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OET (OET-LV) Therefore law we_are_nullifying through the faith?
Never it_might_become.
But the_law we_are_establishing.
In this section Paul explained God’s plan for rescuing wrongdoers and making them right with himself. God did this by sending Jesus Christ to stand in the place of every wrongdoer and take the punishment that every wrongdoer deserves. So then, when a person believes in Jesus as the one who has taken the punishment on his behalf, God makes that person right with himself. In this way God remains true to his righteous character, for wrongdoing has been punished.
Since God did that, believers cannot boast in themselves. Paul also said that this faith in Jesus supports the law of Moses.
Here are other possible headings for this section:
Righteousness Through Faith (NIV)
How We Are Put Right with God (GNT)
God Gives Us His Approval as a Gift (GW)
God’s Way of Accepting People (CEV)
Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not!
Therefore do we(incl) use this faith to cancel/destroy the law of Moses? No indeed.
So, God calls people righteous/upright because they believe in Jesus, but we are certainly not saying that God’s laws are now worthless.
Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not!: This is a rhetorical question and its answer. Some Jews probably asked this question after hearing Paul preach on this. The question and answer emphasize that we do not overthrow the law by this faith. Translate this clause with that meaning. Here are some ways to do that:
Using a rhetorical question. For example:
Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! (NIV)
So do we destroy the law by following the way of faith? No! (NCV)
Using a statement. For example:
Therefore we should certainly not say that this faith destroys the Law of Moses!
So, God makes us straight in his sight just because of our faith. But let’s not say/think like this: we discard the Lord’s Law. Don’t!Uma Back Translation on TW.
then: The Greek word is literally “therefore,” but then is more natural in English here.
nullify: The Greek word that the BSB translates as nullify means “to make ineffective/useless.” It is the same Greek word translated “nullify” in 3:3. Here are other ways to translate this word:
cancel
made pointless (NJB)
overthrow (ESV)
destroy/ruin
Certainly not!: The Greek is literally “May it not be.” This phrase indicates a very strong “no.” See how you translated it in 3:4.
Note that “certainly” in the first As a statement example above translates the words Certainly not! here. If you used “certainly” there, do not translate these words here.
Instead, we uphold the law.
On the contrary, we support the law of Moses.
Indeed/True, we believe/say that the law of Moses is still valid/worthy.
Instead: The Greek word is literally “but.” It indicates contrast and emphasis. In some languages the contrast of “but” is already indicated by the phrase “Certainly not” in 3:31a. If that is true in your language, translate without the contrast here. For example:
Indeed
we uphold the law: Here the word uphold indicates that Paul and the believers in Jesus supported the law of Moses as holy and good. Paul did not imply bad things about the law when he talked about righteousness by faith. He wanted people to understand its correct role in the life of a believer. This clause does not indicate that believers must follow every rule in the law of Moses, including the rules about what foods to eat and offering sacrifices. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
we support the law of Moses
we believe/say that the law of Moses is still valid/important
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
νόμον οὖν καταργοῦμεν
law ˓the˒_law (Some words not found in SR-GNT: νόμον Οὖν καταργοῦμεν διά τῆς πίστεως Μή γένοιτο Ἀλλά νόμον ἱστάνομεν)
Here, then indicates that this sentence is the response that a Jew might have made to what Paul said in the previous verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [Then you Jews might say, ‘Do we nullify the law’]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
νόμον οὖν καταργοῦμεν διὰ τῆς πίστεως
law ˓the˒_law (Some words not found in SR-GNT: νόμον Οὖν καταργοῦμεν διά τῆς πίστεως Μή γένοιτο Ἀλλά νόμον ἱστάνομεν)
Paul is not asking for information, but is using this question to express the response that a Jew might have to what Paul said in the previous verse. If you would not use a rhetorical question for this purpose in your language, you could translate his words as a statement or an exclamation and communicate the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: [Then we surely nullify the law through the same faith!]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive
οὖν καταργοῦμεν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: νόμον Οὖν καταργοῦμεν διά τῆς πίστεως Μή γένοιτο Ἀλλά νόμον ἱστάνομεν)
Here, we is used exclusively to speak of the unbelieving Jews on whose behalf Paul is speaking. Your language may require you to mark these forms. Alternate translation: [Do we Jews then nullify]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
νόμον οὖν καταργοῦμεν
law ˓the˒_law (Some words not found in SR-GNT: νόμον Οὖν καταργοῦμεν διά τῆς πίστεως Μή γένοιτο Ἀλλά νόμον ἱστάνομεν)
Here, nullify the law means to make the law useless or no longer applicable to anyone. Paul is stating that the Jews might worry that he is teaching that the law of Moses does not have any function at all because God makes people righteous by faith. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [Do we make the law useless] or [Do we throw away the law]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
διὰ τῆς πίστεως
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: νόμον Οὖν καταργοῦμεν διά τῆς πίστεως Μή γένοιτο Ἀλλά νόμον ἱστάνομεν)
See how you translated this phrase in the previous verse.
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
μὴ γένοιτο! ἀλλὰ νόμον ἱστάνομεν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: νόμον Οὖν καταργοῦμεν διά τῆς πίστεως Μή γένοιτο Ἀλλά νόμον ἱστάνομεν)
In these two sentences Paul responds to the rhetorical questions in the previous sentence. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [I would respond by saying, “May it never be! Instead, we establish the law”]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / exclamations
μὴ γένοιτο
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: νόμον Οὖν καταργοῦμεν διά τῆς πίστεως Μή γένοιτο Ἀλλά νόμον ἱστάνομεν)
See how you translated this phrase in [3:6](../03/06.md).
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive
νόμον ἱστάνομεν
law ˓the˒_law ˱we˲_˓are˒_establishing
Here, we is used exclusively to refer to Paul and other Christians. Your language may require you to mark these forms. Alternate translation: [we Christians uphold the law]
Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
νόμον ἱστάνομεν
law ˓the˒_law ˱we˲_˓are˒_establishing
Paul uses uphold to refer to the law as if it were an object that people could hold up high. The meaning of uphold here is the opposite meaning of nullify, used earlier in the verse. It could mean: (1) Christians fulfill the requirements of the law by trusting in Jesus, who fulfilled the law for them. Alternate translation: [we fulfill the law by faith] (2) Christians value the law and affirm that it is useful. Alternate translation: [we confirm that the law is useful] or [we affirm that the law has value]
OET (OET-LV) Therefore law we_are_nullifying through the faith?
Never it_might_become.
But the_law we_are_establishing.
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.