Verses 1:1-7 make up the salutation to this letter, having the three expected parts of a salutation normal for a writer of this of time. Verses 1:1-6 is the identification of the writer. This is the longest of all Paul’s identifications in his letters. Verse seven then is the identification of the recipients and his greeting. Note: a fuller explanation of the writer’s understanding of this very important passage is found in his study, The Sonship of our Lord and Our Adoption as Children of God.
Παῦλος δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ, κλητὸς ἀπόστολος ἀφωρισμένος εἰς εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ,
Paul, a bond-slave of the Christ, Jesus, called [to be] an apostle having been set apart to the gospel of God.
| Παῦλος | proper noun; msn; Παῦλος; Paul; a nominative absolute used in the salutation; |
| δοῦλος | noun; msn; δοῦλος; bond-slave; nominative in simple apposition to Παῦλος. It is anarthrous, i.e., not having the definite article, indicating here a member of a class; Paul is a bond-slave, one of many. |
| Χριστοῦ | noun; msg; Χριστός; Christ, Anointed One; genitive of possession; While this word is anarthrous, it is definite. It refers to a specific unique individual, the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the one human being God has appointed to be sovereign over all the world. Unfortunately, this word has come to stand for nothing more than our Lord’s last name or surname, and this has lessened his honor and authority. It is not our Lord’s name; It is his title of authority. |
| Ἰησοῦ, | noun; msg; Ἰησούς; Jesus; genitive in simple apposition to Χριστοῦ; As a proper name it is definite. |
| κλητὸς | adjective; msn; κλητός; called, invited; adjective. There are two possible nouns that this adjective might relate to, δοῦλος or ἀπόστολος. Both the nouns and the adjective are anarthrous. If it qualifies δοῦλος, then it describes the class to which δοῦλος belongs. As a bond-slave he was called, summoned by our Lord to be (understood verb) an apostle. Our Lord has other bond-slaves summoned to other duties or positions. If it qualifies ἀπόστολος, then the phrase κλητὸς ἀπόστολος (a called apostle) is in simple apposition to Παῦλος. I prefer the first view. |
| ἀπόστολος | noun; msn; ἀπόστολος; apostle, messenger; anarthrous, indefinite; κλητός qualifies ἀπόστολος, then ἀπόστολος is a nominative in simple apposition to Παῦλος. If κλητός qualifies δοῦλος, then one might expect the case of ἀπόστολος to be accusative, subject of the unstated infinitive εἰναί. However, because the infinitive is omitted, the nominative case used in place of the accusative; it is attracted into the nominative. Of the two options given above I prefer the later in which κλητὸς ἀπόστολος qualifies δοῦλος and then ἀφωρισμένος is a participle qualifying the verbal idea implicit in the adjective κλητός. ἀπόστολος is indefinite, meaning Paul is called to be one among several other apostles. |
| ἀφωρισμένος | verb; perfect, passive, anarthrous participle, msn; ἀφορίζω; separate, exclude, set apart, appoint; This is either an adjectival participle qualifying Παῦλος or an adverbial participle qualifying the verbal idea contained in the adjective κλητός. The perfect participle, called a combinative participle by Mounce “indicates a completed action that has consequences in the speaker’s present” (WM, p. 338). He was appointed to be in apostle and was one at the time of his writing this letter to Rome. |
| εἰς | preposition + accusative; εἰς; with reference to, for; (BAG, p. 229 #5). This specifies to what or in reference to what Paul had been set apart. |
| εὐαγγέλιον | noun; nsa; εὐαγγέλιον; good news, gospel; accusative object of preposition εἰς; This phrase is definite even though it is anarthrous, hence ‘the gospel of God’ rather than ‘a gospel of God’ (ATR, p. 793) |
| θεοῦ, | noun; msg; θεός; God; genitive of source ‘the gospel of God,’ i.e., the gospel which comes from God; This might possibly be an objective genitive, the good news or gospel about God. The preference for me is the good news, which comes from God since Paul in the next verses will go on to state the subject of the gospel. |
Paul’s identification of himself in verses 1:1-6 follows the Greek custom of connecting ideas and statements using conjunctions, relative clauses, and such. As a result, a single Greek sentenced (or in this case, a salutation) may be quite long and complex. To translate such a Greek sentence into a single English sentence produces a very run-on sentence. Good modern English demands shorter sentences containing one thought or idea. This verse begins a relative clause which describes the gospel of God for which Paul was singled out.
While it may seem that Paul is digressing from his original purpose of simply identifying himself to the readers of this letter in verses two through six, he is, in fact, establishing his authority for the two major groups of people to whom he writes, first, the Jewish believers in Rome and then, the Gentile believers. In verses two through four he states he was an apostle set apart for the good news from God previously promised in the Holy Scriptures about the Anointed One, the Holy One, the Messiah. This would resonate especially for those believers of a Jewish background. In verses five and six he then focuses on the Gentile readers. His apostleship, which came through the Messiah, was directed toward all the Gentiles, that they might respond in faith to God. This then was also for those in Rome, the capital of the Gentile empire.
ὃ προεπηγγείλατο διὰ τῶν προφητῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν γραφαῖς ἁγίαις
This (which) was previously promised by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures,
| ὃ | relative pronoun; nsa; ὅς; which; The antecedent is εὐαγγέλιον; the pronoun is the accusative direct object of προεπηγγείλατο. Although this is a relative pronoun (who, which, what), it is translated as a demonstrative pronoun in English starting a new sentence. The English demonstrative pronoun has the same antecedent as the Greek relative pronoun. |
| προεπηγγείλατο | verb; aorist, middle, indicative, 3s; προεπαγγέλλω; to promise beforehand; (passive) to be promised previously; This verb, a constative aorist, simply states this occurred in the past. |
| διὰ | preposition + genitive; διά; through, by; indicates personal agent or intermediary; |
| τῶν προφητῶν | articular noun; mpg; προφήτης; prophet; genitive object of διά; The use of the article points out a well know thing, the prophets being part of the Old Testament canon of Scripture. Article is also normally used when the noun is qualified by a possessive. |
| αὐτοῦ | personal pronoun 3s; msg; αὐτός; his; genitive of possession; The antecedent is θεοῦ in the previous verse. |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in; indicates the location where the promises are located; |
| γραφαῖς | noun; fpd; γραφή; Scriptures; genitive object of ἐν; It is definite even though there is no article; since this, especially with the adjective ἁγίαις, is recognized as a unique specific thing, being described as holy. When plural, as here, it refers to the whole, i.e., the Old Testament, but when singular, normally a single passage of the Scriptures. |
| ἁγίαις | adjective; fpd; ἅγιος; set apart, consecrated, holy; qualifies γραφαῖς; |
This verse is the start of a prepositional phrase which extends through verse four. The prepositional phrase, ‘concerning His Son…’ (περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ…), connects either to the words immediately preceding it in verse two, in the holy scriptures, (ἐν γραφαῖς ἁγίαις) or the words, the gospel of God, (εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ) found in verse one. If the former, then it is the Holy Scriptures that concern his Son. If connected with the words, the gospel of God, then the gospel concerns his Son. While there is a difference in the emphasis, there is not much difference in the basic thrust of the text. Either his son is the central concern of the gospel, or his son is the central concern of those scriptures in which the gospel was promised. The pronoun αὐτοῦ, ‘his’, refers back to God mentioned in verse one. God’s son, therefore, is the central theme and concern of the gospel.
περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ τοῦ γενομένου ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα,
concerning his son, who was born of the line of David physically,
| περὶ | preposition + genitive; περί; concerning; This prepositional phrase either qualifies the preceding words, γραφαῖς ἁγίαις, (most likely option) or the words, εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ, back in verse one. See introductory note to verse 1:3. |
| τοῦ υἱοῦ | articular noun; msg; υἱός; son; genitive object of περί; See the author’s, study, The Sonship of our Lord and Our Adoption as Children of God for a fuller explanation of my understanding of this term. While the article is regularly used when a possessive pronoun qualifies the noun, this also seems to be kataphoric. “The first mention, with the article, is anticipatory, followed by a phrase or statement that defines or qualifies the thing mentioned.” (DM, p. 220) Note that following τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ in verses 1:3-4, there are three clauses or phrases describing this son. |
| αὐτοῦ | personal pronoun 3s; msg; αὐτός; his; genitive of relationship; antecedent is θεοῦ in verse 1:1; |
| τοῦ γενομένου | articular participle, second attributive position; aorist, middle, msg; γίνομαι; to be, happen, become; adjectival use of the participle as indicated by the article. This is an adjectival clause qualifying υἱοῦ; perfective participle, (undefined aspect); Here its sense can be translated ‘born’ as in, ‘born of the line of David’. |
| ἐκ | preposition + genitive; ἐκ; of; denotes origin as to family, race, city, people, district, etc. (BAG p. 234) |
| σπέρματος | noun; nsg; σπέρμα; seed, offspring, descendants; genitive object of ἐκ; With or without the article a noun being the object of a preposition may be definite or indefinite. Because it is followed by the genitive Δαυὶδ specifying a particular line or set of descendants it is certainly definite. |
| Δαυὶδ | noun; msg; Δαύιδ; David; genitive of relationship or origin; |
| κατά | preposition + accusative; κατά; according to, in reference to; preposition is used to introduce something in reference to which something is true. BAG states, “denoting relationship to someth.with respect to, in relation to κ. σάρκα w. respect to the flesh, physically of human descent…” (BAG, p. 408) |
| σάρκα | noun; fsa; σάρξ; flesh; accusative object of preposition κατά; This noun, when used in the accusative case with the preposition κατά, has almost an adverbial force, the preposition being used to introduce that in reference to which something is true. It can then be translated as ‘physically,’ that is, in reference to the fleshly or physical body; or with another meaning of the noun, this phrase can be translated as ‘humanly,’ that is, in reference to that which is human, by human effort, according to human standards. The phrase is used twenty-one times in the New Testament and exhibits both of these meanings. Even in Romans itself, it is used in both senses. When a writer speaks of ancestry, the emphasis is on physical descent or lineage, not the origin of human nature. |
The prevalent view of the two descriptive statements, one in verse three and the other in this verse, is that they describe the human and divine natures of Christ. If one takes this view, the first of these descriptive statements, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, is taken to be a reference to the Lord’s human nature. Likewise, in verse four, the second statement, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, is seen as a reference to his deity. If this were Paul’s intent, he is saying that the subject of the gospel is perfectly human, a descendant of David, and fully divine, as proven by the resurrection from the dead.
While one must hold unreservedly to the full deity and perfect humanity of the Lord, it is better to see Paul’s purpose as declaring Jesus to be the Messiah, the fulfillment of the promises made beforehand in the scriptures. Let it not be doubted or questioned that the Lord is fully and perfectly human and, at the same time, fully divine. This truth cannot be compromised. It is glimpsed in these verses, but only indirectly, for it is not the Apostle Paul’s intention to declare this truth. His purpose is to declare that the subject of the gospel is the person of the Messiah, that he is qualified both physically and spiritually, that he has been appointed to this office, and that he is, in fact, none other than Jesus Christ the Lord. Again, the reader is referred to The Sonship of our Lord and Our Adoption as Children of God for a more complete treatment of this issue.
τοῦ ὁρισθέντος υἱοῦ θεοῦ ἐν δυνάμει κατὰ πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν,
the powerfully appointed Son of God in reference to the (a) spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus, (the) Christ, our Lord.
| τοῦ ὁρισθέντος | articular participle; aorist, passive, msg; ὁρίζω; to determine, set, appoint, decree; adjectival use of participle as indicated by the presence of the article, qualifying the following word υἱοῦ; a perfective participle; The article may be taken with ὁρισθέντος indicating its function as adjectival following the pattern with τοῦ γενομένου above, or it may be taken with υἱοῦ θεοῦ with the adjectival participle ὁρισθέντος being in the first attributive position. The whole phrase, τοῦ ὁρισθέντος υἱοῦ θεοῦ … νεκρῶν, then is in apposition to τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ back in verse 1:3, as is the concluding phrase of verse 1:4, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν. In my understanding at this point, I prefer this latter view. The basic meaning of the verb ὁρίζω is to separate or mark off boundaries. It then comes to mean to appoint, determine or designate someone or something. Some lexicons do indeed suggest the meaning of ‘to declare,’ but this meaning is suggested because of this particular passage. To use this lexical definition as support for this translation at this point is to use circular reasoning. The verb ὁρίζω is used seven other times in the New Testament: Luke 22:22, Acts 2:23, 10:42, 11:29, 17:26, 17:31 and Hebrews 4:7. In every case, except here in Romans 1:4, this verb is translated as to fix, appoint, determine or predetermine in the NASV. In the NKJV, it is translated as to determine, designate or ordain in every case except here in Romans 1:4. It should be consistently translated as to appoint or designate here in Romans 1:4 as well. Therefore, the emphasis of the words, the Son of God, cannot be on the Lord’s deity! The supposed problem of appointing the Lord to deity disappears not by altering the clear meaning of the word ὁρίζω, but by correctly understanding the reference of the phrase, the Son of God. |
| υἱοῦ | noun; msg; υἱός; son; genitive in simple apposition to υἱοῦ in verse three; The use of the article is monadic or identifying a unique person or thing. This is a very emphatic statement here. |
| θεοῦ | noun; msg; θεός; son; genitive of origin, relationship The phrase, ‘the Son of God’ is a reference to our Lord’s Messiahship not his deity as is generally assumed by most authorities. Note: He is fully God and fully human; this is not at all in question. See the author’s, study, The Sonship of our Lord and Our Adoption as Children of God for a much fuller explanation. |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in, by; declares the manner in which the verbal action was carried out; |
| δυνάμει | noun; fsd; δύναμις; power, strength; dative object of preposition ἐν; The absence of the article highlights the qualitative nature of this noun. |
| κατὰ | preposition + accusative; κατά; according to, in reference to; The preposition is used to introduce something in reference to which something is true. |
| πνεῦμα | noun; nsa; πνεῦμα; spirit, breath, spirit, breath; accusative object of κατά; While the noun is anarthrous it could be definite being the object of a preposition and further qualified by a genitive indicating a particular quality or attribute of spirit. The word spirit in this verse does not signify the movement of air, the Holy Spirit or another created immaterial being apart from man. It refers to the human spirit either in the sense of the immaterial part or aspect as opposed to the physical body or in the sense of an attitude or disposition. There are arguments for both cases, and the evidence seems to be somewhat divided. One might argue that this refers to the human spirit as opposed to the body. πνεῦμα used here in contrast to σάρξ in verse 3 is a strong argument for Paul’s using it in this sense. On the other hand, when one studies those passages in which πνεῦμα is used with an adjective or some other word denoting a quality or characteristic, it seems that the word means attitude or disposition.(See Romans 11:8, 2 Corinthians 4:13, Galatians 6:1 and Ephesians 1:17.) However, this does not pose much of a difficulty for the translator. In either case, the emphasis in the phrase is not on the word spirit but on the quality or characteristic of the holiness of that spirit. If Paul is using πνεῦμα in the sense of the immaterial aspect of man as opposed to the physical body, then the genitive ἁγιωσύνης is an attributive genitive. The word in the genitive case states the attribute or characteristic of the noun it qualifies. Paul’s meaning would be a spirit that is characterized by the quality of holiness. On the other hand, if Paul is using spirit in the sense of an attitude or disposition, the genitive is a genitive of apposition. Holiness, the noun in the genitive, stands loosely in apposition to the noun it qualifies. It would refer to the specific attitude or disposition of holiness. In either case, the stress is on holiness rather than spirit. The Messiah was required not just to have a human spirit, but he must be holy as well. It must not be doubted that the Lord had a human spirit. One must reject the error of Apollinarianism, a heresy that attributed to the Lord a human body but a divine soul and/or spirit, which was rightly rejected by the early church. Those who had this view held that the Lord was human in regard to his body but divine in regard to his spirit, declaring that his divine nature took the place of his soul and/or spirit. This view makes the Lord less than fully human. In holding the word spirit in Romans 1:4 to be a reference to the divine nature, an opening is made, perhaps unwittingly or unintentionally, for those who would teach the heresy of Apollinarianism. The Old Testament clearly shows that the Messiah would be holy. It refers to him as the Holy One (Psalm 16:10) and speaks of his work of establishing righteousness upon the earth (Isaiah 11:1–5). He is likewise designated as holy in the New Testament (Mark 1:24; Luke 1:35, 4:34; Acts 4:27 and 30). In Acts 2:27 and 13:35, first Peter and then Paul quote Psalm 16:10 in reference to the Lord calling him the Holy One. In Acts 3:14, speaking to Israel, Peter accuses them of rejecting their Holy One. These references at least indicated that the nation of Israel regarded the term “the Holy One” to refer to the Messiah. The Apostle Paul in Romans 1:3–4 states that not only does the Lord meet the physical requirement of being of David’s lineage, but he has been appointed as Messiah, meeting the qualification of holiness. |
| ἁγιωσύνης | noun; fsg; ἁγιωσύνη; holiness; either attributive genitive or genitive of apposition; This noun is anarthrous as would normally be the case since its head noun is anarthrous. It is also an abstract noun placing emphasis on the quality. |
| ἐξ | preposition + genitive; ἐκ; from, by; preposition is used to introduce time when something occurred or possibly the means by which something was accomplished; |
| ἀναστάσεως | noun; fsg; ἀναστάσις; resurrection; genitive object of preposition ἐξ; This noun is definite although it is anarthrous being the object of a preposition and qualified by a genitive. |
| νεκρῶν, | adjective; mpg; νεκρός; dead, lifeless; substantival use of the adjective. The plural suggests this refers to those who are dead; genitive of separation resurrection from among those who are dead; The genitive, following an anarthrous noun is also anarthrous. |
| Ἰησοῦ | noun; msg; Ἰησούς; Jesus; genitive in apposition to τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ in verse 3; It is definite being a proper name. |
| Χριστοῦ | noun; msg; Χριστός; Christ, Anointed One; genitive of apposition to Ἰησοῦ; Again this is a title not a surname. It is definite being one of a kind. |
| τοῦ κυρίου | articular noun; msg; κύριος; Lord; genitive in simple apposition to Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ; The use of the article is a normal use with a noun qualified by a possessive pronoun. |
| ἡμῶν, | personal pronoun; 1pg; ἡμεῖς; our; genitive of possession; |
In English it is better to begin a new sentence here although it is a continuing part of the identification of the writer in the Greek. The prepositional phrase relates the words, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν, Jesus Christ our Lord, in the previous verse. Having identified the subject of the gospel previously promised as the Messiah, Paul explains that it was through him that he (and those with him) had received the authority to proclaim this good news to the non-Jewish peoples of the world of whom most of those in Rome were a part.
δι᾽ οὗ ἐλάβομεν χάριν καὶ ἀποστολὴν εἰς ὑπακοὴν πίστεως ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ,
Through Him (whom) we have received the apostleship of grace (grace and apostleship) leading to the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of His name,
| δι᾽ | preposition + genitive; διά; through, by means of; shows intermediate agent; |
| οὗ | relative pronoun; ὅς; whom; antecedent is Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ in 1:4; genitive object of preposition διά; Here I would translate as a personal pronoun for sake of English readers although it is a relative. |
| ἐλάβομεν | verb; aorist, active, indicative, 2p; λαμβάνω; to receive; constative aorist Question: Is Paul including the other apostles here when he uses the plural or is he only speaking of himself using the plural form in place of the singular (editorial plural)? Opinion of others seems to be divided (ATR, p. 407) but I prefer the idea he is speaking of himself and others. It was not just in his case but in that of every apostle that their apostleship came through Jesus Christ our Lord. He might be speaking then of himself and all other apostles. However, it is also possible he is speaking of himself and those with him as a unit or group. Those with Paul in his ministerial group through him share the apostolic mandate given to him. Thus, he speaks of this commission as his and those he shares it with. This seems to fit the context as this mandate seems to be one specifically directed to the Gentile nations. |
| χάριν | noun fsa; χάρις; grace; accusative direct object of ἐλάβομεν ; This and the following noun ἀποστολὴν, ‘apostleship,’ may refer to two distinct things but they may also be a figure of speech at this point called a hendiadys in which the first of two nouns connected by a coordinate conjunction qualifies the second in some way. If so, this could be translated as ‘gracious apostleship’ or an ‘apostleship of grace.’ I prefer the latter. |
| καὶ | conjunction; καί; and; The conjunction connects two nouns used as an hendiadys. |
| ἀποστολὴν | noun; fsa; ἀποστολή; apostleship; accusative direct object of ἐλάβομεν; see above with χάριν; This is probably a hendiadys. While this noun and χάριν are both anarthrous, the concept represented by the hendiadys is definite as can be seen from its specific goal. |
| εἰς | preposition + accusative; εἰς; with reference to, for, leading to; (See 1:1); This indicates the goal, purpose or reason he and others with him had received this divine commission. |
| ὑπακοὴν | noun; fsa; ὑπακοή; obedience; accusative object of εἰς; This then is the goal of the apostleship characterized by grace, to produce or promote obedience which is faith, faith in Jesus Christ. While anarthrous, this is definite being the object of the preposition and qualified by the genitive πίστεως. |
| πίστεως | noun; fsg; πίστις; faith, trust; genitive of apposition, obedience of [which is] faith It could also be a subjective genitive (ATR, p. 500) which would then be obedience which is produced by faith or comes from faith. At this point the I prefer the former understanding. The anarthrous construction emphasizes the qualitative idea. πίστις has three major meanings according to BAG (pp. 668-670). Here it can either mean the action, i.e., believing in, having confidence in or relying upon something or someone, or that which is believed, i.e., the body of faith or belief, doctrine. The use of the genitive rather than the dative seems to indicate the former idea. |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; among; This indicates the sphere of this apostleship given to Paul. He (and those with him) were entrusted with the proclamation of the good news–that righteousness God requires comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ–to the all the Gentile peoples, those who are not Jewish. |
| πᾶσιν | adjective; npd; πᾶς; all; qualifies ἔθωεσιν; |
| τοῖς ἔθνεσιν | articular noun; npd; ἔθνος; nation, people, Gentile; dative object of ἐν; Generic use of the article distinguishing the Gentiles as a class separated from Non-Gentiles, i.e., Jews. |
| ὑπὲρ | preposition + genitive; ὑπέρ; for, for the sake of, in behalf of; |
| τοῦ ὀνόματος | articular noun; nsg; ὄνομα; name (genitive object of ὑπέρ) A name was often used by metonymy to represent the person. Paul and others had been given this ministry for the benefit of Jesus Christ, not for themselves. The article, which is commonly used with a possessive is also a par excellence article. |
| αὐτοῦ, | personal pronoun; msg; αὐτός; his; genitive of possession; The referent of the pronoun is Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν, Jesus Christ our Lord. |
Verse 1:6 concludes the identification of the writer section of the salutation by noting that they in Rome fell under this designation. Paul is not saying that all in Rome were Gentiles for there was a very large Jewish population but that generally speaking the church was Gentile in character. This was a polite way of reminding his readers that they also fell under Paul’s authority.
ἐν οἷς ἐστε καὶ ὑμεῖς κλητοὶ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,
among whom you are also called by Jesus Christ.
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in, among; With this prepositional phrase, Paul includes his readers with those to whom Paul was given the apostolic commission to proclaim the gospel of the grace of God. |
| οἷς | relative pronoun npd; ὅς; whom; antecedent is ἔθωεσιν, dative object of ἐν; |
| ἐστε | verb; present, active, indicative, 2p; εἰμί; to be, exist; stative present representing an ongoing state. |
| καὶ | conjunction; καὶ; also; this conjunction is connective but also somewhat emphatic here; ; |
| ὑμεῖς | personal pronoun; 2pn; ὑμεῖς; you; stated subject of ἐστε; |
| κλητοὶ | adjective; mpn; κλητός, -ή, -όν; called, invited; predicate adjective qualifying ὑμεῖς; |
| Ἰησοῦ | noun; msg; Ἰησούς, -οῦ, ὁ; Jesus; genitive of agency; |
| Χριστοῦ, | noun; msg; Χριστός, -οῦ, ὁ; Christ, Anointed One; genitive in simple apposition to Ἰησοῦ; |
The last two parts of the salutation are found in this verse, the identification of the recipients and the greeting.
πᾶσιν τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Ῥώμῃ ἀγαπητοῖς θεοῦ, κλητοῖς ἁγίοις, χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
To all who are in Rome, beloved by God, called to be holy. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
| πᾶσιν | adjective; mpd; πᾶς; all; qualifies the following substantival participle. While he might have just said, τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Ῥώμῃ…, ‘to those in Rome…,’ he qualifies this with the adjective πᾶσιν, ‘all.’ Some might have mistakenly concluded from verses 1:5-6 that he was writing just to the Gentile population, and, if they happened to be Jewish, this letter was not for them. But Paul includes them when he says, if you are in Rome and are loved by God and called to be saints, I am writing to you. |
| τοῖς οὖσιν | articular participle; present. active, mpd; εἰμί; to be; The article indicates this is an adjectival participle; substantival use; those who are in Rome, dative of recipient; |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in; denotes location; |
| Ῥώμῃ | proper noun; fsd; Ῥώμη; Rome; dative object of preposition ἐν; |
| ἀγαπητοῖς | adjective; mpd; ἀγαπητός; beloved; qualifies τοῖς οὖσιν, perhaps verbal use. ‘to those in Rome (who are) beloved of God;’or adjectival use ‘beloved of God;’ The difference is negligible. |
| θεοῦ, | noun; msg; θεός; God; genitive of agency, ‘by God; |
| κλητοῖς | adjective; mpd; κλητός; called, invited; qualifies τοῖς οὖσιν; to those who are called (to be) saints; |
| ἁγίοις, | adjective; mpd; ἅγιος; set apart, consecrated, holy; dative predicate adjective after κλητοῖς, perhaps substantival use here, i.e., ‘saints.’ |
| χάρις | noun; fsn; χάρις; grace; nominative subject of understood verb, be (εἴη) (ATR, pp. 395-6); |
| ὑμῖν | personal pronoun 2pd; ὑμεῖς; you; dative indirect object of understood verb be; See above. |
| καὶ | conjunction; καί; and; |
| εἰρήνη | noun; fsn; εἰρήνη; peace, harmony; nominative subject of understood verb; See above. |
| ἀπὸ | preposition + genitive; ἀπό; from; indicates source; |
| θεοῦ | noun; msg; θεός; God; genitive object of preposition ἀπό; |
| πατρὸς | noun; msg; πατήρ; father; genitive of apposition to θεοῦ; |
| ἡμῶν | personal pronoun; 1pg; ἡμεῖς; our; genitive of possession, relationship; |
| καὶ | conjunction; καί; and; |
| κυρίου | noun; msg; κύριος; Lord; genitive object of preposition ἀπό; |
| Ἰησοῦ | noun; msg; Ἰησούς; Jesus; genitive of apposition to κυρίου; |
| Χριστοῦ. | noun; msg; Χριστός; Christ, Anointed One; genitive in simple apposition to Χριστοῦ; |
Following the salutation to the letter to the believers in Rome in Verses 1:1-7, the apostle Paul does not jump immediately into his subject matter, but first he pens a personal note in verses 1:8-17. These verses serve as a foreword or prologue to the letter. In them he expresses his personal feelings and concern for those in Rome, explains why he has not visited them, why he wishes to do so and concludes by introducing this gospel that he was commissioned to proclaim.
Πρῶτον μὲν εὐχαριστῶ τῷ θεῷ μου διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ περὶ πάντων ὑμῶν ὅτι ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν καταγγέλλεται ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ κόσμῳ.
First of all, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because/that your faith is being proclaimed in all the world.
| Πρῶτον | adverb; πρῶτον; first, first of all; This word with the following particle μέν has the sense of ‘Now before I write/say anything else,’ or ‘First of all.’ |
| μὲν | particle indicating contrast, emphasis or continuation; μέν; sometimes no translation exists; Dana and Mantey state that here it is purely emphatic associated with another emphatic word. (DM, p. 261), which word would be πρῶτον; |
| εὐχαριστῶ | verb; present, active, indicative, 1s; εὐχαριστέω; thank, give thanks, be thankful or grateful; customary present or general present; |
| τῷ θεῷ | articular noun; msd; θεός; God; dative indirect object of verb εὐχαριστῶ; The use of the article with θεός (monadic) is common, i.e., there is only one God. It is also common to use the article when the noun is qualified with a possessive pronoun or adjective. |
| μου | personal pronoun; 1pg; ἐγώ; my; genitive of possession; |
| διὰ | preposition + genitive; διά; through, by; διά with the genitive can express the agent (ATR, p.582). The agent through which Paul can pray and give thanks to God is Jesus Christ; |
| Ἰησοῦ | proper noun; msg; Ἰησούς; Jesus; genitive object of preposition διά; |
| Χριστοῦ | noun; msg; Χριστός; Christ, Anointed One; genitive in simple apposition; |
| περὶ | preposition + genitive; περί; concerning, for; BAG states, “to denote the object or pers. to which (whom) an action refers or relates” (BAG, p. 650). |
| πάντων | adjective; mpg; πᾶς; all; qualifies pronoun ὑμῶν; Question: why does Paul qualify the second person plural pronoun with this adjective? What is the difference between περὶ ὑμῶν, ‘concerning/for you’ and περὶ πάντων ὑμῶν, ‘concerning/for all of you’? Perhaps the apostle is making sure that his Jewish readers realize they are included in Paul’s thankfulness to God. Verses 1:5 and 6 were aimed in particular at the Gentile believers in Rome. If Paul had used just the second person plural pronoun, it might have been construed he was giving thanks just for these believers. To be sure his readers understand he is thankful for all the believers in Rome, Jew and Gentile alike, he qualifies this with the adjective all. The American Southern idiom would be, ‘all y’all!’ |
| ὑμῶν | personal pronoun; 2pg; ὑμεῖς; you; genitive object of preposition περί; |
| ὅτι | conjunction; ὅτι; that/because; The conjunction ὅτι introduces a dependent clause which may be (1) substantival introducing the specific content of that which Paul gives thanks, ‘that your faith is…,’ (BAG, p. 593 under 1.b.ε.) or (2) it may be adverbial stating the basis or reason for Paul’s thanksgiving (DW, p. 662), ‘because your faith is….’ Both make sense and the overall difference between them is minor and does not change the overall idea. If Paul is stating the content of his thankfulness, that is indeed the reason why he gives thanks, and if he is giving the reason why he gives thanks, it certainly is the content of his thanksgiving. At this point I prefer the adverbial use. See (BAG, p. 328 under εὐχαριστέω, 2.). |
| ἡ πίστις | articular noun; fsn; πίστις; faith, trust; nominative subject of καταγγέλλεται; While the article is to be expected because the noun is qualified by a possessive pronoun it also might be anaphoric, pointing back to verse 1:5 where Paul stated the goal of his apostleship was obedience to God, namely, faith. |
| ὑμῶν | personal pronoun; 2pg; ὑμεῖς; your; genitive of possession, possibly subjective genitive; |
| καταγγέλλεται | verb; present, passive, indicative, 3s; καταγγέλλω; to preach, proclaim, advocate, report; present progressive present; It was an ongoing thing at the time Paul wrote this. |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in; This prepositional phrase indicates the location or sphere in which the action of the verb was happening. |
| ὅλῳ | adjective; msd; ὅλος, -ῃ, -ον; whole, all, complete, entire; qualifies κόσμῳ; |
| τῷ κόσμῳ. | articular noun; msd; κόσμος, -ου; world, world order, universe, world inhabitants; dative object of preposition ἐν; The article is monadic, the ‘whole world’ is unique, there is only one. |
From reading what Paul says in this prologue of his letter to the believers in Rome, one picks up the idea that Paul intensely wants them to be aware he has just not ignored them. I can imagine there might have been some in Rome who thought Paul, that well known apostle to the Gentiles, had slighted the church. After all, was not Rome the center of the Gentile empire that controlled the western world. The church was a large church; many other well-known believers were or had been there. Why not Paul? So he begins by telling them he really has desired to visit them.
μάρτυς γάρ μού ἐστιν ὁ θεός, ᾧ λατρεύω ἐν τῷ πνεύματί μου ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, ὡς ἀδιαλείπτως μνείαν ὑμῶν ποιοῦμαι
For God is my witness, whom I serve with/in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, how constantly I am mentioning you
| μάρτυς | noun; msn; μάρτυς; witness, martyr; predicate nominative ἐστιν below; Although anarthrous, this noun is definite being qualified by the possessive μού. By placing it first in this statement it is emphasized. |
| γάρ | conjunction; γάρ; for; “γάρ is the regular connective for two coordinate clauses which bear to each other some relation of cause and effect, or reason and conclusion….In the preceding statement Paul has expressed his profound interest in the Roman church and his appreciation of it, and here he adds an evidence in proof of his claim” (DM, p. 274). In this instance it seems to be explanatory. |
| μού | personal pronoun; ἐγώ; 1pg; my; genitive of possession, possibly subjective genitive; |
| ἐστιν | verb; present, active, indicative, 1s; εἰμί; to be; customary stative present; |
| ὁ θεός, | articular noun; msn; θεός; God; nominative subject of verb ἐστιν; Here the article points out the subject in a copulative sentence, God is my witness rather than My witness is God (DM, p. 149). |
| ᾧ | relative pronoun; msd; ὅς; whom; antecedent is θέος, dative object of verb λατρεύω; |
| λατρεύω | verb; present, active, indicative, 1s; λατρεύω; to serve, minister (in religious duties); customary present; |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in, by; Question: What is the sense of the prepositional phrase, ἐν τῷ πνεύματί μου? Concerning the use of the preposition ἐν, Wallace (DW, p. 372) lists ten broad categories: (1) Spatial/Sphere: in (and various other translations), (2) Temporal: in, within, when, while, during, (3) Association (often close personal relationship): with, (4) Cause: because of, (5) Instrumental: by, with, (6) Reference/Respect: with respect to/with reference to, (7) Manner: with, (8) Thing Possessed: with (in the sense of which possesses), (9) Standard (=Dative of Rule): according to the standard of and (10) As an equivalent for είς (with verbs of motion). Of these, (5),the instrumental use, seems to be the best fit although (1), Sphere, might be a possibility. Either Paul serves God with (using, by means of) his spirit, i.e., his inner man, his will and desires or Paul serves God in the sphere of his inner being. Paul wants his readers to understand his desire and struggle to visit them. Thus, he states in serving God with his desires, will, thinking or in his desires, will, thinking he has been constantly asking if he might be able to visit them. This emphasizes Paul’s positive attitude toward them; that he has not forgotten them or ignored them. |
| τῷ πνεύματί | articular noun; nsd; πνεῦμα; spirit; dative object of ἐν; That this is not the Holy Spirit is clear from the use of the qualifying possessive μου. It refers to that immaterial part of a person that animates the physical body and which continues to exists following physical death. This is a unique definite spirit, namely that of Paul, the apostle, as shown by the article and qualifying pronoun. Bypassing the debate whether the soul (ψυχή) and spirit (πνεῦμα) are two separate things or different aspects of one thing, it seems clear to me at least that Paul’s use of spirit here refers to that immaterial part of him that includes his mind and understanding, his will and desires (Mark 14:39, ), his conscience (Romans 2:14-16); it is his inner man. See also Romans 7:14-25 and 1 Corinthians 14:13-19. Question: Why did Paul qualify the statement that he served God ἐν τῷ πνεύματί μου. ‘with/in his spirit?’ Why not simply say he served God? See note above for my thoughts on the possible answer to these questions. The use of the article is normal with a noun after a preposition and qualified by a possessive. |
| μου | personal pronoun; 1pg; ἐγώ; my; genitive of possession; |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in; Robertson suggests the meaning here of in the sphere of, (ATR, p. 589). This makes the best sense here. |
| τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ | articular noun; εὐαγγέλιον; nsd; good news, gospel; dative object of preposition ἐν; The article is anaphoric pointing the reader back to verse 1:1 and following, This is the good news to which Paul was set apart to proclaim. |
| τοῦ υἱοῦ | articular noun; msg; υἱός; son; object genitive or perhaps descriptive genitive; The article is to be expected when the head noun it qualifies is articular. |
| αὐτοῦ, | personal pronoun; msg; αὐτός; his; genitive of relationship; |
| ὡς | adverb; ὡς; as, like, how; here it intensifies the adverb ἀδιαλείπτως states “Oti expresses the thing itself and ὡς the mode or quality of the thing (Thayer). With this explanation it is possible to consider it as declarative, though really meaning ‘how.’ (ATR, p. 1032) |
| ἀδιαλείπτως | adverb; ἀδιαλείπτως; constantly, unceasingly; “used with the same significance as the adjective, not of what is not interrupted, but of that which is constantly recurring” (WEV, p. 623). |
| μνείαν | noun; fsa; μνεία; remembrance, mention; accusative direct object of ποιοῦμαι; |
| ὑμῶν | personal pronoun; 2pg; ὑμεῖς; you; object genitive; |
| ποιοῦμαι | verb; present, middle, indicative, 1s; ποιέω; in the middle with the noun μνείαν to make mention of; customary present; |
This verse continues the statement started in the verse 1:9 explaining how they are involved in Paul’s prayers. It was not that Paul did not want to visit them; he did, but, as he will tell them in verses 1:13 and in 15:22, he had been prevented from doing so. In this verse he tells them he has always been asking if now God would make it possible.
πάντοτε ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν μου δεόμενος εἴ πως ἤδη ποτὲ εὐοδωθήσομαι ἐν τῷ θελήματι τοῦ θεοῦ ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς.
since I am always in my prayers asking if somehow now, at last, I might succeed by the will of God to come to you,
| πάντοτε | adverb; πάντοτε; always, at all times; qualifies δεόμενος; |
| ἐπὶ | preposition + genitive; ἐπί; on, upon, when, at the time of; remote meaning ‘in’ (DM, p. 106); also see (ATR, p. 603) “With ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν μου (Ro. 1:10) we have period of prayer denoted simply by ἐπί.” |
| τῶν προσευχῶν | articular noun; fpg; προσευχή; prayer, place of prayer; genitive object of preposition ἐπί; The article is normally used with possessive pronoun. |
| μου | personal pronoun; 1pg; ἐγώ; my; genitive of possession or subjective genitive; |
| δεόμενος | verb; present, middle, participle msn; δέομαι; ask, beg, implore; This is an adverbial imperfective participle which further defines the action described in the previous verse, μάρτυς γάρ μού ἐστιν ὁ θεός, …ὡς ἀδιαλείπτως μνείαν ὑμῶν ποιοῦμαι, ‘For God is my witness…how constantly I am mentioning you’. If the focus of this further defining is on the statement that God is Paul’s witness, he might be stating the reason this true is ‘since he is always asking God….’ In this case, the adverbial participle is casual. On the other hand, if the focus is on how constantly I am mentioning you, then the adverbial participle be manner ‘by always asking God…’, or possibly temporal, ‘ when I ask God….’ In this instance, I prefer to call this adverbial use as epexegetical, qualifying the entire previous verse and including, perhaps, all these ideas. The imperfective participle along with the use of the adverb πάντοτε implies a repeated action occurring at the same time as the main verb (ποιοῦμαι in the previous verse). |
| εἴ | conditional/interrogative particle; εἰ; if; Dana-Mantey suggest “It is found, with only a few exceptions, with the indicative; and implies that there is likelihood that the assumption will be fulfilled, or that there is no hope of fulfillment, as in contrary to fact conditions...In Ac. 27:12 and Rom. 1:10 the words seem to mean if at all possible.” (DM, pp. 246-247). BAG states that εἰ is used as an interrogative particle with the future indicative in the sense of whether (BAG, p. 218 under V.2.). This seems to be the case in this instance. Paul is telling his readers he is always asking if now is the time when God would allow him to visit the church at Rome. That he would see them was not so much in question but when would the way be opened for him to do so. |
| πως | adverb, enclitic particle; πως; somehow, in some way; The use of these three adverbs together is very emphatic! |
| ἤδη | adverb; ἤδη; now at last; |
| ποτὲ | adverb, enclitic particle; ποτέ; once, formerly, ever, at last (used with ἤδη) [the use of three of these intensive particles, πως, ἤδη and ποτέ is used by Paul to indicate how intensely he really had wanted and does want to come to Rome “Like the other intensive particles it has no English or German equivalent and is a hard word to translate. It is climacteric and indicates that the point is now at last clear and may be assumed as true.” See (ATR, p. 1145, 1147, 1149); |
| εὐοδωθήσομαι | verb; future, passive, indicative, 1s; εὐοδόω; (passive); to get along with; to have a way opened; to prosper, get along; The future indicative with the conditional particle εἴ followed by the adverb πως is used here much like the aorist subjunctive (DW, p. 571 and 478). There is an uncertainty implied although, as stated above under the note on εἰ, the uncertainty was not if this should happen but when it would happen. |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in, by; instrumental use; |
| τῷ θελήματι | articular noun; nsd; θέλημα; will, wish, desire; dative object of preposition ἐν; The article is monadic the noun being qualified by a genitive phrase. This is a particular, unique will, that of God. |
| τοῦ θεοῦ | articular noun; msg; θεός; God; genitive of possession or perhaps a subjective genitive; The genitive phrase is articular following the pattern of the head noun. |
| ἐλθεῖν | verb; aorist, active, infinitive; ἔρχομαι-; go; complementary infinitive after εὐοδωθήομαι expressing result (DM, p. 215); The subject of the infinitive is not stated since it is the same as the subject of the main verb εὐοδωθήσομαι. |
| πρὸς | preposition + accusative; πρός; to, toward; |
| ὑμᾶς. | personal pronoun; 2pa; ὑμεῖς; you; accusative object of preposition πρός; |
This verse and the next are explanatory in that they state why Paul had been repeatedly praying that God would make it possible for him to visit Rome. The first clause in verse 1:11, ‘I earnestly desire to see you’ is connected to the previous verse by γάρ giving the reason for or motivation for Paul’s prayers. The reason for his prayers and the desire to visit them is then given in the ἵνα clause or purpose clause in the second part of this verse. The final part of the verse begins a result clause (εἰς τό) which states the expected results of his visit.
ἐπιποθῶ γὰρ ἰδεῖν ὑμᾶς, ἵνα τι μεταδῶ χάρισμα ὑμῖν πνευματικὸν εἰς τὸ στηριχθῆναι ὑμᾶς,
because I earnestly desire to see you so that I might share with you some spiritual gift to the end you might be strengthened;
| ἐπιποθῶ | verb; present, active, indicative, 1s; ἐπιποθῶ; to long for, crave, desire; Also used in Phil 1:8, 2:26, 1 Thess 3:6, 2 Tim 1:4, 1 Pet 2:2; It is a stative present. The preposition on the verb intensifies the idea of the verb; “to long for greatly.” This is a strengthened form of potheo, “to long for,” not found in the NT (WEV, p. 1081). |
| γὰρ | conjunction; γάρ; for, since, then; BAG state that this conjunction expresses “cause, inference, continuation, or to explain” (BAG, p. 149). It connects the main idea found in verses 1:9-10, (Paul was continually praying that God would now allow him to visit Rome.) with the main idea in the clause of this verses, (He intensely desired to see them). Again, as in verse 1:9, this seems to be more the cause of his prayer. |
| ἰδεῖν | verb; aorist, active, infinitive; ὁράω; to see, notice, perceive; constative aorist; It functions as a complementary infinitive after ἐπιποθῶ; |
| ὑμᾶς | personal pronoun; 2pa; ὑμεῖς; you, accusative direct object of verb ἰδεῖν; |
| ἵνα | conjunction; ἵνα; in order that, so that, that; This conjunction introduces a purpose clause; |
| τι | indefinite pronoun/adjective nsa; τις; something, some, a certain, any; It is adjectival here qualifying χάρισμα; |
| μεταδῶ | verb; aorist, active, subjunctive, 1s; μεταδίδωμι share, give, impart; constative aorist, the aorist subjunctive is the normal tense used with ἵνα (ATR p. 983); |
| χάρισμα | noun; nsa; χάρισμα; gift; accusative direct object of verb μεταδῶ; It is anarthrous being indefinite as is indicated by the adjective τι. Question: Why the use of the singular? Paul certainly did not mean there was only one gift that could possibly be given. Is this used as a collective singular? Is this an indication that a spiritual gift is given to an individual not to the group as a whole? |
| ὑμῖν | personal pronoun; 2pd; ὑμεῖς; you; dative indirect object of verb μεταδῶ; |
| πνευματικὸν | adjective; nsa; πνευματικός; spiritual; qualifies χάρισμα; In classical Greek this means pertaining to the wind or breath; in Biblical Greek, it means pertaining to the spirit or Spirit (BAG, p. 685). χάρισμα πνευματικόν, ‘spiritual gift,’ is a divine enablement to be used by a believer for the building up of the body of Christ, the church. |
| εἰς | preposition + accusative; εἰς; with τό + infinitive; to show purpose/result (DM, p. 284;); In this instance it is almost impossible to distinguish between purpose and result, they blend together. The apostle purposed to impart some spiritual gift with the result they might be strengthened. Yet this end result is not unintended. It is flavored by the initial purpose in imparting the gift. It is the desired or intended result. |
| τὸ στηριχθῆναι | articular infinitive; aorist, passive, infinitive; στηρίζω; set up, establish, strengthen; constative aorist; The use of the passive infinitive rather than the active is instructive. Had Paulused the active voice and written, τό στηρίξαι ὑμᾶς, ‘to strengthen you,’ then the pronoun ὑμᾶς, ‘you’ would be the accusative direct object of the infinitive, and the understood subject would have been Paul. That is to say, Paul imparted some spiritual gift to them to the end he, Paul, might strengthen these believers. The active voice makes the agent Paul himself. But in using the passive infinitive στηριχθῆναι, the pronoun ὑμᾶς becomes the subject and the agent is undeclared. Paul, while he is used by God, is not the ultimate agent of strengthening ,but rather it is God in the person of the Holy Spirit. |
| ὑμᾶς | personal pronoun; 2pa; ὑμεῖς; you; accusative subject of infinitive στηριχθῆναι; |
Verse 1:12 concludes the explanation of why Paul had been repeatedly praying that God would make it possible for him to visit Rome by expanding on the end result he stated in verse 1:11, namely that they would be strengthened. In this verse he adds they and he would be mutually encourage by their mutual faith.
τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν συμπαρακληθῆναι ἐν ὑμῖν διὰ τῆς ἐν ἀλλήλοις πίστεως ὑμῶν τε καὶ ἐμοῦ.
now that is, that (I/we) might be mutually encouraged with you through our (the) mutual faith, both yours and mine as well.
| τοῦτο | demonstrative pronoun; nsn; οὗτος; this; nominative subject of verb ἐστιν, The expression τοῦτ῾ ἔστιν is to be translated as ‘this (that) is’ or ‘this means.’ (BAG, p. 601 under 1.b.ε.). It is used similarly to our abbreviation i.e. or ‘that is.’ The antecedent of this pronoun seems to be the prepositional phrase εἰς τὸ στηριχθῆναι ὑμᾶς. |
| δέ | conjunction; δέ; but, rather, now; This conjunction along with τοῦτο…ἐστιν introduces the following infinitive clause. |
| ἐστιν | verb; present, active, indicative, 3s; εἰμί; to be, exist, be present; stative present; |
| συμπαρακληθῆναι | verb; aorist, passive, infinitive; συμπαρακαλέω; (passive) to be mutually encouraged; constative aorist; Robertson understands it as the predicate nominative after ἐστιν (ATR p. 700), yet it seems to me to be used substantivally in apposition to the previous infinitive phrase giving additional information about what Paul just stated. It expands and defines this last statement. As such, it express result as did the previous infinitive. The subject is changed from the second person ὑμᾶς in the previous verse to an unstated but understood first person, either singular or plural, ‘I/we.’ This is clear from the meaning of the verb συμπαρακληθῆναι and by the qualifying prepositional phrase διὰ τῆς ἐν ἀλλήλοις πίστεως ὑμῶν τε καὶ ἐμοῦ, ‘through our (the) mutual faith, both yours and mine as well.’ |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in; This could be stating the sphere in which the action of the verb takes place or a close association. I prefer the latter idea because of the immediate context. He will be encouraged along with them (close association), not just among them (spatially present in their midst). |
| ὑμῖν | personal pronoun; 2pd; ὑμεῖς; you; object of preposition ἐν; |
| διὰ | preposition + genitive; διὰ; through, by; This denotes the means by which the mutual encouragement takes place, |
| τῆς | article; fsg; ὁ; qualifies πίστεως; This is a kataphoric use of the article, the faith in question is then defined or described as ἐν ἀλλήλοις or ‘mutual’ and further qualified by the possessives, ὑμῶν τε καὶ ἐμοῦ or ‘both yours and mine.’ Here the translation of ‘our’ for the article seems very appropriate for the context.; |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in; Again this preposition indicates a close association. See note below. This prepositional phrase is used adjectivally qualifying the noun πίστεως. |
| ἀλλήλοις | reciprocal pronoun; ἀλλήλων; each other , one another, mutually; dative object of preposition ἐν, ἐν ἀλλήλοις means mutually (BAG p. 258); |
| πίστεως | noun; fsg; πίστις; faith, trust; Question: What is the sense of πίστις , ‘faith’ here and just how does their faith serve to encourage them? This is an issue that deserves to be studied more and certainly taught. It does initially tell me that interacting with other believers who are exercising faith as these believers at Rome were doing (See verse 1:8.) is important for such encouragement. As a former teacher, I also know that I was encouraged and strengthened in my faith much more when I was teaching others than when I was not. |
| ὑμῶν | personal pronoun; 2pg; ὑμεῖς; yours; possessive genitive or possible subjective genitive after πίστεως; |
| τε | conjunction enclitic particle; τε; and/both; |
| καὶ | conjunction; καί; and, also |
| ἐμοῦ. | personal pronoun; 1pg; ἐγώ; mine; possessive genitive or possible subjective genitive as above after πίστεως; Robertson states that some slight emphasis is meant by Paul using the long form ἐμοῦ as opposed to the short form μοῦ (ATR p. 682); |
The apostle begins a new but related thought in this verse. Having stated that he desired to visit them, now he indicates that he had planned to do so many times but had been hindered up to the present time. Again, he explains his reason, namely that he intended to have some positive outcome or results of his ministry there just as he had among the rest of the Gentile peoples to whom he ministered.
οὐ θέλω δὲ ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ἀδελφοί, ὅτι πολλάκις προεθέμην ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, καὶ ἐκωλύθην ἄχρι τοῦ δεῦρο, ἵνα τινὰ καρπὸν σχῶ καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν καθὼς καὶ ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἔθνεσιν.
(Now) I do not wish you to be uninformed, brothers, that many times I planned to come to you, but (and) was hindered until the present so that I might also have some fruit among you just as also among the rest of the Gentiles.
| οὐ | adverb; neg; οὐ; no, not; This adverb negates the verb θέλω. The apostle is negating an already negative statement to make a positive statement, one that is usually less forceful than the direct positive statement. Question: This understatement, a figure of speech called litosis, is often used for emphasis. Is it so used here; is it simply a toned down statment or is the expression just a commonly used idiom having lost most of its emphatic value? I realize in English such statements may have very little emphasis; but was this true in the language of Paul’s day as well? In reading this verse I have never really felt any special emphasis, but again, is this due to my being an English speaker? This needs a wider study in order to answer. Yet it should be noted that the Apostle strongly uses emphasis just a few words later in this verse when he employs the vocative. |
| θέλω | verb; present, active, indicative, 1s; θέλω; wish will want; customary present – indicating an ongoing state; |
| δὲ | conjunction; δέ; but, rather, now; This is the usual transitional conjunction connecting two independent clauses and indicating a new though or idea. While the previous content may still be related in some way to what follows; there is not a strong logic relationship between the two ideas. English speakers/writers would normally end the previous content with a period and begin the new with a new sentence. Koine Greek writers did not use any punctuation (this was added later to the text by copyists) but would normally use conjunctions to indicate such breaks. Here it may be translated by just a period and starting a new sentence or by the word ‘Now.’ |
| ὑμᾶς | personal pronoun; 2pa; ὑμεῖς; you; accusative subject of infinitive ἀγνοεῖν; |
| ἀγνοεῖν, | verb; present, active, infinitive; ἀγνοέω; to be ignorant, to not know, to not understand; customary present, state of being; In translating this verb, I would choose the ideas of ‘to not know’ or ‘to be uninformed’ rather than the phrase ‘to be ignorant.’ The reason being that in our culture to be ignorant carries a more negative connotation that I do not believe Paul intended. What Paul will tell them is something that they may not have been aware of and wanted them to understand. |
| ἀδελφοί, | noun; mpv; ἀδελφός; brothers; vocative of address; The use of the vocative, directly addressing these believers is indeed emphatic. When a writer or speaker adds a direct address to a statement, it is not done in order to clarify the meaning of the statement but for another reason, such as, gaining the hearer’s attention, making a personal connection, focusing the message on the hearer and so forth. While it may or may not have been consciously intended to do so, it demonstrates the Apostle’s view of his essential relationship to those at Rome. He was a fellow believer, a brother, coming to be mutually encouraged (prior verse) along with them by the sharing of his gift (being an apostle). He was not the apostle, a boss, coming to establish his authority and superiority over them. Although he had the authority–he was given this apostleship by Jesus Christ–he was coming as a servant and fellow believer. |
| ὅτι | conjunction; ὅτι; that; It is “used after verbs that denote mental or sense perception...to indicate the content...” (BAG p. 592). A declarative ὅτι clause used in indirect discourse (DW, p.456); This introduces a nominal clause stating what it was that Paul wanted them to know.(AG p. 592) |
| πολλάκις | adverb; πολλάκις; many times, often, frequently; |
| προεθέμην | verb; aorist, middle, indicative, 1s; προτίθημι; (middle) to plan, purpose; to present, bring forth; constative aorist; |
| ἐλθεῖν | verb; aorist, active, infinitive; ἔρχομαι; to come, go; complementary infinitive after προεθέμην; |
| πρὸς | preposition + accusative; πρός; to, toward; |
| ὑμᾶς, | personal pronoun; 2pa; ὑμεῖς; you; accusative object of preposition πρός; |
| καὶ | conjunction; καί; but, yet, however; Here this context the conjunction καί acts more as a disjunctive. English speakers would use ‘but’ rather than ‘and’ to indicate this. |
| ἐκωλύθην | verb; aorist, passive, indicative, 1s; κωλύω; to hinder, stop, restrain, forbid; oppress; (passive) to be prevented, kept from; constative aorist; |
| ἄχρι | improper preposition + genitive; ἄχρι; until; |
| τοῦ δεῦρο, | articular adverb; δεῦρο; until now, thus far; adverb used substantively (ATR, p. 547) as object of preposition ἄχρι; |
| ἵνα | conjunction; ἵνα; so that, that; purpose; This introduces a dependent purpose clause explaining why had often planned to visit. |
| τινὰ | indefinite adjective; τις; something, some, a certain, any; qualifies καρπόν; |
| καρπὸν | noun; msc; καρπός; fruit; accusative direct object of σχῶ; This word is used metaphorically to refer to the results of Paul’s ministry. It could refer to new believers, believers that had grown in their faith, had been encouraged to trust God and so forth. It might refer to the enabling of others by the imparting of spiritual gifts, something which Paul as an apostle was able to do. Paul does not specify the exact nature of the fruit thus saying that he often had planned to visit in order to minister there. |
| σχῶ | verb; aorist, active, subjunctive, 1s; ἔχω; to have, hold, keep; subject after ἵνα, constative aorist; |
| καὶ | conjunction; καί; also; According to Robertson (ATR, p. 968) this καί is correlative with καθὼς καί which later follows. |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in, among; |
| ὑμῖν | personal pronoun; 2pd; ὑμεῖς; you; dative object of preposition ἐν; |
| καθὼς | adverb; καθώς; just as; comparative adverb |
| καὶ | conjunction; καὶ; also; |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in, among; |
| τοῖς λοιποῖς | article + attributive adjective; npd; λοιπός; rest, remaining, other; qualifies ἔθνεσιν; The article qualifies the following noun ἔθνεσιν. The article is regularly used with the object of a preposition. |
| ἔθνεσιν. | noun; npd; ἔθνος; nation, people; gentile; dative object of ἐν; This term as used in the New Testament was a general term which did not refer to a group of people defined by a political entity as much as a group of people (non-Jewish) defined by language, a geographic region, a culture and so forth. While in our thinking today we might consider the Roman Empire to be a single nation, it was in the thinking of that day an empire comprised of many nations, that is people groups. In the New Testament, these were the non-Jewish peoples. |
This verse is an asyndetic independent clause, that is, it is not connected to the prior clause by a coordinating conjunction or a prepositional phrase (DW, pp. 657-8). As such its logical relationship must be determined from the context. The apostle Paul has just stated that he had often intended to visit them so that he might have a ministry among them just as he did among the other non-Jewish peoples. This verse is epexegetical, added to and explaining this statement. He had an obligation to do so.
Ἕλλησίν τε καὶ βαρβάροις, σοφοῖς τε καὶ ἀνοήτοις ὀφειλέτης εἰμί,
Both to the Greeks and the barbarians, both to the wise and the uneducated I am under obligation,
| Ἕλλησίν | noun; mpd; Ἕλλην; a Greek; a man of the Greek language and culture (not necessarily a Greek national) as opposed to a βάρβαρος; dative of advantage; This term Ἕλλην, ‘Greek’ with the term βάρβαρος form a merism. This a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker indicates the whole of something by linking the two ends of the spectrum of that whole. For example, ‘ Young and old will benefit from this program.’ means ‘Everyone will benefit, from young to old.’ The ‘Greek’ was a person of culture, accustomed to the modern world (of that day!), able to speak the common language; Greek was the lingua franca, the common language of communication. A barbarian was not a wild military warrior of a foreign tribe as the term is usually thought of in our culture , but simply a person who was not cultured, not acquainted with the modern world, unable to speak the common language of communication. We might compare a Greek of that day to the average person living in a ‘first world’ country today while a barbarian, the average person living in an isolated tribe in a ‘third world’ county. The point of ἕλλησίν τε καὶ βαρβάροις, ‘Both to the Greeks and the barbarians’ is that Paul had an obligation to everyone no matter their language group or culture. Anarthrous, indefinite noun referring to one member of a class; |
| τε | conjunction enclitic particle; τε; and, both; |
| καὶ | conjunction; καί; and, also; |
| βαρβάροις, | adjective; mpd; βάρβαρος; speaking a foreign language, foreign, barbarian; used substantively representing a certain class of individuals (ATR, p. 764); This is the second part of a merism; see note on Ἕλλησίν above. The substantive is anarthrous, indefinite referring to one member of a class. This is a dative of advantage. |
| σοφοῖς | adjective; mpd; σοφός; wise, learned; used substantively, dative of advantage; Again this word used in conjunction with ἀνοήτοις below is a merism. a σοφός, ‘wise’ meant someone who was educated while ἀνοήτος below referred to someone who had no or little education. By using these two merism, Paul is saying he is under obligation to everyone, no matter their level of knowledge. As above the substantive is anarthrous as above indicating one member of a class. |
| τε | conjunction, enclitic particle; τε; and, both; |
| καὶ | conjunction; καί; and; |
| ἀνοήτοις | adjective; mpd; ἀνοήτος; unintelligent, foolish; BAG (p. 70) states this is the opposite of σοφός, ‘wise,’ which is certainly the case in this passage. Here it probably has reference not to someone who is mentally deficient or lacking, but simply to someone who has not received an education, an uneducated person. used substantively, dative of advantage; As above, anarthrous, a member of a class. |
| ὀφειλέτης | noun; msn; ὀφειλέτης; debtor; ὀφειλέτης εἶναι to be under obligation (BAG p. 603); predicate nominative, often with dative indicating the person to whom one is obligated; In our culture and the English language we normally think of being indebted or under obligation to someone in terms of reciprocity, that is, You did something for me such as a favor or paid me wages, in return I owe you something. However, in this case, Paul was not under obligation to everyone, especially in the Gentile world, because they had done something, but because Jesus Christ had done something for him. He was Paul’s master and had laid the obligation to these peoples upon him. |
| εἰμί | verb; present, active, indicative,1s; εἰμί; to be; customary present; |
Verse 1:15 follows from the previous verses. Since Paul is under an obligation to all peoples, his desire is to proclaim the gospel those in Rome as well.
οὕτως τὸ κατ᾽ ἐμὲ πρόθυμον καὶ ὑμῖν τοῖς ἐν Ῥώμῃ εὐαγγελίσασθαι.
So, my desire is even to proclaim the gospel to you who are in Rome.
| Οὕτως | adverb; οὕτως; in this manner, thus, so, hence; This adverb is often used to connect a clause with what preceeds, here it is “Drawing an inference fr. what precedes, so hence’ (BAG p. 602 under 1.b.). |
| τὸ | article; nsn; ὁ; the; qualifies substantive πρόθυμον; The presence of the article indicates several things; first it substantizes the adjective πρόθυμον. Next it indicates that this substantive is definite as seen by the qualifying prepositional phrase κατ᾽ ἐμὲ and then it also indicates that this is the subject of the verbless equative clause. |
| κατ᾽ | preposition + accusative; κατά; in, by, with, in accordance with, for; sometimes the κατά- phrase can best be understood as an adjective, or acts as the periphrasis of a possessive pronoun. (BAG p. 408); |
| ἐμὲ | personal pronoun; 1sa; ἐγώ; my, mine; accusative object of preposition κατά; See note on κατά above. |
| πρόθυμον | adjective; nsn; πρόθυμος; ready, willing, eager; substantival use with article τό; the phrase τὸ κατ᾽ἐμὲ πρόθυμον means my eagerness (BAG p. 713) or my wish (BAG p. 409); τὸ κατ᾽ ἐμὲ πρόθυμον, ‘my desire’ is the subject of a verbless clause. The predicate nominative is καὶ ὑμῖν τοῖς ἐν Ῥώμῃ εὐαγγελίσασθαι, ‘to also proclaim the gospel to you who are in Rome.’ |
| καὶ | conjunction; καί; and, even, also; The conjunction has an ascensive flavor in this context. DW states, “This use expresses a final addition or point of focus. It is often translated even. This classification is usually determined by the context. Conjunctions that function this way are καί,…” (DW, p. 670). |
| ὑμῖν | personal pronoun; 2pd; ὑμεῖς; you, your; dative object of εὐαγγελίσασθαι indicating the one who receives the message. |
| τοῖς | article; mpd; ὁ, ἡ, τό; the; qualifies the prepositional phrase, ἐν Ῥώμῃ, marking it as a substantive which is used in apposition to ὑμῖν; |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in; |
| Ῥώμῃ | noun; msd; Ῥώμη, -ης; Rome; dative object of preposition ἐν; |
| εὐαγγελίσασθαι. | verb; aorist, middle, infinitive; εὐαγγελίζω; bring or announce good news, preach the gospel; constative aorist; substantival use, predicate nominative of a verbless clause. |
Up to this point in the prologue or introduction (1:8-15) to his letter to the church in Rome, Paul has focused on himself, his thankfulness for those in Rome, his desire and plans to visit them, his obligation to proclaim the gospel to all the various peoples in the world. This verse, 1:16 and the next now shift his reader’s/hearer’s attention from himself and introduces the central subject of this letter or dissertation, the gospel that Paul proclaimed.
οὐ γὰρ ἐπαισχύνομαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, δύναμις γὰρ θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι, Ἰουδαίῳ τε πρῶτον καὶ Ἕλληνι.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel. For you see, it is the power of God leading to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also the Greek.
| οὐ | adverb; neg; οὐ; no, not; This negates the verb ἐπαισχύνομαι. |
| γὰρ | conjunction; γάρ; coordinate conjunction, continuative/explanatory; for/since, The conjunction γάρ connects verse 1:16 with the previous verse. Of the four major uses according to BAG (cause, inference, continuation and explanation), it seems to fall somewhere on a continuum between continuation and explanation. This verse does not seem to give the cause or reason for the previous verse nor is it fully an inference drawn from it. Paul is still speaking about the gospel and now he adds/introduces another idea. |
| ἐπαισχύνομαι | verb; present, passive, indicative, 1s; ἐπαισχύνομαι; to be ashamed of ; customary present; |
| τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, | articular noun; nsa; εὐαγγέλιον; good news, gospel; accusative direct object of verb ἐπαισχύνομαι; The article is anaphoric pointing back to the reference in verses 1:1 and 1:9 and more directly in the previous verse where Paul stated he wanted to proclaim the gospel (εὐαγγελίσασθαι) to those at Rome. |
| δύναμις | noun; fsn; δύναμις; power, strength; predicate nominative after ἐστιν; |
| γὰρ | conjunction; γάρ; because; Here γάρ may be a subordinate conjunction, with a causal force. Paul is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the expression of God’s power. Or it is explanatory, connecting two clauses. ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel. For, you see, it is the expression of God’s power.’ These two ideas are difficult to distinguish here and one blends into the other. The cause is the explanation, and the explanation is the cause. |
| θεοῦ | noun; msg; θεός; God; genitive of possession. |
| ἐστιν | verb; present, active, indicative,1s; εἰμί; to be; customary present, gnomic truth; |
| εἰς | preposition + accusative; εἰς; to, toward, into; for. Spatially; movement toward or into an area (extending to a goal), indicating the goal or result of the power of God; |
| σωτηρίαν | noun; fsa; σωτηρία; salvation, deliverance, preservation; accusative object of είς; This noun is anarthrous and is indefinite. The word itself means deliverance or preservation (BAG, p.808) but the apostle does not specify at this point deliverance or preservation from what. In the wider context of the letter, it will be made clear that it is deliverance from the wrath of God, that is to say, his righteous judgment upon all who disobey him. This is Paul’s first use of this word in the letter and here it is just a general idea although his readers no doubt were well aware of its many meanings. |
| παντὶ | adjective; msd; πᾶς; all, every; substantival use; dative of advantage; |
| τῷ πιστεύοντι, | articular participle; present, active, msd; πιστεύω; believe; adjectival participle substantival use in simple apposition to παντί; (ATR p. 773); dative of advantage; |
| Ἰουδαίῳ | adjective; msd; Ἰουδαῖος; Judean, Jewish; used substantively, a Jew; appositional to παντί or πιστεύοντι; dative of advantage; anarthrous, indefinite, a member of a particular class; |
| τε | conjunction, enclitic particle; τε; and, both; |
| πρῶτον | adverb; nsa; πρῶτος; first; This is the neuter accusative singular form of the adjective πρῶτος used as an adverb. It can mean first in the temporal sense as in the first or earliest or it can relate to rank or standing as in, in the first place, above all, especially. Question: Is Paul saying salvation comes first in a position of privilege to a Jewish person then secondarily to a Gentile or is it a strictly temporal idea. The message started with the Jewish nation then spread to the Gentile peoples? Need some study on this for there are many other passages which impact this question. |
| καὶ | conjunction; καί; also; |
| Ἕλληνι. | noun; msd; Ἕλλην; Greek; a man of the Greek language and culture as opposed to a Ἰουδαίῳ, a person of Jewish descent; dative of advantage; This seems to be used here as another word for a non-Jewish person rather than the idea of a cultured person opposed to an uncultured one. anarthrous, indefinite, a member of a particular class; |
Verse 1:17 concludes the prologue or preface to Paul’s letter to the Romans by explaining why the gospel is the power of God. It is because in this message of good news which Paul proclaimed, the righteousness God requires and provides for us is made known.
δικαιοςύνη γὰρ θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ ἀποκαλύπτεται ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν, καθὼς γέγραπται, ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται.
For in it, a righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith just as it is written, “The righteous person shall live by faith.”
| Δικαιοςύνη | noun; fsn; δικαιοσύνη; righteousness, what is right, justice, the act of doing what is in agreement with God's standards, the state of being in proper relationship with God; a righteousness bestowed by God, or required by God (BAG # 3 p. 196); this is the result of being justified δικαιόω by God. The noun is anarthrous meaning a righteousness from God rather than the righteousness of God. Robertson states “the idea may be, probably is, ‘a righteousness of God,’ not ‘the righteousness of God.’” (ATR, p. 781) |
| γὰρ | conjunction; γάρ; explanatory; Here γάρ acts as a a coordinating conjunction connecting the statement that the gospel is the power of God with the explanation of why this is so. |
| θεοῦ | noun; msg; θεός; noun, msg, God; Question: What does the genitive her signify? If it is a possessive genitive, then the righteousness of God is the righteousness God possesses in himself. It is the quality of righteousness that he possesses. Thus, the gospel reveals that God himself is righteous. If the genitive is a genitive of source, the righteousness of God is the righteousness which comes from God. Robertson states this may be the case (ATR, p. 514), but would rather call this a subjective genitive, that is, “the righteousness which God has and wishes to bestow on us.” (ATR, p. 499). Wallace suggests this might be a genitive of separation (DW, p. 109), but states it is debatable. It is possible (and I think likely) that both ideas are included here. See Romans 3:21-26! |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in; |
| αὐτῷ | personal pronoun; 3 nsd; αὐτός; it; dative object of ἐν; The antecedent is τὸ εὐαγγέλιον. |
| ἀποκαλύπτεται | verb; present, passive, indicative, 3s; ἀποκαλύπτω; reveal, disclose; gnomic present; This is something that wasn’t just true at that time, but is true at any time. It was true in Adam’s day, in Noah’s day, in Abraham’s day, in the days of the prophets, in our Lord’s day, in the church age and in the kingdom to come. It has always been true; the righteousness required and bestowed by God has always been ἐκ πίστεως, by faith. |
| ἐκ | preposition + genitive; ἐκ; of, out of; from, away from. spatially; extension from a space to a goal outer in reference, separation; logically; the means or source of an activity, disassociation or separation (from the faith of one person, group, age, dispensation i.e. Abraham, David, et. al. to the faith of another person, group, age, dispensation, the believer in the Messiah Jesus Christ, i.e. Paul and all other saints); |
| πίστεως | noun; fsg; πίστις; faith, trust; genitive object of ἐκ; The noun is anarthrous indicating it is not a reference to the faith of a particular person or time, but faith of an indefinite person, group or age. |
| εἰς | preposition + accusative; εἰς; to, toward, into; for. spatially; movement toward or into an area (extending to a goal); logically; a marker of purpose or result; of time; extending to or up to a certain time (indicating goal or end or destination); |
| πίστιν | noun; fsa; πίστις; faith, trust; accusative object of εἰς; Like above with ἐκ πίστεως, this is anarthrous indicating it is not a reference to the faith of a particular person or time, but faith of an indefinite person, group or age. |
| καθὼς | adverb; καθώς; just as; This adverb introduces a dependent adverbial clause qualifying the statement that the in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed. |
| γέγραπται, | verb; perfect. passive, indicative, 3s; γράφω; write; resultative/intensive perfect stress on present results hence translate as present with stative verb, ‘is written’; The clause which follows is a quotation from the Old Testament, Habakkuk 2:4, וְצַדִּ֖יק בֶּאֱמוּנָת֥וֹ יִחְיֶֽה׃ ‘The righteous one shall live by his faith.’ |
| ὁ | articular; msn; ὁ; the; modifies δίκαιος; The article serves to substantize the adjective δίκαιος. |
| δὲ | conjunction; δέ; but, rather, now |
| δίκαιος | adjective; msn; δίκαιος; upright, just, righteous; used substantively; nominative subject of verb, ζήσεται; |
| ἐκ | preposition + genitive; ἐκ; from, out of, by because of; (BAG p. 234 under 3e); of the effective cause or the source from which something flows (BAG p. 234 under 3g); Robertson states that some verbs use ἐκ to convey the notion of cause one of these being ζάω (ATR, p. 599); |
| πίστεως | noun; noun; fsg; πίστις; faith, trust; Question: in what sense is πίστις used in this context? The Masoretic text reads וְצַדִּ֖יק בֶּאֱמוּנָת֥וֹ יִחְיֶֽה׃, or ‘The righteous person shall live by his faith.’ The Septuagint reads Ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεώς μου ζήσεται, or ‘The righteous person shall live by my faith.’ The Apostle did not exactly quote the Masoretic text which has the third-person pronominal suffix, ‘his’, but neither did he quote the Septuagint which has the first-person possessive pronoun ‘my.’ Note that the New Testament writers did not always quote the Old Testament with the exactness that modern English writers use today; they did not use our rules and customs. They quoted the sense or meaning of the passage for their own purpose. Paul simple writes that the just person will (must) by faith. It is anarthrous indicating here a qualitative idea. This is translation of a Hebrew word which can mean 1. firmness or steadiness, 2. steadfastness and 3. faithfulness or trust according to BDB (p. 185 under אֱמוּנָה). The Greek word used by Paul also has a range of meanings from faithfulness or reliability, to trust, confidence or faith in the active sense. The question is what did it mean in Habakkuk and what does it mean here. In the Hebrew text the third person pronominal suffix his could be taken to refer to God, who is speaking in the first part of that verse. In that case, the righteous man will live by means of his faithfulness, that is, God’s faithfulness or steadfastness. The translators who translated this into Greek for the Septuagint probably understood it in this manner and so changed the third person pronoun to the first to reflect this and that God was still speaking in the last part of the verse. The third person pronoun in the Hebrew text could just as well refer to the faith or faithfulness of the righteous man which is certainly how the apostle Paul understood it. He omits the pronoun making this a more general statement of truth. ‘The righteous person shall live by faith!’ That is the truth taught by the Old Testament Scripture and that is the truth, the good news, Paul will now set forth and explain in the remainder of this letter of Romans. |
| ζήσεται. | verb; future, middle, indicative, 3s; ζάω; to live; gnomic future; a true statement of timeless character or imperatival future common in OT quotations a righteous man shall (must) live by faith; |
This verse begins a new section of Paul’s letter. The tone and topic changes abruptly from a very positive personal note to his readers in Rome to an intense negative description of the judgment which falls on all humanity because of its disobedience to their God and creator found in verses 1:18–3:20. However, despite the stark disjunction between the last verse and this one, there is a connection. First of all, this verse begins with the same Greek word Paul had just used thirteen words previously in verse 1:17. There he stated the power of God is revealed, ἀποκαλύπτεται; here he states the wrath of God is revealed, ἀποκαλύπτεται. Secondly, the Greek word γάρ joins these verses. This “inferential particle yáp is the regular connective for two coordinate clauses which bear to each other some relation of cause and effect, or reason and conclusion.” (DM, p. 274). If one looks only at the two the two independent clauses the word connects, 1:16-17 and 1:18-19, the conjunction is quite puzzling. Yet writer is stating there is a connection. To understand it one must look beyond the immediate verses to the larger context. The righteousness of God leading to salvation, revealed in and by faith, is good news because/for/since (γάρ) all of us, Jew and Gentile alike, are under God’s condemnation. The γάρ connects 1:16-17 not so much to 1:18-19 but to the whole section 1:18-3:20.
Ἀποκαλύπτεται γὰρ ὀργὴ θεοῦ ἀπ᾽ οὐρανοῦ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ἀσέβειαν καὶ ἀδικίαν ἀνθρώπων τῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ κατεχόντων,
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
| Ἀποκαλύπτεται | verb; present, middle/passive, indicative, 3s; ἀποκαλύπτω; is revealed; customary present, possibly a gnomic present; |
| γὰρ | conjunction; γάρ; This coordinating conjunction joining this verse with the previous is unexpected. γάρ normally connects two independent clauses which have some logical relationship as stated above. But the statement in verse 1:18 is not a continuation of the subject matter in the previous verse. It is not a conclusion drawn from verses 1:16-17, an explanation of these verses, nor, strictly speaking, is it the cause. However, if one expands the view of what the conjunction γάρ is connecting from the individual verses to whole sections, then the connection indicated by γάρ makes sense. The apostle Paul intensely desires to proclaim the gospel to those at Rome, not being ashamed of it since it is the power of God revealing the righteousness given and provided by him because/for/since (γάρ) every one, Jew and Gentile alike, all of us, stand under his judgment (verses 1:18-3:20). |
| ὀργὴ | noun; fsn; ὀργή; anger, indignation, wrath; nominative subject of the verb ἀποκαλύπτεται; This is the first occurrence of this word in Romans. When it is used of God, BAG states that it is “the divine reaction toward evil; it is thought of not so much as an emotion as in terms of the outcome of an angry frame of mind (judgment) already well known to OT history, where it somet. [sometimes] runs its course in the present, but more oft. [often] is to be expected in the future, as God’s final reckoning w. [with] evil”. (BAG, p. 582). The wrath of God is His righteous and just judgment of sin, disobedience or rebellion. While this noun is anarthrous it is not indefinite, It is not a wrath or judgment, one of many, but the judgment. It is specific being further identified by the possessive genitive θεοῦ, ‘of God’ and the prepositional phrase, ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ἀσέβειαν καὶ…, ‘against all ungodliness….’ |
| θεοῦ | noun; msg; θεός; of God; possessive genitive qualifying ὀργή, ‘wrath’; |
| ἀπ᾽ | preposition + genitive; ἀπό; from; This preposition can denote source or origin of something and with verbs in the passive voice, it sometimes replaces ὑπό to indicate agency BAG (pp. 86-8); Wallace states the latter is rare (DW. p. 368). In this passage it no doubt indicates the source or origin of this revelation of God’s judgment is heaven. |
| οὐρανοῦ | noun; msg; οὐρανός; heaven; genitive object. of the preposition ἀπό; Although anarthrous, this noun is definite, being monadic, one of a kind. English would not normally use the definite article here. The word has reference to that realm where God himself rules with his angelic hosts. Question: What does this mean then, that is, it cannot be taken literally in the sense we actually see this coming from heaven? The word, οὐρανός, is probably used as a metonymy in reference to the seat of God’s divine authority. This would be much akin to what we do when we say, for example, “Today, the Mayor’s office issued new guidelines on city trash pickup for all residents.” Perhaps this revealing of God’s wrath/judgment against sin is, in part at least, the divine revelation given to the apostle Paul through the inspiration by the Holy Spirit. It is the subject of this section of his letter. |
| ἐπὶ | preposition + accusative; ἐπί; against, upon; ἐπὶ with the accusative can denote an action direct toward someone or something with hostility (BAG, p. 289 under III.1.b.ε.). |
| πᾶσαν | adjective; fsa; πᾶς; every, all; qualifies ἀσέβειαν καὶ ἀδικίαν; |
| ἀσέβειαν | noun, fsa; ἀσέβεια; godlessness, wickedness; accusative object. of ἐπὶ; This word seems to focus on actions which are oriented to or directed primarily against God, those which go counter to his character. If, as Vine states, “eusebeia (εύσέβεια, 2150), from eu, “well,” and sebomai, “to be devout,” denotes that piety which, characterized by a Godward attitude, does that which is well-pleasing to Him” (WEV, under the word godliness, godly), then ἀσέβεια is the opposite of this, actions which are not characterized by a Godward attitude |
| καὶ | conjunction; καί; and; While the two nouns connected by this conjunction may represent two different ideas with the wrath of God being directed against both, it is better, I believe, to see this as an hendiadys with one noun being descriptive of the other. Thus the phrase ἀσέβειαν καὶ ἀδικίαν, would have reference to impiously wrongful actions, that is, acts of disobedience to laws that show disregard of the person and character of God. |
| ἀδικίαν | noun; fsa; ἀδικία; wrongdoing, evil, sin, injustice; accusative object of ἐπὶ; This word focuses on those acts which are opposite of those which are righteous or δίκαιος. BAG describes this as conforming to the laws of God and man, and living in accordance with them (BAG, p. 194). Thus ἀδικία is an act which does not conform to law. As with ἀσέβειαν above the noun is anarthrous being indefinite. |
| ἀνθρώπων | noun; mpg; ἄνθρωπος; man, mankind; descriptive genitive or subject genitive in either case the godlessness and injustice belong to or are done by and relate to man, or mankind; The term, as used here, is not a specific gender reference, but rather the generic term for humanity in general. |
| τῶν | article; mpg; ὁ; qualifies the participle κατεχόντων; |
| τὴν ἀλήθειαν | verb; present, active, participle, mpg; κατέχω; to hold back, suppress, restrain; hold fast, possess; This adjectival participle is used attributively in the second attributive position qualifying ἀνθρώπων. Question: does this verb here have the idea of suppressing, holding back the truth or the idea of holding fast or possessing it. Dana and Mantey suggest it means the idea of holding down the truth, i.e., hindering it or suppressing it (DM, p. 107); But Robertson implies the use might be to possess when he compares it with a modern Greek idiom (ATR, p. 139, See also p. 606 where he calls this the “perfective” or intensifying use of κατά in composition). The context of the following verses seems to indicate they did not hold tightly to the truth but abandoned it, thus the use of the prefix here seems to be to hold down, hold back or suppress rather than intensifying the root idea of to hold. The fact is that mankind does not want to believe in the creator God and, in fact, tries to suppress this idea, root it out and make it go away. |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in; Dana and Mantey suggests this is a use of ἐν with the (instrumental) case meaning with or by means of unrighteousness (DM, p. 105); Other options include indicating the state of being of mankind engaging in suppressing or possessing the truth (BAG, p. 258, I.4.d.) or indicating the manner in which something is done, an periphrasis for the adverb (BAG, III.2.). Those who suppress or possess the truth would be doing so unrighteously. I prefer the latter option. |
| ἀδικίᾳ | noun; fsd; ἀδικία; wrongdoing, evil, sin, injustice; dative object. of ἐν; See note on ἀδικία above. |
| κατεχόντων, | verb; present, active, participle, mpg; κατέχω; to hold back, suppress, restrain; hold fast, possess; adjectival participle describing ἀνθρώπων; Question: does this verb here have the idea of suppressing, holding back the truth or the idea of holding fast or possessing it. Dana and Mantey suggest it means the idea of holding down the truth, i.e., hindering it or suppressing it (DM, p. 107); But Robertson implies the use might be to possess when he compares it with a modern Greek idiom (ATR, p. 139, See also p. 606 where he calls this the “perfective” or intensifying use of κατά in composition). The context of the following verses seems to indicate they did not hold tightly to the truth but abandoned it, thus the use of the prefix here seems to be to hold down, hold back or suppress rather than intensifying the root idea of to hold. The fact is that mankind does not want to believe in the creator God and, in fact, tries to suppress this idea, root it out and make it go away. |
Having stated in the previous verse that God’s judgment of sin is revealed, the apostle now begins to state the reason for this. In this verse and the next, 1:20, Paul lays the foundational truth, namely, there are things about God which are knowable and can be readily understood from the creation. Then in the following three verses ,1:21-23, he states the response of humanity, that is, rejecting this revelation. Finally in verses 1:24-32, he will set forth his judgement upon mankind for this rejection.
διότι τὸ γνωστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ φανερόν ἐστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς· ὁ θεὸς γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἐφανέρωσεν.
because that which can be known (recognized/ acknowledged) about God is evident to them because God has revealed [it] to them.
| Διότι | conjunction; διότι; because; This conjunction comes from δι᾽ ὅτι, and can be inferential or causal among other uses. Here it is causal and introduces a dependent clause giving the reason for the statement in preceding verse. It has a stronger causal force than ὅτι according to DM (p. 245). |
| τὸ γνωστὸν | articular adjective; nsn; γνωστός; known, what can be known; substantival use as is indicated by the article. “The use of the neuter singular with the article as the equivalent of an abstract substantive” (ATR, p. 763); This word is used only once by the apostle Paul. The other fourteen times it is found in narrative literature; twice by John (John 18:15, 16), the other twelve times by Luke (Luke 2:44; 23:49, Acts 1:19; 2:14; 4:10, 16; 9:42; 13:38; 15:18; 19:17; 28:22, and 28). When it is used as a substantive for a person (four times) it has the idea of an acquaintance, which can range from someone who was simply recognized and acknowledged to a person of a closer more intimate relationship (BAG, p. 163 under 1.b.). When used in reference to an idea, a fact, an event, it has the idea of something being known in the sense of acknowledged or recognized. It does not necessarily imply a full understanding of the idea, fact or event, only the recognition or acknowledgment of it. This refers to God-recognition or God-acknowledgment. This phrase, τὸ γνωστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, is the subject of this first clause. |
| τοῦ θεοῦ | articular noun; msg; θεός; God; descriptive or objective genitive those things known or which can be known about God; But see Wallace (DW, p. 118, footnote # 128). If this is a descriptive genitive, it has the idea of God-knowledge, knowledge that involves or is descriptive about God. This certainly does not say that everything or even a lot about God is recognizable from the natural world only that there are some things that are. He will mention two things in the next verse. |
| φανερόν | adjective; nsn; φανερός; visible, clear, plain to be seen or known, predicate adjective of ἐστιν; |
| ἐστιν | verb; present, active, indicative, 3s; εἰμί; to be; customary stative present perhaps gnomic present; |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in or to; Here this preposition indicates the object to which something happens or in which something shows itself, or by which something is recognized (BAG, pp. 257 under I.2.). |
| αὐτοῖς· | personal pronoun; 3pd; αὐτός; them, dative object. of ἐν; The antecedent of this pronoun in ἀνθρώπων ‘mankind’ in the previous verse. |
| ὁ θεὸς | articular noun; msn; θεός; God; nominative subject of verb ἐφανέρωσεν; monadic use of article. |
| γὰρ | conjunction; γάρ; for/because; adverbial, causal; The conjunction introduces a causal adverbial dependent clause giving the reason or justification for the preceding statement. |
| αὐτοῖς | personal pronoun; 3pd; αὐτός; to them; dative indirect object of ἐφανέρωσεν; The antecedent is again ἀνθρώπων, or ‘mankind’ as above. |
| ἐφανέρωσεν. | verb; aorist, active, indicative, 3s; φανερόω; to reveal, make known, show; constative aorist; |
Just a short philosophic note at this point. Everyone starts out with some presuppositions whether they are aware of and acknowledge them or just subconsciously hold them. Everyone starts somewhere. What is truth? What is real? How can you know? We live in a world that philosophically has shifted the finding of meaning from the objective world to a personal subjective one (existentialism, new age, etc.). Indeed, the post-modern movement questions whether there is an objective natural reality. In starting with nothing, except language, a genuine post-modernist, if such a person truly exists, ends up with nothing.
But we do not live in such a manner consistent with this philosophy. From birth, throughout our lives we live as if the external natural world is indeed real. It is true that we perceive what is out there with different levels of accuracy; our perception certainly being colored by many factors, but we live assuming it is real, that it is there. That is a basic presupposition every sane person makes. It is hard-wired in at birth and normally unconsciously accepted throughout one’s life. Even a post-modernist, while denying the idea that objective reality exists, holds that such a conceptual system has survival value; it is pragmatic; it works. Presuppositions by definition are not proven; they are accepted without proof. Yet one set of presuppositions can be shown to be more reasonable than another set by their consistency, their ability to yield valid conclusions, and their workability.
It is more reasonable, more logical than the alternate. But if you deny logic and reason are valid and no better than any other system including random chaos; what can be said? The natural world does exist. We can perceive it although imperfectly, and we often interpret it wrongly. But it is there and it is a witness to our God.
Verse 1:21 is explanatory. It explains the previous verse and expands upon it. In verse 1:20, Paul stated that God had made some things evident to mankind about himself. Now he explains in this verse how he did this and points two things in particular that can be clearly perceived, namely his eternal power and his divine nature. He concludes this verse by stating the end result is that mankind is without excuse.
τὰ γὰρ ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμασιν νοούμενα καθορᾶται, ἥ τε ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἀναπολογήτους,
For, you see, his invisible attributes from the creation of the world are clearly perceived, because they are understood by those things which are made, namely, both his everlasting power and divine nature. The result is they are without excuse
| τὰ | article; npn; ὁ; the; qualifies ἀόρατα; This use of the article with the adjective indicates it is used as a substantive ,and the neuter indicates an abstract idea. It is plural here because there is more than one abstract concept about God that may be perceived. See verse 1:19, under τὸ γνωστόν. |
| γὰρ | conjunction; γάρ; for; With this conjunction, Paul begins a new independent clause explaining how God has revealed himself to mankind. This is an explanatory use of γάρ rather than casual. What follows does not state the reason for God’s revelation of something about himself to mankind as much as it restates the same concept in a different way shedding light on how God does this. |
| ἀόρατα | adjective; npn; ἀόρατος; unseen, invisible; substantival use of the adjective; his unseen (characteristics or things); The use of the neuter plural can refer to a definite class of things, (DM, p. 119) This is definite as is indicated by the possessive pronoun αὐτοῦ. It is the subject of the verb καθορᾶται below. There is a play on these two words in the Greek. ἀόρατος comes from ἀ, an alpha privative, a prefix that negates the word to which it is attached, and ὁρατός, an adjective meaning ‘seen’ or visible’ from the verb ὁράω (to see). The resulting meaning is not seen or invisible. καθορᾶται, the verb below is a compound of the prefix κατά and the verb ὁράω (to see). The prefix κατά intensifies the idea of to see meaning to see clearly. Thus, things which are not seen are clearly seen! |
| αὐτοῦ | personal pronoun:3sg; αὐτός; his; possessive genitive; antecedent is θεοῦ in previous verse; |
| ἀπὸ | preposition + genitive:; ἀπό; from, away from; by means of; out of; temporal use (from the beginning when the universe was created) or source/instrumentality (by means of or through the universe he created); While both of these ideas are possible and make sense, the choice of the words used by Paul and the context strongly favor the first, that is, from the very beginning of humanity’s existence, the creating of the universe, certain truths about God have been made evident by him. In the remainder of this verse, Paul then states that these are seen in what was made. |
| κτίσεως | noun; fsg; κτίσις; creation; genitive object of preposition. ἀπὸ; There were two words for creation that the apostle could have used here. This one, κτίσις, although it can refer to the product of the act of creation, generally indicates “the act of creating,” or “the creative act in process” (WEV, p. 695). The other word, κτίσµα, carries the sense “the created thing, the creature, the product of the creative act.” (WEV, p. 695). That Paul chose the word κτίσις rather than κτίσµα indicates he intended the idea that this has been evident from the time of the creative act, the very beginning. The word is anarthrous, but definite being qualified by the following genitive and being a single unique event. |
| κόσμου | noun msg; κόσμος; world; object. genitive after κτίσεως; The mental image a modern person generally has when thinking about this word is a globe, a small ‘blue marble’ hanging in an unbelievable large expanse of space against a black backdrop studded with stars. That was not the mental image Paul would have had, nor his readers. Their image, while immense, would have been far less grand. The world, the kosmos in which they lived, was visualized as an ordered world around them, indeed large but probably viewed as relatively flat, populated by a hierarchy of living creatures with the heavens and their bodies circling overhead in an ordered arrangement. The word is anarthrous following the pattern of the head noun κτίσεως. |
| τοῖς ποιήμασιν | noun; npd; ποίημα; that which is created or made, workmanship, creation; dative of means; ποίημα is used twice in the New Testament, both times by Paul, here and in Ephesians 2:10. As with the word κτίσµα mentioned above, it is a neuter noun third declension noun whose stem ends with -ματ. Nouns formed like this normally refer to the result of the action of a verb (BM, p. 55). Examples: πνεῦμα, πνεύματος (wind, breath, spirit) from πνέω (to blow), or χάρισμα, χαρίσματος (a gift that is freely and graciously given, a favor) from χαρίζομαι (to give freely or graciously as a favor). So ποίημα, ποιήματος comes from ποιέω which has the idea of to do, make, produce, manufacture, act on, etc. It refers to that which is made or produced. In Ephesians 2:10 it is translated as workmanship, a good translation. In both instances it has reference to the result or product of God’s creative work. Here it refers to his visible creation, the material world which is his handiwork. The plural article is deictic in that it points out those material things in the world around his hearers or readers that they could see right then around them (DW, p. 221). |
| νοούμενα | verb; present, middle/passive, participle, npn; νοέω; to understand, see with insight; Although its gender and number are derived from τὰ ἀόπατα, the use of the participle is adverbial rather than adjectival qualifying καθορᾶται. By stating how or why these invisible attributes are clearly perceived, Paul might be stating the means by which God’s invisible attributes are clearly perceived, ‘by being understood by….’ Or he might be stating the reason or ground of the statement that God’s invisible attributes are clearly perceived, ‘because they are understood by….’ Since causal participles normally precede the verbs they qualify (DW, p. 631) and participles of means usually follow (DW, p. 629), I understand Paul is stating the cause or reason. |
| καθορᾶται, | verb; present, passive, indicative, 3s; καθοράω; (passive) to be clearly seen, perceived; subject is τὰ…ἀόρατα, a singular verb with neuter plural subject. This is normal in Greek, the use of the singular verb regards the plural subject as a collective whole (DW, p. 399). The prefixed preposition κατά to this verb has an intensive effect, meaning not just to see but to clearly see. (ATR, p. 606); The use of the present tense is gnomic presenting a timeless truth. The prepositional phrase ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου reinforces this idea. This has been true from the very beginning of the history of mankind. |
| ἥ | article; fsn; ὁ; qualifies the phrase τε ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης ότης; This one article encompasses both δύναμις and θειότης. They are treated as one group in apposition to and more clearly defining τὰ ἀόρατα. (ATR, p. 787) Wallace states, “In Greek, when two nouns are connected by καί and the article precedes only the first noun, there is a close connection between the two. That connection always indicates at least some sort of unity.” (DW, p. 270) The unity expressed is that they both describe one and the same person, God. The phrase ἥ τε ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης, ‘namely, both His everlasting power and divine nature’ is nominative being in apposition to τὰ … ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ, ‘his invisible attributes,’ identifying these more precisely. |
| τε | particle; τε; both; This conjunction is correlative with καί below. |
| ἀΐδιος | adjective; fsn; ἀΐδιος; eternal, everlasting; qualifies both δύναμις and θειότης; This word is used twice in the New Testament, here and in Jude 6. Question: Why did Paul use this word rather than αἰώνιος, the word more commonly used to denote eternal which is used some 68/69 times. Vine suggests that the difference between ἀΐδιος and αἰώνιος this way, αἰώνιος refers to duration that is undefined and which may or may not be endless and is used of persons or things which are endless (WEV, p.809). Usually, it is used where something future is referenced. ἀΐδιος, which is related to ἀεί; (always, forever, constantly), however, excludes interruption and lays stress upon permanence and unchangeableness (WEV, p.813). Our mental picture about God is and always will be imperfect; he is infinite, and we are but finite created beings. Sometimes our mental image is just wrong because it is conditioned upon our finiteness. When we think of eternal life, for example, we picture something that never ends. Picture, if you will, a geometric representation of a ray; a point represented by a dot and an arrow extending from it in some direction representing a half line extending infinitely outward from that point. For us, then eternal life starts at a point and goes onward (the future) for an endless duration. Now when we think of the being of God, in a sense we picture a line with arrows on both ends representing an infinite extension in both directions. He has no point of beginning and exists for an infinite duration both with respect to one direction (the future) and the other (the past). If this is our mental picture of God–and I suspect this is the case for most people–we have limited the infinite, unlimited God and squeezed him into our concept of reality. It is indeed true that God was, is and ever shall be! That is stated of him in scripture itself. It is a finite creature’s view. But he is so much more. He does exist in space-time, but unlike us he exists apart from and independent of it. This was created by him, and he experiences its whole from the very inception to the end, if that should ever come to be. If our universe has only four dimensions, he is in all of them and beyond them; if we live in a multiverse ; he is in all of them but is apart from them all having created them all. He encompasses and surpasses all that he has made. Not only can he be described as ‘he who was, and is, and will be,’ better yet he is described as he revealed himself to Moses as the ‘I am.’ While we can only experience and interact with him in time, he is timeless. Thus, when Jesus says, “πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι ἐγὼ εἰμί.” “Before Abraham was, I am.” he did not just say that before Abraham existed I was already existing, he is saying he is beyond, apart from, and independent of the space-time continuum in which Abraham existed. God’s nature and attributes too are unchanging and permanent stamped upon his handiwork. |
| αὐτοῦ | personal pronoun; 3sg; αὐτός; his; possessive genitive; As with αὐτοῦ above the antecedent is θεοῦ in previous verse; |
| δύναμις | noun; fsn; δύναμις; power; |
| καὶ | conjunction; καί; and; |
| θειότης, | noun; fsn; θειότης; divine nature, divinity; There are two words, each used once in the New Testament that have been variously translated as divinity or godhead; one is this word θειότης, the other θεότης used in Colossians 2:9. One of the best distinctions between these words may be found in an online article found on the website newtestamentgreek.net. The authors state “θεότης (theotēs) – A feminine noun derived directly from θεός, typically translated as “Godhead” or “Deity.” It signifies the full, essential nature of God. θειότης (theiotēs) – Also a feminine noun, formed from the adjective θεῖος (“divine”). It refers to the quality or characteristic of divinity, often rendered “divine nature” or “divine attributes.” (https://www.newtestamentgreek.net/divine-essence-and-nature-in-the-greek-new-testament-theotis-and-theiotis.html, accessed July, 17, 2025.) |
| εἰς | preposition + accusative; εἰς; so that; εἰς with articular infinitive expressing result or purpose, here it is clearly result; This prepositional phrase introduces a subordinate clause which follows from what has just been stated. While the Greek text of verses 1:20-23 is a single sentence, it seems better for English readers to start a new sentence at this point trying to maintain s similar relationship with the first part of this verse. So rather than ‘…divine nature with the result that…,’ I would state, ‘…divine nature. The result is…’. |
| τὸ εἶναι | articular infinitive; present, active, infinitive; εἰμί; to be; infinitive following εἰς τὸ expressing result or purpose; The use here is result. |
| αὐτοὺς | personal pronoun; 3 mpa; αὐτός; they; accusative subj. of infinitive εἶναι; The antecedent is again ἀνθρώπων, or ‘mankind’ back in verse 1:18. |
| ἀναπολογήτους, | adjective; mpa; ἀναπολόγητος; without excuse; accusative predicate adjective. after infinitive εἶναι qualifying the subject αὐτοὺς; This word is only used twice by Paul, the other occurrence is in the first verse of the next chapter, 2:1. It is a compound word made up of an adjective related to the verb ἀπολογέομαι, with an alpha privative prefix (ἀ- or ἀν- before a vowel). ἀπολογέομαι is used ten times in the New Testament by Luke and Paul meaning ‘to speak in one’s own defense, to defend oneself’ (BAG, p. 95). The alpha privative negates the root idea and thus the idea of the word is without defense or an excuse. This is not a reference to a simple excuse made when defending one’s actions in an everyday situation, but a defense given before a court of judgment. |
This verse and the next two, 1:21-23, relate to the last clause in verse 1:20. They give the reason or cause for the statement that mankind or humanity mentioned back in verse 1:18 is without any legal defense before God. The evidence of God’s being, his deity and power, are clearly seen with the result that humanity is without any defense. This is, as Paul will explain in this verse and the next two, because they knowingly rejected and altered the truth about God.
διότι γνόντες τὸν θεὸν οὐχ ὡς θεὸν ἐδόξασαν ἢ ηὐχαρίστησαν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐματαιώθησαν ἐν τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς αὐτῶν καὶ ἐσκοτίσθη ἡ ἀσύνετος αὐτῶν καρδία·
because, although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish heart was darkened,
| Διότι | conjunction; διότι; for, because (BAG, p. 198 #3) See verse 1:19 where διότι is also used. It introduces a subordinate causal clause which gives the reason for the last statement, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἀναπολογήτους, ‘so that they are without excuse.’ |
| γνόντες | verb; aorist, active, participle mnp; γινώσκω; to know; adverbial participle, concessive, constative aorist qualifying ἐδόξασαν below; This common verb in Greek has a wide range of meanings as in English. In this context, the sense of the word does not imply those in question had an intimate knowledge of and relationship with God but rather that they acknowledged or recognized the truth that there was an eternal powerful God (BAG, p. 160 under 7.). This passage reflects the general rule that people choose to believe something for a multitude of reasons, but not primarily because the evidence points to a particular conclusion. It is human nature, something all of us do at one point or another. |
| τὸν θεὸν | articular noun; msa; θεός; God; accusative direct object of participle γνόντες; The article with θεός is often monadic and indicates that there is indeed only one God; however, it may in the context of verses 1:21-23 be an article ‘par excellence’ as well. Humanity altered the concept of THE (one true) GOD, the divine creator, into a god they designed. |
| οὐχ | adverb; neg.; οὐ; no, not; This negates the verb ἐδόξασαν. |
| ὡς | adverb; ὡς; as; “ὡς introduces the characteristic quality of a pers., thing, or action, etc., referred to in the context” (BAG, p. 906 under III. 1.); |
| θεὸν | noun; msa; θεός; God; The lack of the article does not indicate an indefinite noun but rather stresses the quality of the noun, his ‘godness.’ Robertson states, “Qualitative Force. This is best brought out in anarthrous nouns.” (ATR, p 794); Thus, translate as ‘ as God’ and not ‘as a god.’; |
| ἐδόξασαν | verb; aorist, active, indicative, 3p; δοξάζω; to glorify, give praise, honor; constative aorist; The verb δοξάζω comes from the noun δόξα. BAG (pp. 202-3) gives the meanings of this noun as: brightness, splendor, radiance, magnificence, fame, renown, and honor for δόξα. The -αζω ending then converts the noun into a verb denoting the giving or attributing of this to another person or thing thus to praise, honor, magnify, glorify, or clothe in splendor (BAG, p. 203). What it signifies in the context of these verses is that mankind or humanity, knowing from the world around them that there was a powerful deity who made everything, refused to accept him as God nor were they thankful for him. Question: I have to ask myself whether this was something that human society did at one unspecified point in the past, at multiple times, that it did and continues to do and so forth. This as a constative aorist which only states it happened and says nothing about the aspect of the action (one time, repeated, continual, etc.), how does this work out for humanity? Another related question, is this just about human society, or does it hold true for individuals as well? To give a full and definitive answer is impossible because of limitations of space and the need for much more study of Romans and the rest of Scripture. At this point I can say it happened at least once, probably more often and repeatedly. It is certainly true on a societal level and probably on an individual level as well. |
| ἢ | conjunction; ἢ; or, nor; The conjunction joins the two verbs in the negation. |
| ηὐχαρίστησαν, | verb; aorist, active, indicative, 3p; εὐχαριστέω; be thankful, give thanks; constative aorist; Question: for what things was humanity unthankful? It is interesting and noteworthy, for me at least, that the action of not being thankful is connected with the denial of God’s person. Normally when we think of the wrongs people do, ungratefulness is often not as high on the list as other faults. While we certainly consider it a negative trait, we often rank other things, lying, cheating, stealing, murder, rape and so forth, as much worse. Yet in stating the initial acts that brought about humanity’s descent into the judgment of the wrath of God, these two things are tied together, the denial of God as God and unthankfulness. Humanity, people in general, and you and I as individuals, all do this. We look at our circumstances and are not content with what we have or what we are experiencing. Whose fault can it be? Not wanting to accept the responsibility, we shift the blame to others. We do not wish to see that wherever we are, we are there by the grace of God; it could be far worse. We are unthankful. |
| ἀλλ᾽ | conjunction; ἀλλά; but; This conjunction indicates a strong contrast. Humanity did not honor God for being God and they were not thankful; things they ought to have done and been. But instead of this they went a different direction. |
| ἐματαιώθησαν | verb; aorist, passive, indicative, 3p; ματαιόω; This is verb related to the adjective μάταιος meaning idle, empty, fruitless, useless, powerless, lacking truth (BAG, p. 496), is used only this once in the New Testament. It has a causative ending -όω (ATR, p. 149) and has the idea of to render or make idle, fruitless, worthless, etc. (Bag, p. 496). The passive then means to be made idle, fruitless, worthless, etc. In abandoning the truth, they became useless, worthless, empty in respect to their thinking or reasoning. The aorist is a constative aorist simply stating it occurred. |
| ἐν | preposition + dative; ἐν; in respect to, with reference to (DW, p. 372); |
| τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς | articular noun; mpd; διαλογισμός; thoughts, opinions, reasoning, arguments, doubts, questions; object of preposition ἐν; Normal use of the article when the noun is qualified with a possessive or in this case a subjective genitive. |
| αὐτῶν | personal pronoun 3 msg; αὐτός; their; possessive or subjective genitive; |
| καὶ | conjunction; καί; and; This connects the two verbs in a compound statement. |
| ἐσκοτίσθη | verb; aorist, passive, indicative, 3s; σκοτίζομαι; to be or become dark, be darkened; It is used in a figurative sense in this context. Once they abandoned the solid foundation of the truth of a Creator God, their reasoning and thinking process was empty and fruitless, and they wandered about in darkness without any clear insight and direction to go. It connotes or implies a moral decline in the inner nature and being of mankind. They have turned away from the light into darkness. In the language of the Star War’s culture, they have turned to the dark side. Again, as above with ἐματαιώθησαν, this is a constative use of the aorist which simply states it occurred. |
| ἡ | article; fsn; ὁ; the; qualifies καρδία; This as above is the normal use of the article with a noun qualified by a possessive. The possessive and the article indicate this is a specific noun as opposed to an indefinite noun, that is, it was their hearts, that of those who knowingly denied the true God rather than just any indefinite heart. |
| ἀσύνετος | adjective; fsg; ἀσύνετος; without understanding, dull, senseless, foolish; an attributive adjective qualifying καρδία; This word is used five times in the New Testament (Matthew 15:16; Mark 7:18 and three times in this book Romans 1:21, 31 and 10:19). Vine states it is related to συνίημι, to understand with an alpha privative denoting without discernment, or understanding (WEV, p. 873). |
| αὐτῶν | personal pronoun; 3 msg; αὐτός; their; possessive genitive; |
| καρδία· | noun; fsn; καρδία; heart; subject of ἐσκοτίσθη; According to BAG, the Greek word καρδία was used by the New Testament writers to denote the “center and source of the whole inner life, w. its thinking, feeling, and volition in the case of the natural man as well as the redeemed man.” Sometimes it refers to all of these functions in an all-inclusive sense, i.e., the inner man, the core of the conscious/subconscious being. At other times it focuses more narrowly on a single process such as that of the emotions, wishes and desires, that of the will and decision making or that of the faculty of thought, of the thoughts themselves and understanding (BAG, pp. 404-5). In the context of verses 1:21-23 and in association with the use of the word διαλογισμός, ‘thoughts, opinions, reasoning, etc.’, the mental processes are highlighted (See also Matthew 15:19; Mark 7:21; Luke 2:35, 5:22, 9:46-47 and 24:38 where διαλογισμός is also used in association with καρδία.), but in the larger context of verses 1:21-32, the all-inclusive aspect is clearly seen. One may ask, why then did not Paul use one of the Greek terms for these mental processes if this was his central idea? While the Greek language did have separate words to describe the mind and thinking processes, the Hebrew language of the Jewish writers did not such a word, and instead used the word לֵבָבor לֵב, or ‘heart,’ conveyed all the concepts described above. Paul, like the translators of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures uses καρδία rather than the more specific terms to indicate the rejection of the truth of God darkens not just his reasoning or logical thinking of a person but the whole person; the mind, will, emotions and moral center as he will make clear in verses 1:24-32. |
φάσκοντες εἶναι σοφοὶ ἐμωράνθησαν;
Although they were claiming to be wise, they became foolish,
| φάσκοντες | verb; p, a, ptcp mpn; φάσκω; allege, assert; circumstantial ptcp, concessive “ “Although they were claiming to be…”; durative; |
| εἶναι | verb; p, a, inf; εἰμί; to be; |
| σοφοὶ | adj; mpn; σοφός; clever, wise, learned; pred. adj after εἶναι; Although the subject of a participle is normally in the accusative case and hence a predicate after εἶναι would be as well, “the use of the nominative in the predicate with the infinitive in indirect discourse… is proper when the subject of the principal verb is referred to.” (ATR, p. 457, 489) |
| ἐμωράνθησαν | verb; a, p, ind 3p; μωραίνω; (pass.) to become a fool, be made a fool; constative aorist; |
καὶ ἤλλαξαν τὴν δόξαν τοῦ ἀφθάρτου θεοῦ ἐν ὁμοιώματι εἰκόνος φθαρτοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ πετεινῶν καὶ τετραπόδων καὶ ἑρπετῶν.
And they changed the glory of the imperishable God into the appearance of an image of a mortal man and birds and tetrapods and reptiles.
| Καὶ | conj; καί; and; |
| ἤλλαξαν | verb; a, a ind, 3p; ἀλλάσσω; to change, exchange; constative aorist; |
| τὴν δόξαν | art noun; fsa; δόξα; glory, splendor, brilliance; honor, praise; |
| τοῦ | art; msg; ὁ; the; qualifies θεοῦ; |
| ἀφθάρτου | adj; msg; ἄφθαρτος; imperishable, immortal, lasting forever; attributive adjective; |
| θεοῦ | art noun; msg; θεός; God, god; |
| ἐν | prep + dat; ἐν; into; |
| to ὁμοιώματι | noun; nsn ; ὁμοίωμα; likeness; looking like, image; form, appearance; |
| εἰκόνος | noun; fsg ; εἰκών; image, likeness, portrait; |
| φθαρτοῦ | adj; msg; φθαρτός; perishable, not lasting, mortal; |
| ἀνθρώπου | noun; msg; ἄνθρωπος; human being, person; humankind, people; man; |
| καὶ | conj; καί; and; |
| πετεινῶν | noun; npg; πετεινόν; bird; |
| καὶ | conj; καί; and; |
| τετραπόδων | noun; npg; τετράπους; four-footd animal, tetrapod; |
| καὶ | conj; καί; and; |
| ἑρπετῶν. | noun; npg; ἑρπετόν; reptile; |
Διὸ παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῶν καρδιῶν αὐτῶν εἰς ἀκαθαρςίαν τοῦ ἀτιμάζεσθαι τὰ σώματα αὐτῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς
For this reason, God gave them over because of the desires of their hearts to moral impurity, namely, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,
| Διὸ | conj; διό; therefore, that is why, for this reason; Dana and Mantey state this is the strongest inferential conjunction (DM, p. 245); |
| παρέδωκεν | verb; a, a, ind, 3s; παραδίδωμι; to hand over, betray, deliver to prison; to entrust, commit; constative aorist; Vine says of this word that it, “is used either (a) in the sense of delivering a person or thing to be kept by another,…” (WEV, p. 573). AG states the following uses, (1) hand over, give (over), deliver, entrust,…turn over, give up a person… hand over into (the) custody of…(2) give over, commend, commit…(3) of oral or written tradition hand down, pass on, transmit, relate, teach…and (4) allow, permit. (AG, pp. 619-621) The idea of this word is to give or hand over a person or thing from one domain to another’s domain. This is to say God in his judgment because they worshipped and served that which was created instead of the creator delivered them over to or allowed them to be under the authority or ruling influence of (their) shameful passions. Used here and in verses 26 and 28. |
| αὐτοὺς | pers pro; 3 mpa; αὐτός; them; acc d.o. of παρέδωκεν; |
| ὁ θεὸς | art noun; msn; θεός; God, god; subject of παρέδωκεν; |
| ἐν | prep + dat; ἐν; in; (DM, p. 105) suggest this is a causal use. Also see (AG, p.260 under ἐν III.3.). ‘Therefore God gave them over because of the desires of…” |
| ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις | art noun; fpd; ἐπιθυμία, -ας, ἡ; desire, longing (in contexts where the desire is positive and proper); coveting, craving, lusting (in contexts where the desire is immoral and sinful); |
| τῶν καρδιῶν | art noun; fpg; καρδία; heart, mind; seat of thought and emotion; |
| αὐτῶν | pers pro; 3 mpg; αὐτός; their; possessive gen; |
| εἰς | prep + acc; εἰς; into, to |
| ἀκαθαρςίαν | noun fsa; ἀκαθαρσία, -ας, ἡ; impurity, a state of moral filthiness, especially in relation to sexual sin; obj of prep εἰς; |
| τοῦ ἀτιμάζεσθαι; | art infinitive; p, m/p, inf; ἀτιμάζω; to dishonor, disgrace, treat shamefully, insult; Seems to be middle here, to dishonor themselves or dishonor for themselves; Question: Is this purpose or result? (ATR, pp. 991ff) suggests this may be what he calls a sub-final clause which is not pure purpose and yet are not result. He suggests the infinitive here (ATR, p. 996, 1067) may be called epexegetical. This then would simply be explaining what Paul meant when he wrote, ‘παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῶν καρδιῶν αὐτῶν εἰς ἀκαθαρςίαν’ or ‘God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to moral impurity.’ He suggests the use of ‘so as to’ to communicate Paul’s thought (ATR, p. 1002). Hence the English translation above of the infinitive phrase as an appositive. |
| τὰ σώματα; | art noun; npa; σῶμα, -ματος, τό; body, the mass of anything, usually a corporeal tissue, human, animal, or plant; acc d.o. of ἀτιμάζεσθαι; |
| αὐτῶν | pers pro; 3 mpg; αὐτός; their; possessive gen; |
| ἐν | prep + dat; ἐν; in, among; |
| αὐτοῖς | pers pro; 3 mpd; αὐτός; themselves; dat obj of prep ἐν; |
οἵτινες μετήλλαξαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τῷ ψεύδει καὶ ἐσεβάσθησαν καὶ ἐλάτρευσαν τῇ κτίσει παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα, ὅς ἐστιν εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, ἀμήν.
Who exchanged the truth about God into a lie and worshipped and served that which was created as opposed to the creator who is blessed forever! Amen!
| Οἵτινες | pro indefinite-relative; mpn; ὅστις; who, whoever, whatever; someone, anyone, everyone; |
| μετήλλαξαν | verb; a, a, ind, 3p; μεταλλάσσω; to exchange ; constative aorist; only here in Rom. 1:25 and 26; |
| τὴν ἀλήθειαν | art noun; fsa; ἀλήθεια; truth, truthfulness; corresponding to reality; accusative object of μετήλλαξαν; This is a definite truth; see verse 1:18. |
| τοῦ θεοῦ | art noun; msg; θεός; God, god; the truth about God, probably, not so much the truth from God, genitive of content; |
| ἐν | prep + dat; ἐν; in, into; Normally μεταλλάσσω will have εἰς as a preposition as in 1:27 but here it uses ἐν (ATR, p. 561). |
| τῷ ψεύδει | art noun; nsd; lie, falsehood, deception; dative object of ἐν. Just as truth was a definite truth about God, his existence and character, this is a definite lie. The lie would be that God, as represented in Scripture as the omnipotent creator of the universe does not exist, or if he does is less than an omnipotent God. |
| καὶ | conj; καί; and; |
| ἐσεβάσθησαν | verb; a, p, ind. 3p; σεβάζομαι; to worship; constative aorist; |
| καὶ | conj; καί; and; |
| ἐλάτρευσαν | verb; a, a, ind. 3p; λατρεύω; to serve, minister; constative aorist; |
| τῇ κτίσει. | art noun; fsd; κτίσις; creation, created thing, creature; governmental institution; |
| παρὰ | prep. + acc; παρά; here this has a comparative sense: in comparison to, more than, beyond, to the extent that “When a comparison is made, one member of it may receive so little attention as to pass fr. consideration entirely, so that ‘more than’ becomes instead of, rather than, to the exclusion of” (AG, p. 616, under III.3. and ATR, p. 616). |
| τὸν κτίσαντα, | art ptcp; a, a, ptcp msa; κτίζω; to create; substantival use, the Creator; object of preposition παρά; |
| ὅς | rel pro; msn; ὅς; who, which, what; referent is τὸν κτίσαντα; subject of ἐστιν; |
| ἐστιν | verb; p, a, nd, 3s; εἰμί; to be; gnomic present; |
| εὐλογητὸς | adj; msn; εὐλογητός; worthy of being praised, blessed, or commended; |
| εἰς | prep; + acc; εἰς; into The phrase εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας means “forever.” |
| τοὺς αἰῶνας, | art noun; mpa; αἰών; eternity, age (time period); this age can mean the universe or even the current world system; see note on εἰς above. |
| ἀμήν | interjection; ἀμήν; amen, the truth; a formula of solemn expression of certainty; |
διὰ τοῦτο παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς εἰς πάθη ἀτιμίας, αἵ τε γὰρ θήλειαι αὐτῶν μετήλλαξαν τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν εἰς τὴν παρὰ φύσιν,
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful passions for both their women exchanged their natural functions into that which is unnatural.
| Διὰ | prep. + acc; διά; because of, for the sake of; |
| τοῦτο | demo pro; nsa; οὗτος; this; object of prep διά; |
| παρέδωκεν; | verb; a, a, ind, 3s; παραδίδωμι; to hand over, betray, deliver to prison; to entrust, commit; constative aorist; See note, verse 24. |
| αὐτοὺς | per pro; 3 mpa; αὐτός; them; acc d.o. of παρέδωκεν; |
| ὁ θεὸς | art noun; msn; θεός; God; subject of παρέδωκεν; |
| εἰς | prep. + acc; εἰς; to, toward; |
| πάθη | noun; npa; πάθος; lust, sexual passion; also used in Col 3:5 & 1 Thess 4:5; object of preposition εἰς; |
| ἀτιμίας, | noun; fsg; dishonor, disgrace, shame; common use; descriptive genitive; Robertson states that the use of the descriptive genitive here expresses the idea “like an adjective indeed, but with more sharpness and distinctness.” (ATR, p. 496) |
| αἵ | art; fpn; ὁ; the; here it is best left untranslated in English; it qualifies θήλειαι; The article begins a new clause. |
| τε | conj; τε; and, but; often not translated; This and the τε in next verse connects both women and men in this sin; |
| γὰρ | conj; γάρ; shows inference or continuation; for, because, indeed, but; for; The γάρ is explanatory introducing a clause that describes the shameful passions just mentioned. |
| θήλειαι | adj; fpn; θῆλυς; female, pertaining to women; used substantively, “women”; subject of verb μετήλλαξαν |
| αὐτῶν | per pro; 3 mpg; αὐτός; their; |
| μετήλλαξαν | verb; a, a, ind, 3p; μεταλλάσσω; to exchange; change for, or into, transmute, only here in Rom. 1:25 and 26; constative aorist; |
| τὴν | art; fsa; ὁ; the; qualifies χρῆσιν; |
| φυσικὴν | adj; fsa; φυσικός; pertaining to things of nature; natural, instinctive; (n.) creatures of instinct; only used here and in Rom 1:27 and 2 Pet 2:12; attributive use; |
| χρῆσιν | noun; fsa; χρῆσις; relations, functions; used only here and next verse; |
| εἰς | prep. + acc; εἰς; to, toward, into; for; |
| τὴν | art; fsa; ὁ; the; qualifies the prep phrase παρὰ φύσιν, making it a substantive; The prepositional phrase is the object of the first preposition εἰς. |
| παρὰ | prep. + acc; παρά; here this has a comparative sense: in comparison to, more than, beyond, to the extent that “When a comparison is made, one member of it may receive so little attention as to pass fr. consideration entirely, so that ‘more than’ becomes instead of, rather than, to the exclusion of” (AG, p. 616, under III.3.). See previous verse. |
| φύσιν, | noun; fsa; φύσις; nature; natural state of being or characteristics; object of preposition παρά; |
ὁμοίως τε καὶ οἱ ἄρσενες ἀφέντες τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν τῆς θηλείας ἐξεκαύθησαν ἐν τῇ ὀρέξει αὐτῶν εἰς ἀλλήλους, ἄρσενες ἐν ἄρσεσιν τὴν ἀσχημοςύνην κατεργαζόμενοι καὶ τὴν ἀντιμισθίαν ἣν ἔδει τῆς πλάνης αὐτῶν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀπολαμβάνοντες.
And likewise also, men having abandoned the natural function of women became inflamed in their lust toward each other, male with male. They were committing indecent acts and receiving back among themselves the penalty which was due (of) for their error.
| ὁμοίως | adv; ὁμοίως; in the same manner, likewise; |
| τε | conj; τε; and, but; often not translated; This and the τε in the previous verse connects both women and men in this sin; This and the next conjunction καί connect this clause with the previous explaining the shameful passions. |
| καὶ | conj; καί; and; |
| ἄρσενες | adj; mpn; ἄρσην; male; substantival use; |
| ἀφέντες | verb; a, a, ptcp, msn; ἀφίημι; to forgive, pardon, remit, cancel; to leave, abandon; to allow, permit, tolerate; perfective, circumstantial participle, temporal perhaps, ‘when they abandoned…’ or ‘after they abandoned…’ or ‘having abandoned…’; |
| τὴν | art; fsa; ὁ,; the; qualifies χρῆσιν; the noun qualified is definite having just been mentioned. |
| φυσικὴν | adj; fsa; φυσικός; pertaining to things of nature; natural, instinctive; (n.) creatures of instinct, also used in Rom 1:27 and 2 Pet 2:12; |
| χρῆσιν | noun; fsa; χρῆσις; relations, functions; used only here and previous verse; |
| τῆς θηλείας | art adj; fsg; θῆλυς; female, pertaining to women; used substantively, “women;” |
| ἐξεκαύθησαν | verb; a, p, ind, 3p; ἐκκαίω; (pass.) to be inflamed, have a strong desire; passive, to blaze out, to be inflamed, Rom. 1:27*; constative aorist; |
| ἐν | prep + dat; ἐν; in; |
| τῇ ὀρέξει | art noun; fsd; ὄρεξις; lust, desire; |
| αὐτῶν | pers pro; 3 mpg; αὐτός; their; |
| εἰς | prep + acc; εἰς; to, toward; |
| ἀλλήλους, | reciprocal pro; ἀλλήλων; one another, each other; |
| ἄρσενες | adj; mpn; ἄρσην, ενος, εν; male; substantial use; |
| ἐν | prep + dat; ἐν; in, on, with; |
| ἄρσεσιν | adj; mpd; ἄρσην, ενος, εν; male; substantial use; object of preposition in; |
| τὴν ἀσχημοςύνην | art noun; fsa; ἀσχημοσύνη; indecent act, shame; here and in Rev 16:15; |
| κατεργαζόμενοι | verb; p, m/p, ptcp, mpn; κατεργάζομαι; to produce, accomplish, bring about, do; definitely a Pauline word, used 20 times by Paul, once by both James and Peter; Imperfective participle, concomitant circumstance. The past progressive in the English translation indicates the ongoing aspect and is written as an independent clause although it is adverbial participle in Greek. |
| καὶ | conj; καί; and; |
| τὴν ἀντιμισθίαν | art noun; fsa; ἀντιμισθία; an exchange; penalty; Also used in 2 Cor. 6:13; AG states “reward, also in the mng. penalty, w. emphasis on the reciprocal nature of the transaction.” (AG, p. 74); Question: Is Paul referring to legal penalties for this behavior or for medical diseases, syphilis and gonorrhoea, which existed at that time. It seems most likely he is speaking about the natural ramifications more than the legal. While it was forbidden in Jewish culture, forms of it were legal and accepted in Roman culture. |
| ἣν | relative pro; fsa; ὅς; who, which, what; |
| ἔδει | verb; impf, a, ind, 3s; δέω; to tie, bind, imprison; The use of the imperfect was an ongoing, continuous condition. |
| τῆς πλάνης | art noun; fsg; πλάνη; error, delusion, deception; genitive of source or cause; |
| αὐτῶν | per pro; 3 mpg; αὐτός; their; |
| ἐν | prep + dat; ἐν; in, among; |
| ἑαυτοῖς | reciprocal pro; mpd; ἑαυτοῦ; himself, herself, itself, themselves; (pl., in some contexts) reciprocal relationship, to one another; |
| ἀπολαμβάνοντες. | verb; p, a, ptcp, mpn; ἀπολαμβάνω; to receive, be repaid; See note on κατεργαζόμενοι above. |
καὶ καθὼς οὐκ ἐδοκίμασαν τὸν θεὸν ἔχειν ἐν ἐπιγνώσει, παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς εἰς ἀδόκιμον νοῦν, ποιεῖν τὰ μὴ καθήκοντα,
And just as they did not approve to have God in their understanding, God handed them over to a worthless mind to do/produce that which is not fitting.
| Καὶ | conj; καί; and; |
| καθὼς | adv; καθώς; just as, as; Besides a comparative idea, it has an casual flavor here as well (ATR, p. 968). |
| οὐκ | neg. adv; οὐ, οὐκ, οὐχ; no, not; |
| ἐδοκίμασαν | verb; a, a, ind, 3p; to test, try, examine; interpret, to approve after trial, judge worthy, choose; constative aorist; |
| τὸν θεὸν | art noun; msa; θεός; God, god; |
| ἔχειν | verb; p, a, inf; ἔχω; (tr.) to have, hold, keep; complementary infinitive after ἐδοκίμασαν; |
| ἐν | prep + dat; ἐν; in; |
| ἐπιγνώσει, | noun; fsd; ἐπίγνωσις; knowledge, understanding, insight; |
| παρέδωκεν | verb; a, a, ind, 3s; παραδίδωμι; to hand over, betray, deliver to prison; to entrust, commit; constative aorist; See verse 24. |
| αὐτοὺς | pers pro; 3 mpa; αὐτός; them; acc d.o. of παρέδωκεν; |
| ὁ θεὸς | art noun; msn; θεός; God, god; |
| εἰς | prep + acc; εἰς; to, toward, into; |
| ἀδόκιμον | adj; msa; ἀδόκιμος; failing the test, rejected; There is a play on words with ἐδοκίμασαν above. |
| νοῦν, | noun; msa; νοῦς,; mind, thinking; understanding, insight; |
| ποιεῖν | verb; p, a, inf; ποιέω; to do, make, practice, produce, a generic term of action or performance; ATR calls the use of the infinitive here epexegetical (ATR, p. 1086). It would be explaining what being given over to an unapproved, rejected mind or way of thinking means or results in. |
| τὰ | art; npn; ὁ; the; art with ptcp making it a substantive; |
| μὴ | neg adv; μή; no, not; |
| καθήκοντα, | verb; p, a, ptcp, npa; καθήκω; to be fitting; things that ought to be, that are proper; only here and in Acts 22:22; |
πεπληρωμένους πάσῃ ἀδικίᾳ πονηρίᾳ πλεονεξίᾳ κακίᾳ, μεστοὺς φθόνου φόνου ἔριδος δόλου κακοηθείας, ψιθυριστὰς
(since/so that) they have become full with all wickedness, evil, avarice, malice; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; (they are) gossips
| πεπληρωμένους | verb; pf, m/p, ptcp, mpa; πληρόω; to fulfill, make full; (pass.) to be filled, full, complete; circumstantial ptcp, a combinative ptcp indicating a completed action that has consequences in the present. (see verse 1:1). The accusative indicates subject is αὐτούς in the previous verse. |
| πάσῃ | adj; fsd; πᾶς; all, every (thing, one), whole; always; dative of instrument/means (ATR, p. 533); |
| ἀδικίᾳ | noun; fsd; ἀδικία; wickedness, evil, wrongdoing; dative of instrument/mean,; See above; |
| πονηρίᾳ | noun; fsd; πονηρία; evil, wickedness, malice; dative of instrument/mean,; See above; |
| πλεονεξίᾳ | noun:fsd; πλεονεξία; greediness, avarice; dative of instrument/mean,; See above; |
| κακίᾳ, | noun; fsd; κακία; evil, wickedness, depravity, malice; dative of instrument/mean,; See above; |
| μεστοὺς | adj; mpa; μεστός; full; qualifies αὐτούς in previous verse; This might be seen as a predicate adjective, accusative following the omitted but understood participle ὄντας. |
| φθόνου | noun; msg; φθόνος; envy; genitive of content; |
| φόνου | noun; msg; φόνος; murder, killing; genitive of content; |
| ἔριδος | noun; fsg; ἔρις; quarrel, strife, dissension, discord; genitive of content; |
| δόλου | noun; msg; δόλος; deceit, slyness, trickery, as a fig. extension of the base meaning (not used in the NT) of trapping an animal by baiting or by cunning; genitive of content |
| κακοηθείας, | noun; fsg; κακοήθεια; malice; genitive of content |
| ψιθυριστὰς | noun; mpa; ψιθυριστής; gossip, whisperer Rom. 1:29*; qualifies αὐτοὺς in previous verse or as a predicate accusative following the omitted but understood participle ὄντας as above. |
καταλάλους θεοστυγεῖς ὑβριστὰς ὑπερηφάνους ἀλαζόνας, ἐφευρετὰς κακῶν, γονεῦσιν ἀπειθεῖς,
slanderous, God-haters, overbearing, arrogant, braggarts, devisers of evil, disobedient to parents,
| καταλάλους | adj; mpa; κατάλαλος; slanderous, defamatory; |
| θεοστυγεῖς | adj; mpa; θεοστυγής, ές; God-hating; |
| ὑβριστὰς | noun; mpa; ὑβριστής, οῦ, ὁ; insolent man, violent man, an overbearing, violent person, Rom. 1:30; 1 Tim. 1:13*; |
| ὑπερηφάνους | adj; mpa; ὑπερήφανος; proud, arrogant; ATR suggests the prefixed preposition is perfective or intensifying (ATR, p. 629). |
| ἀλαζόνας, | noun; mpa; ἀλαζών; boaster, braggart; |
| ἐφευρετὰς | adj; mpa; ἐφευρετής; inventor, contriver; hypox; |
| κακῶν, | adj; npg; κακός; evil, wicked, wrong, bad, a perversion of what pertains to goodness; |
| γονεῦσιν | noun; mpd; γονεύς; (pl.) parents; |
| ἀπειθεῖς, | adj; mpa; ἀπειθής; disobedient; |
ἀσυνέτους, ἀσυνθέτους, ἀστόργους, ἀνελεήμονας
senseless, untrustworthy, devoid of natural affection, unmerciful,
| ἀσυνέτους | adj; mpa; ἀσύνετος; senseless, dull, without understanding, foolish; |
| ἀσυνθέτους | adj; mpa; ἀσύνθετος, ον; faithless, untrustworthy; unable to be trusted, undutiful, Rom. 1:31*; |
| ἀστόργους | adj; mpa; ἄστοργος, ον; without love, heartless; devoid of natural, or instinctive affection, without affection to kindred, Rom. 1:31; 2 Tim. 3:3*; |
| ἀνελεήμονας | adj; mpa; ἀνελεήμων; ruthless, merciless; |
οἵτινες τὸ δικαίωμα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπιγνόντες ὅτι οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα πράσσοντες ἄξιοι θανάτου εἰσίν, οὐ μόνον αὐτὰ ποιοῦσιν ἀλλὰ καὶ συνευδοκοῦσιν τοῖς πράσσουσιν.
Who, although they know the sentence of God, namely that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only are practicing these things but they are giving approval to those who practice them.
| Οἵτινες | indefinite rel pro; mpn; ὅστις; who, whoever, whatever; someone, anyone, everyone; |
| τὸ δικαίωμα | art noun; nsa; δικαίωμα; regulation, requirement, commandment; act of righteousness; |
| τοῦ θεοῦ | art noun; msg; θεός; God, god; subjective gen; |
| ἐπιγνόντες | verb; a, a, ptcp, mpn; ἐπιγινώσκω; to know (fully), recognize, realize, come to understand, circumstantial ptcp, concessive “although”; |
| ὅτι | conj; ὅτι; that; because, since; for; |
| οἱ | art; mpn; ὁ; the; qualifies πράσσοντες making this a substantive; |
| τὰ τοιαῦτα | art adj; npa; τοιοῦτος; demo pro; such, such as this, of such a kind; The article qualifies τοιαῦτα making this a substantive; |
| πράσσοντες | verb; p,a, ptcp, mpn; πράσσω; to do, act, practice; |
| ἄξιοι | adj; mpn; ἄξιος; worthy, deserving, in keeping with, corresponding to; |
| θανάτου | noun; Msg; θάνατος; death; |
| εἰσίν, | verb; p, a, ind, 3p; εἰμί; to be, exist, be present; |
| οὐ | neg adv; οὐ; no, not, not at all, in no way; |
| μόνον | adv; μόνον; without accompaniment, alone; |
| αὐτὰ | pers pro; npa; αὐτός; them; antecedent, the list of actions & qualities given in preceding verses; |
| ποιοῦσιν | verb; p, a, ind 3p; ποιέω; to do, make, practice, produce, a generic term of action or performance; |
| ἀλλὰ | conj; ἀλλά; but, instead, yet, except; |
| καὶ | conj; καί; but also; |
| συνευδοκοῦσιν | verb; p, a, ind, 3p; συνευδοκέω; to approve of, give approval; to be willing; |
| τοῖς πράσσουσιν. | art ptcp; p,a, ptcp, mpd; πράσσω; to do, act, practice; |