In Greek there is a formal contrast between this and the following verse, which the Good News Translation expresses by some men … other men. The Greek phrase (“the endurance of doing good”) is taken by many commentators as the sum total of a man’s actions, and for this reason the Good News Translation renders the phrase keep on doing good (see Jerusalem Bible “always doing good” and An American Translation* “by persistently doing right”).

It is difficult in some languages to speak merely of doing good. One must have some kind of indication of persons or objects who are benefited by such “doing good”—for example, “some men keep on doing good to other people.” More specifically, this may be rendered in some languages as “keep on being kind to people,” since this may be the most general way of characterizing proper behavior toward other people.

Glory and honor are concepts which are united both in Jewish and in Christian thought (see 1 Peter 1.7; Revelation 4.9). Glory is always a difficult term to express, though in the present context it must be taken along with honor and immortal life as qualifying various aspects of the eternal life which God will give at the end of time. To render glory by “renown” (Jerusalem Bible “who sought renown”) would seem to suggest a wrong emphasis, since “renown” is the praise which men give, whereas “glory” is the gift of God.

The Greek word translated immortal life is relatively rare in the New Testament; elsewhere it is also used as a quality of the eternal life that God gives (see 1 Corinthians 15.42, 50, 53, 54; 2 Timothy 1.10).

In order to avoid wrong implications in “seeking” glory, honor, and immortal life, it is necessary in many languages to specify that these are direct gifts from God—for example, “seek for God to give them glory, honor, and immortal life.” In a number of languages one cannot easily distinguish between glory and honor in this type of context, since both would be included in some such expression as “seek to have God give them honor” or even “seek to have God speak well of them.” This is often the most general form of granting honor to a person. Frequently a phrase such as immortal life must be expressed as a verb—for example, “seek to have God … cause them to live forever” or … cause them to have life which never ends.

God will give eternal life may also be rendered as a causative expression: “God will cause them to live endlessly” or “God will cause them never to cease to live.”

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 .