ROM 8:35 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT Who will separate us from the love of Christ?[fn] Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

Rather than of Christ, some ancient manuscripts read of God

UST Surely no one can make Jesus stop loving us! If people trouble us or distress us or persecute us, or if we are hungry or naked or in danger, or if people kill us with swords, surely none of those things can make Jesus stop loving us!

BSB Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? {Shall} trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

BLB Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

AICNT Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

OEB Who is there to separate us from the love of the Christ? Will trouble, or difficulty, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword?

WEBBE Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

WMBB Who shall separate us from the love of Messiah? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

MSG ^(31-39)So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:
They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.
None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

NET Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

LSV Who will separate us from the love of the Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

FBV Who can separate us from Christ's love? Can oppression, distress, or persecution? Or hunger, poverty, danger, or violence?

TCNT Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

T4T Absolutely no one and nothing can cause Christ to stop loving us! [RHQ] That could not [RHQ] happen because someone caused us to have trouble [DOU], or because someone did things to harm us, or because we did not have anything to eat, or because we did not have enough clothes, or because we lived in a dangerous situation, or because someone killed us with a sword [MTY] (OR, murdered us).

LEB Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or hunger or lack of sufficient clothing or danger or the sword?

BBE Who will come between us and the love of Christ? Will trouble, or pain, or cruel acts, or the need of food or of clothing, or danger, or the sword?

Moff What can ever part us from Christ's love? Can anguish or calamity or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or the sword?

Wymth Who shall separate us from Christ's love? Shall affliction or distress, persecution or hunger, nakedness or danger or the sword?

ASV Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

DRA Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? or distress? or famine? or nakedness? or danger? or persecution? or the sword?

YLT Who shall separate us from the love of the Christ? tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Drby Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

RV Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

SLT Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? pressure, or perplexity, or expulsion, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Wbstr Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

KJB-1769 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

KJB-1611 Who shall separate vs from the loue of Christ? shall tribulation, or distresse, or persecution, or famine, or nakednesse, or perill, or sword?
(Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or perill, or sword?)

Bshps Who shall seperate vs from the loue of God? Shall tribulation or anguishe, or persecution, either hunger, either nakednesse, either peryll, either sworde?
(Who shall separate us from the love of God? Shall tribulation or anguishe, or persecution, either hunger, either nakedness, either peryll, either sword?)

Gnva Who shall separate vs from the loue of Christ? shall tribulation or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakednesse, or perill, or sworde?
(Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or perill, or sword? )

Cvdl Who will separate vs from the loue of God? Trouble? or anguysh? or persecucio? or honger? or nakednesse? or parell? or swerde?
(Who will separate us from the love of God? Trouble? or anguysh? or persecucio? or hunger? or nakedness? or parell? or sword?)

TNT Who shall seperate vs from the love of god? shall tribulacion? or anguysshe? or persecucion? other honger? other nakednesse? other parell? other swearde?
(Who shall separate us from the love of god? shall tribulation? or anguysshe? or persecution? other hunger? other nakedness? other parell? other sword? )

Wycl Who thanne schal departe vs fro the charite of Crist? tribulacioun, or anguysch, or hungur, or nakidnesse, or persecucioun, or perel, or swerd?
(Who then shall depart us from the charity of Christ? tribulation, or anguysch, or hunger, or nakedness, or persecution, or perel, or sword?)

Luth Wer will uns scheiden von der Liebe Gottes? Trübsal oder Angst oder Verfolgung oder Hunger oder Blöße oder Fährlichkeit oder Schwert?
(Who will us/to_us/ourselves divorce(v) from the/of_the love(n) God’s? gloom/sorrow/afflictions or fear/anxiety or persecution or hunger or Blöße or Fährlichkeit or sword?)

ClVg Quis ergo nos separabit a caritate Christi? tribulatio? an angustia? an fames? an nuditas? an periculum? an persecutio? an gladius?[fn]
(Who therefore us separabit from caritate Christi? tribulation? an distress? an hungers? an nuditas? an periculum? an persecution? an sword? )

8.35 Quis nos separabit, etc. CYPR. Nihil horum potest separare credentes, etc., usque ad ut et nos propter ipsum patiamur: Sed in his omnibus superamus.

8.35 Who us separabit, etc. CYPR. Nothing of_these can to_separate believers, etc., until to as and us because him patiamur: But in/into/on his to_all superamus.

UGNT τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ? θλῖψις, ἢ στενοχωρία, ἢ διωγμὸς, ἢ λιμὸς, ἢ γυμνότης, ἢ κίνδυνος, ἢ μάχαιρα?
(tis haʸmas ⱪōrisei apo taʸs agapaʸs tou Ⱪristou? thlipsis, aʸ stenoⱪōria, aʸ diōgmos, aʸ limos, aʸ gumnotaʸs, aʸ kindunos, aʸ maⱪaira?)

SBL-GNT τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ; θλῖψις ἢ στενοχωρία ἢ διωγμὸς ἢ λιμὸς ἢ γυμνότης ἢ κίνδυνος ἢ μάχαιρα;
(tis haʸmas ⱪōrisei apo taʸs agapaʸs tou Ⱪristou; thlipsis aʸ stenoⱪōria aʸ diōgmos aʸ limos aʸ gumnotaʸs aʸ kindunos aʸ maⱪaira;)

RP-GNT Τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ χριστοῦ; Θλίψις, ἢ στενοχωρία, ἢ διωγμός, ἢ λιμός, ἢ γυμνότης, ἢ κίνδυνος, ἢ μάχαιρα;
(Tis haʸmas ⱪōrisei apo taʸs agapaʸs tou ⱪristou; Thlipsis, aʸ stenoⱪōria, aʸ diōgmos, aʸ limos, aʸ gumnotaʸs, aʸ kindunos, aʸ maⱪaira;)

TC-GNT Τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ; Θλίψις, ἢ στενοχωρία, ἢ διωγμός, ἢ λιμός, ἢ γυμνότης, ἢ κίνδυνος, ἢ μάχαιρα;
(Tis haʸmas ⱪōrisei apo taʸs agapaʸs tou Ⱪristou; Thlipsis, aʸ stenoⱪōria, aʸ diōgmos, aʸ limos, aʸ gumnotaʸs, aʸ kindunos, aʸ maⱪaira; )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 8:31–39: Nothing can separate us from God’s love

In this section, Paul asked a number of rhetorical questions. In asking them he expected the believers in Rome to agree with him in these ways: God is for us and no one has greater power than him when they stand against us. God has made us right with him, so no one can accuse us of wrongdoing that God has not already forgiven. Jesus died for our sins and rose again, so no one can say we are worthy of God punishing us. Nothing of this earth or of the demons and spirits can separate us from God’s love. With God’s power we can overcome all those things.

Here are other possible headings for this section:

God’s love for us because of Jesus Christ

The love of God will not abandon/leave us

8:35a

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

¶ Who will separate/isolate us^(incl) from Christ and his love for us? No one!
¶ No person or thing can come between us and Christ and make him stop loving us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?: This is a rhetorical question. It emphasizes that no one or no situation will be able to separate believers from the love that Christ has for them. Translate this clause with that meaning. Here are some ways:

As a rhetorical question. For example:
What will separate us from the love of Christ? (NABRE)
Who…can separate us from the love of Christ? (GNT)
As a statement. For example:
No one/thing will/can separate us from the love of Christ.

Who: In Greek, the word translated Who can refer to either people or things. Paul listed seven things below, some of which are caused by people. In some languages “what” would be the general question word to use here, as in the NABRE above.

shall: In Greek this is the normal future. This word means “will” here.

separate us from the love of Christ: Here the word separate is used figuratively. It indicates that something prevents Christ from loving us or makes that love ineffective. Some languages cannot use the word separate when referring to love. If that is true in your language, translate the correct meaning. For example:

separate us from Christ and his love

make Christ stop loving us

block Christ’s love to us

us: In the Greek, this word is emphasized by being before the verb. Some languages can do that kind of emphasis.

the love of Christ: This refers to Christ loving us. Here it does not refer to us loving him.

8:35b–c

Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?: In the Greek, there is no verb in this question, but Shall is implied from 8:35a. For a natural English question this implied word must be explicit here.

This is a rhetorical question. It emphasizes that trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword will not separate us from the love of Christ. Translate this clause with that meaning. Here are some ways:

As a rhetorical question. For example:
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? (NABRE)
Can trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword separate us from his love?
As a statement. For example:
Trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword will/can not separate us from the love of Christ.

8:35b

Shall trouble or distress or persecution

Will trouble or things that cause us worry/stress or suffering because we believe
People will cause us to have hardships/difficulties or stressful situations or cause us to suffer as believers,

trouble: The Greek word here refers to any kind of trouble or suffering. In some languages the plural would be more natural. Here are other ways to translate this word:

tribulation (ESV)

hardships (NJB)

difficultyKankanaey Back Translation on TW.

distress: This refers to bad situations or circumstances which cause stress to the people in them. Here are other ways to translate this word:

stressful/difficult times/things

terrible situations/circumstances

See how you translated this word in 2:9.

persecution: Here this word refers to people causing trouble or suffering for a believer because he or she follows Jesus.Dunn (page 505) says that this word, “always means persecution for religious reasons.” Here are other ways to translate this word:

people harming us because we believe in Jesus

pains because of our^(inc) faithLevatbura Lamasong Back Translation, draft, Papua New Guinea.

they cause us who believe to suffer

8:35c

or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

or starving times or having no/little clothes or situations of harm or death by sword separate/isolate us? No!
or times of famine/hunger may come, or we may be so poor as to not have enough clothes to wear, or we may experience dangerous situations, or people may violently kill us, but those things will not make him stop loving us.

famine: This word refers to an extreme shortage of food. During a famine, people die from a lack of food. Here are other ways to translate this word:

starvation

hunger (NCV)

nakedness: The Greek word can refer to wearing no clothes at all, but here probably refers to not having enough clothes to wear, or having only ragged clothes to wear.BDAG (page 208) lists this verse under sense 2: “being without adequate clothing, with connotation of destitution”; and Louw&Nida (§49.23) says it means, “the state of being naked or only scantily clothed.” For example:

lack of…clothing (NJB)

danger: This word refers to circumstances that may cause harm or death. Here are other ways to translate this word:

peril (RSV)

if we are harmed or killed

life threatening situationsTagbanwa Back Translation on TW.

sword: Here this is a figure of speech. It refers to violent death, for example, by murder, war or execution. In some languages this figure of speech will not be clear. If that is true in your language, translate the meaning clearly. For example:

violent death (GW)

killing by sword

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ?

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τίς ἡμάς χωρίσει ἀπό τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ Θλῖψις ἤ στενοχωρία ἤ διωγμός ἤ λιμός ἤ γυμνότης ἤ κίνδυνος ἤ μάχαιρα)

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: [Surely no one will separate us from the love of Christ!]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ

Here Paul speaks figuratively of love as if it were an object that someone could be separated from. He means that Christ cannot stop loving those who believe in him. If it might be helpful in your language, you could express this plainly. Alternate translation: [will cause Christ to stop loving us]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

θλῖψις, ἢ στενοχωρία, ἢ διωγμὸς, ἢ λιμὸς, ἢ γυμνότης, ἢ κίνδυνος, ἢ μάχαιρα?

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

θλῖψις, ἢ στενοχωρία, ἢ διωγμὸς, ἢ λιμὸς, ἢ γυμνότης, ἢ κίνδυνος, ἢ μάχαιρα?

Paul is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would need in many languages to be complete. If it would be helpful in your language, you could supply these words from the previous sentence. Alternate translation: [Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or danger, or sword separate us from the love of Christ?]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

θλῖψις, ἢ στενοχωρία, ἢ διωγμὸς, ἢ λιμὸς

If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas of Tribulation, distress, persecution, hunger, you could express the same ideas in another way. Alternate translation: [If people trouble us, or hurt us, or distress us, or persecute us, or cause us to be hungry]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

θλῖψις, ἢ στενοχωρία

Tribulation and distress mean basically the same thing. Paul uses them to emphasize what he is saying. If your language does not use repetition to do this, you could use one phrase and provide emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: [Extreme tribulation]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ἢ μάχαιρα

Here, sword refers to being killed violently. If it might be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [or being killed violently]

Parallel ROM 8:35

Section 8:31–39: Nothing can separate us from God’s love

8:35a

8:35b–c

8:35b

8:35c