These verses come from Isaiah 65.1-2. The intent of verse 20 is to show how the Gentiles came to God, while the purpose of verse 21 is to remind the people of Israel of how they rejected God despite his pleas to them.

As in the case of verse 19, it may be essential to introduce Isaiah as speaking “on behalf of God.” Only in this way can the reader properly understand who I is.

The verb found must be understood in the sense of “discovered,” with the meaning of “discovered without looking for.”

In the opening statement of verse 21, it is possible to introduce God as the speaker—for example, “But he tells us that God says concerning Israel.”

If, as is often the case, adjectives such as disobedient and rebellious must be translated as verbs (for example, “to disobey” and “to rebel against”), it may be necessary to have some type of goal—for example, “All day long I held out my hands to a people who disobey me and who rebel against me.”

In some languages the expression I held out my hands may have little or no meaning. In fact, it might mean “I was begging from them,” obviously a wrong meaning. An appropriate equivalent in some languages is “I offered peace to,” “I sought to be reconciled with,” or “I sought to reconcile people to me.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .