. It is implied here that God graciously gave Paul and others apostleship.

Many languages have the same word for both “receive” and “take.” In some of those languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that God did not graciously give apostleship but Paul just took it. If that is true in your language, you should use “give” here. For example:

have been given

he has given

we: Sometimes in NT letters, the writer referred to himself with we instead of “I.” There are two ways to interpret the word we here:

1. Paul referred to himself and others. For example:

   we (NET) (BSB, RSV, NIV, NJB, NASB, NABRE, ESV, KJV, NET, GW, NLT)

2. Paul referred to himself. For example:

   I (REB) (GNT, NCV, CEV, REB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because Paul consistently used the first person singular to refer to his apostolic mission in the rest of Romans, but he used we here instead. So, he probably had a reason not to use “I” here.Dunn (page 16) says, “Somewhat unexpectedly (in view of v 1) Paul links others with himself—we received. He does not regard himself as the sole apostle to the Gentiles, which would in any case have been a difficult position to maintain in writing to a largely Gentile church which he had not founded.” Barrett, Cranfield, Jewett, Fitzmyer, Stott, Schreiner, and Witherington also support interpretation (1).

grace and apostleship: There are two ways to interpret the phrase grace and apostleship:

1. This is a figure of speech that means gracious apostleship. In kindness, God made Paul and others apostles. For example:

   the privilege of being an apostle (GNT) (GNT, NABRE, REB, NCV)

2. This is not a figure of speech, but refers to two things, grace and apostleship. For example:

   grace and apostleship (RSV) (BSB, RSV, NIV, NJB, NASB, ESV, KJV, NET, GW, CEV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because Paul was establishing his apostleship in these verses and not speaking generally of God’s grace to us.The technical word for the figure of speech in interpretation (1) is hendiadys. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language says, “Hendiadys is a figure of speech in which two words connected by a conjunction are used to express a single notion that would normally be expressed by an adjective and a substantive.” Many scholars support interpretation (1). For example, Cranfield (pages 65–66) says that it is not necessary for Paul to write that he has received grace in a general sense at this point in Romans. Instead Paul wrote about his authority as an apostle and that he received it not because of any merit of his own. Here are other ways to translate this phrase according to interpretation (1):

the free gift of apostleship

the grace that enabled us to be apostles

the privilege and authority as apostles (NLT)

he was kind, giving us the work of apostles

grace: This word refers to kindness that is given to people without requiring anything in return. This kindness is not given because they have done anything to deserve it. See the examples above.

apostleship: The word apostleship refers to the work that an apostle does. For example:

to be an/his apostle

becoming his special representative

See how you translated “apostle” in 1:1.

1:5c

to call…to…obedience: The word to introduces the purpose of being an apostle: to call the Gentiles to obey the gospel of Jesus. The phrase that the BSB translates as to call…to…obedience is literally “unto/to obedience.” Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

for the obedience of those among the Gentiles

so that the people among the Gentiles would obey

to lead people…to…obey (GNT)

all those among the Gentiles: This phrase connects to the phrase “the obedience of faith.” For example:

the obedience of faith among all the nations for the honour of his name (NJB)

There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the BSB translates as Gentiles here:

1. It refers to all people groups, excluding the Jews. For example:

   all the Gentiles (NIV) (NIV, BSB, NASB, NRSV, NABRE, NET, NLT)

2. It means all people groups, including the Jews. For example:

   all the nations (RSV) (RSV, NJB, GNT, ESV, KJV, REB, NCV, GW, CEV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because 1:6 has “in whom you^(plur)” in the Greek, which seems to indicate only some of those in “To all those in Rome” (1:7).Cranfield (page 67).

Gentiles: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Gentiles refers to ethnic groups or people groups rather than to political states or countries.An ethnic group is a group of people who consider themselves a group because they share the same physical appearance, language, religion, culture, and history, or because they share two or more of these things. In modern times it is very common for borders of countries to pass directly through an area where an ethnic group lives, so that the ethnic group (in the way that Luke was using the Greek word) lives in two “nations” (using the sense of the word as used today). Here are other ways to translate this word:

tribes

peoples

peoples of one language/culture

the obedience that comes from faith: The phrase that the BSB translates as the obedience that comes from faith is literally “the obedience of faith.” There are three main ways to interpret the words “the obedience of faith” here:

1. It indicates that faith is a basisIn this TN, “basis” refers to the situation out of which something arises. It is sometimes called “grounds.” It does not indicate direct cause, as a reason-result relationship between clauses does. for the obedience. Faith produces obedience.See Wallace (pages 104–106) for his category of “Genitive of Production/Producer.” People obey because they believe. For example:

   the obedience that comes from faith (NIV) (NIV, BSB)

2. It indicates that a person obeys all the teachings connected to faith. For example:

   obedience to the faith (KJV) (KJV, JBP)

3. It means and faith. For example:

   believe and obey (GNT) (GNT, NLT, CEV, REB, NCV)

The RSV, the NJB, and a number of English versions translate the Greek as “the obedience of faith.” Both the Greek and that English translation are ambiguous, possibly meaning either interpretation (1) or (2). A number of scholars say that Paul meant several things here.Kruse (page 52) says, “care must be taken not to assume that faith consisting in obedience can be separated from faith expressing itself in obedience.” Schreiner (page 35) says, “The two most likely options are…the obedience that springs from or flows from faith…or ‘the obedience that is faith.’…Paul may have intended both ideas, and this is the most likely solution.” Garlington (1991, PhD thesis, in Kruse, page 52) says that “faith’s obedience” or “believing obedience” are better translations of this phrase and preserve the intended ambiguity. Stott also supports two interpretations. Hanna and Witherington support interpretation (1).

So if you can translate in a way that allows interpretation (1) or (2), you should do so. However, if you must make a choice, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).Paul did not say “and” even though he could have. So, interpretation (3) is not likely. The Greek phrase uses “faith” not “the faith,” so interpretation (2) is less likely than interpretation (1). Here are other ways to translate this phrase according to interpretation (1):

the obedience produced by faith

obedience based on faith

people obey Christ because they believe the message about him

believing obedience

faith’s obedience

obedience: This word means “doing as told, directed, or asked.” In some languages a verb is required or more natural here. For example:

obey him

follow him

faith: To have faith in a person refers to believing in him, who he is, and who he claims to be.

In some languages a verb is required or more natural here. For example:

believe the gospel

believing it

1:5a–c