OET interlinear ROM 9:20

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ὦ ἄνθρωπε

O person

In this verse Paul begins to respond to the rhetorical questions from his hypothetical opponent in the previous verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “I would respond by saying, ‘O man’”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotemarks

ὦ ἄνθρωπε, μενοῦνγε σὺ τίς εἶ, ὁ ἀνταποκρινόμενος τῷ Θεῷ? μὴ ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα, τῷ πλάσαντι, τί με ἐποίησας οὕτως?

O person indeed_rather you who are the_‹one› answering_back ¬the ˱to˲_God not /will_be/_saying the formed_‹thing› ˱to˲_the_‹one› /having/_formed_‹it› why me ˱you˲_made thus

In this verse Paul is responding to the rhetorical questions from his hypothetical opponent in the previous verse. 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 3 topic: figures-of-speech / exclamations

ὦ ἄνθρωπε,

O person

O man here is an exclamation word that here communicates indignance. Use an exclamation that is natural in your language for communicating this. Alternate translation: “How dare you, man!”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

ἄνθρωπε

person

Although the term man is masculine, Paul is using the word here to emphasize human weakness. Alternate translation: “human being” or “mere mortal”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / distinguish

μενοῦνγε σὺ τίς εἶ, ὁ ἀνταποκρινόμενος τῷ Θεῷ?

indeed_rather you who are the_‹one› answering_back ¬the ˱to˲_God

Here, the one answering against God gives further information about who you is. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make the relationship between these words clearer. Alternate translation: “who indeed are you who answer against God”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

μενοῦνγε σὺ τίς εἶ, ὁ ἀνταποκρινόμενος τῷ Θεῷ?

indeed_rather you who are the_‹one› answering_back ¬the ˱to˲_God

Paul is not asking for information, but is using the question form here to emphasize his outrage at what was 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: “you who are answering against God indeed are nothing!”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular

σὺ

you

Here, you is singular and refers to a hypothetical person who opposes Paul. See how you translated this word in the previous verse.

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

μὴ ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα, τῷ πλάσαντι, τί με ἐποίησας οὕτως?

not /will_be/_saying the formed_‹thing› ˱to˲_the_‹one› /having/_formed_‹it› why me ˱you˲_made thus

Paul is not asking for information, but is using the question form here to emphasize the truth of what he is saying. 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: “The one molded surely must not say to the one having molded it, ‘Why did you make me this way?’”

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

μὴ ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα, τῷ πλάσαντι, τί με ἐποίησας οὕτως?

not /will_be/_saying the formed_‹thing› ˱to˲_the_‹one› /having/_formed_‹it› why me ˱you˲_made thus

Here Paul speaks of a person whom God created as if that person were an object that was molded by God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “The created person surely must not say to the one having created him, ‘Why did you make me this way?’”

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

τὸ πλάσμα

the formed_‹thing›

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: “The one whom God molded”

Note 11 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τῷ πλάσαντι

¬the ˱to˲_the_‹one› /having/_formed_‹it›

Here, the one having molded it refers to God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “to God, who molded it”

Note 12 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

μὴ ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα, τῷ πλάσαντι, τί με ἐποίησας οὕτως

not /will_be/_saying the formed_‹thing› ˱to˲_the_‹one› /having/_formed_‹it› why me ˱you˲_made thus

If you translated this verse as a direct quotation, then this sentence would be a direct quotation inside a direct quotation. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate the second direct quotation as an indirect quotation. Alternate translation: “The one molded will not ask the one having molded it why he made it this way. Will it?”

Note 13 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

τί με ἐποίησας οὕτως

why me ˱you˲_made thus

Paul is not asking for information, but is using the question form here to emphasize what his hypothetical opponent is saying. 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: “You should not have made me this way!”