First is never followed by “secondly,” and so it must be taken in the sense of “first of all” (Moffatt; see New English Bible “let me begin” and Phillips “I must begin”). In some languages the equivalent of first may be “before I say anything else I want to say” or “I want to begin by saying.”

The phrase through Jesus Christ is particularly difficult to render in some languages, since it represents some type of secondary agent but without specification as to the precise relationship implied. In some languages the appropriate equivalent would be “I am thankful to God; it is Jesus Christ who makes this possible.”

As Paul writes he considers himself to be in the act of prayer, giving thanks to God for their faith (I thank is in the present tense in the Greek). Expressions of thanks may be highly idiomatic—for example, “I say to God I am happy in my heart” or even “I tell God how good he is.”

Because the whole world is hearing of your faith forms the basis for Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving. In Greek this is actually a passive expression (literally “your faith is being proclaimed in all the world”), which many translations transform into an active expression, as does the Good News Translation (see An American Translation* “the news of your faith is spreading all over the world”; Twentieth Century New Testament “the report of your faith is spreading throughout the world”). Faith in the present context means “faith in Jesus Christ,” and Paul seems to be stressing more the quality of their faith than the fact of their faith.

In many languages one cannot speak of the whole world is hearing, since the physical world cannot hear, only “people throughout the world are hearing.” Moreover, in some languages one cannot say hearing of your faith. One can, however, “hear that you believe.” For some languages some direct goal of believing is necessary and therefore one may say “hear that you believe in Jesus Christ” or “hear that you trust Jesus Christ.”

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 .