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OET (OET-LV) For/Because not by law the promise was to_ the _Abraʼam or the descendants of_him, that heir him to_be of_the_world, but by righteousness in_faith.
OET (OET-RV) It wasn’t because of his obeying the law that it was promised that Abraham or his descendants would inherit the world, but because of his righteousness that came from his faith,
In this section, Paul showed that God’s promise of blessing to Abraham and his descendants was made because Abraham believed God. God did not promise blessing because Abraham obeyed the law of Moses. Paul then described how Abraham believed and why God called him righteous. Paul then explained that God also calls the people who believe in God (and his Messiah, Jesus) righteous.
Here are other possible headings for this section:
God counts people as righteous through faith, not through the Law Of Moses
God also called us(incl) righteous because we believe
The lesson/model of God calling Abraham righteous applies to us/believers
For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law,
¶ For it is not through the law of Moses that God promised Abraham that he and his descendants would inherit/own the world,
¶ Long ago God promised Abraham that the world would belong to him and his descendants. But he certainly did not promise that in the laws of Moses.
For: This word introduces an explanation of some things Paul said in 4:11–12.
the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law: The Greek begins with “not through the law.” This emphasizes that phrase. Consider how to indicate that contrast in your language. For example:
It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world (NIV11)
the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world certainly did not come through the law
offspring: The Greek word here is “seed.” Here it refers to descendants. It implies the same people to whom he is called “father” in 4:12a (“of the circumcised,” that is, the Jews). For example:
descendants (RSV)
heir of the world: Here the word heir refers to someone whom another person gives him something as promised.The clause “that he would be heir of the world” is the content of God’s promise. It is not a direct quotation of any promise by God in Genesis, but an interpretation of those promises which speak of “all families of the earth” (12:3) and “all the nations of the earth” (18:18 and 22:18). The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament that was done before Jesus was born, uses the word “inherit” in 22:17. It does not imply here that someone received something because someone died. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
he would inherit the world (NET)
the world would belong to him (GNT)
the law: The word law probably refers to the Law of Moses. For example:
God’s law (NLT)
the Law that God gave to Moses
but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
but through being upright that is based in believing/faith.
No, instead, God promised that because he accepted Abraham’s faith and that faith made him right with God.
the righteousness that comes by faith: Here this phrase indicates that Abraham’s faith is the way in which he became righteous. If that is true in your language, translate the correct meaning. For example:
he believed and was accepted as righteous by God (GNT)
the righteousness which had its root in faith (JBP)
God’s approval of his faith (GW)
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
γὰρ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ διά νόμου ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῷ Ἀβραάμ ἤ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ τό κληρονόμον αὐτόν εἶναι κόσμου ἀλλά διά δικαιοσύνης πίστεως)
For here gives the reason why Abraham is the spiritual “father” of both non-Jews and Jews, as stated in [4:11–12](../04/11.md). Use a natural way in your language for indicating a reason. Alternate translation: [This is due to the fact that]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἡ ἐπαγγελία & τὸ κληρονόμον αὐτὸν εἶναι κόσμου
the promise_‹was› & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ διά νόμου ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῷ Ἀβραάμ ἤ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ τό κληρονόμον αὐτόν εἶναι κόσμου ἀλλά διά δικαιοσύνης πίστεως)
If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas of promise and heir, you could express the same ideas in another way. Alternate translation: [God promised … that he would inherit the world]
Note 3 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
ἢ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ διά νόμου ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῷ Ἀβραάμ ἤ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ τό κληρονόμον αὐτόν εἶναι κόσμου ἀλλά διά δικαιοσύνης πίστεως)
Here, the world translated or indicates that the promise is to Abraham and his seed. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [and also]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ
¬the the descendants ˱of˲_him
Here Paul uses seed to refer to “offspring.” Just as plants produce seeds that grow into many more plants, so people can have many offspring. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [to his descendants]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche
κόσμου
˱of˲_˓the˒_world
Here the world could refer to: (1) all the land of the world. Although God had promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants, the Jews in Paul’s time understood that this promise included the whole earth. This will indeed take place when Jesus, a descendent of Abraham, rules over the whole world. Alternate expression: “of all the land in the world” (2) the people who live in the world, as in [3:19](../03/19.md). Alternate translation: [of the people who live in the world]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
οὐ & διὰ νόμου & ἀλλὰ διὰ δικαιοσύνης
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ διά νόμου ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῷ Ἀβραάμ ἤ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ τό κληρονόμον αὐτόν εἶναι κόσμου ἀλλά διά δικαιοσύνης πίστεως)
Here the word translated as through indicates the means by which God gave the promise. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [was not by means of the law but by means of the righteousness] or [was not on the basis of the law but on the basis of the righteousness]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
νόμου
law
See how you translated the law in [3:21](../03/21.md).
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
δικαιοσύνης πίστεως
righteousness ˱in˲_faith
See how you translated the similar phrase in [4:11](../04/11.md).
4:13 the whole earth: God told Abraham that he would be the father of many nations (4:17; Gen 12:2; 13:16; 15:5; 17:4-6, 16-20; 22:17) and that he would be the means of blessing to all people (Gen 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; cp. Isa 55:3-5).
OET (OET-LV) For/Because not by law the promise was to_ the _Abraʼam or the descendants of_him, that heir him to_be of_the_world, but by righteousness in_faith.
OET (OET-RV) It wasn’t because of his obeying the law that it was promised that Abraham or his descendants would inherit the world, but because of his righteousness that came from his faith,
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.