In Greek this and the preceding verse are one sentence and offer a variety of punctuation possibilities. However, none of the punctuation alternatives makes serious differences for translation.

Every time I pray translates a noun phrase in Greek (see Revised Standard Version “always in my prayers”).

God, in his good will, may at last make it possible may more literally be rendered “by God’s will I may now at last succeed” (Revised Standard Version). In his good will means “if it is God’s will.” In some languages it may be necessary to restructure the semantic content of a phrase such as in his good will—for example, “I ask that God will approve that I visit you now” or “I ask that God will think it is right that I visit you now.” A form of condition may be introduced in a somewhat more paraphrastic manner: “I pray that God will make it possible for me to visit you if he wants me to.”

To visit you (so New English Bible, Jerusalem Bible) is literally “to come to you,” but on the basis of 15.22-29 it is obvious that Paul plans to stop in Rome on his way to Spain; he does not plan to stay permanently in Rome. If in the choice of a word for visit it is necessary to imply some length of time, then probably a term which suggests several weeks to a few months would be most appropriate.

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 .

The Greek of this verse is difficult to translate, though the meaning is clear. Paul wants to avoid the implication that he looks upon his visit solely as a means of benefiting his readers: both you and I will be helped. The verb rendered helped is found only here in the New Testament, though a related verb is often used by Paul with the meaning “to encourage.”

Because of the rather succinct nature of verse 12, it may be necessary to employ a somewhat expanded form—for example, “what I mean is that I will help to strengthen you and you will help to strengthen me.” Similarly, the last clause may be rendered as “you will become strong because you know how I believe, and I will become strong because I know how you believe.” In both instances it may be necessary to introduce some direct goal of my faith and your faith—for example, “how I trust Christ” and “how you trust 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 .

You must remember this is in Greek a double negative (“I don’t want you to be ignorant”), which many translations render as a positive statement (see New English Bible “but I should like you to know” and An American Translation* “I want you to understand”). A typical equivalent of you must remember this may be “I want you to know this” or “be assured that.” It is important to avoid a term which might suggest that the people had forgotten something.

The phrase my brothers may be rendered in two quite different ways: (1) by some generic kinship term such as “my relatives” or “my family” (if such a term may be employed for an extended in-group much larger than a family or clan), or (2) by some designation which specifies mutual faith—for example, “you who also trust Jesus Christ” or “you who are fellow believers” or “those who believe together with me.” The use of “brothers” in this type of context is a clear reference to the Christian community, and one should employ as a translation the corresponding expression which has been generally adopted by the church in the receptor language in question.

Something has always kept me from doing so is in Greek a passive construction, meaning something like “I was always kept from doing so.” The Greek is not clear as to whom or what has kept Paul from visiting the Romans, though it is possible that this is a Semitic idiom with God as the unexpressed subject. The most natural equivalent of this passive expression without specific indication of means of agent may simply be “I have not been able to….”

I want to win converts among you is literally “in order that I might have some fruit among you.” The word “fruit” is often used figuratively of spiritual results (see John 15.1-8; also see Romans 6.21-22; Galatians 5.22; Philippians 1.11; 4.17), and the Good News Translation takes it in the specific sense of “winning people to the Christian way.” Other translations take it in a more general sense (see Jerusalem Bible “that I might work as fruitfully among you”; Moffatt “to have some results among you”; and New English Bible “in the hope of achieving something among you”).

In most languages it is impossible to render the final clause of verse 13 in a literal manner since “fruit” is rarely used in the sense of “result.” It is therefore better to employ some such expression as the Good News Translation, but one should be cautioned against translating win converts literally. A more natural equivalent in many languages is “cause people to believe” or “cause people to follow Jesus Christ.”

Among other Gentiles is more literally “among the other nations” (see La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée) and is translated by the Jerusalem Bible as “among the other pagans” and by the New English Bible as “in other parts of the world.” The reference would seem to be to other Gentile (non-Jewish) peoples than those in Rome (see Revised Standard Version “among the rest of the Gentiles”).

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 .

I have an obligation is literally “I am a debtor.” It is difficult in some languages to speak of an obligation. In fact, the concept of “debt” is a far simpler expression to employ in this type of context. On the other hand, without special contextual conditioning the use of a term for “debt” might be taken literally—for example, “I am in debt to all people,” a concept which should be avoided. In order to shift this metaphor to a simile, one may employ some such expression as “I seem to have a debt to all peoples” or “it is like I am in debt to all peoples.” In some languages the figure of speech is somewhat shifted—for example, “I am a servant to help all peoples.”

In the following categories, civilized … savage and educated … ignorant, Paul is clearly referring to all peoples, and the Good News Translation makes this information explicit. In the first two expressions, civilized … savage (literally “Greeks … barbarians”), the distinction is not racial or national, but cultural. Paul is writing to Romans, who were “Greek” in terms of culture, and the Greeks called all other peoples “barbarians.” The two terms, then, classify people who are considered either within or outside of the realm of civilized society. The next two terms, educated … ignorant, do not refer to innate intellectual capacities, but rather to degrees of learning.

It is not easy to find series of words which will properly contrast extremes of culture and education. In some instances one can only employ positive and negative features: “civilized and uncivilized,” “educated and uneducated.” In a number of languages there are no such general terms for cultural and educational advantages. However, there are almost always ways of talking about civilized versus uncivilized peoples, for there are no societies who do not look down on other societies as being less civilized than themselves. In some instances civilized people are spoken of as “those who live in villages,” in contrast with “those who live in the forest.” Educated people may be “those who can read,” in contrast with “those who cannot read.” In other situations, the civilized are “those who have chiefs,” in contrast with people who are not led by chiefs, and the educated people are “those who know books,” in contrast with those who do not. The translator must determine what in the local receptor language are those distinctive factors which designate contrasts of culture and education. It is interesting that in some instances the concept of civilization is very closely tied to religious beliefs—for example, the civilized may be “those who know the rules of God,” while the uncivilized are “those who do not know God’s rules.”

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 .

Eager must be understood in the sense of “readiness” or “desire.”

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 .

The first half of this verse serves as a transition from Paul’s personal introduction to the Romans to his definition of the gospel in 16b and 17. I have complete confidence in is literally “I am not ashamed of.” (The shame referred to is that which comes when one is disappointed by something he has trusted in.) Most translations render this literally, but Moffatt also transforms Paul’s negative statement into a positive one: “I am proud of the Gospel.” I have complete confidence in may be rendered as “I trust completely in” or, idiomatically, as “I rest my whole weight on” or “I lean against completely.”

Paul equates the gospel (see vv. 1-2) with God’s power to save all who believe (in Jesus Christ). Historically this message was proclaimed first to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles (literally “Greeks”). In this context “Greeks” does not refer to those who were Greek by nationality or culture, but to all persons other than Jews, and for this reason the Good News Translation renders the term Gentiles. (See comments on v. 14.) In many languages the most appropriate term for Gentiles is “those who are not Jews”; hence, the last phrase of verse 16 may be rendered as “first the Jews and then those who are not Jews.”

In some languages it is impossible to speak of something being God’s power. However, an object can be the means by which God can do certain things; therefore the second clause of verse 16 may be restructured as “by means of the gospel God can save all who believe” or “the good news is God’s tool by which he can save all who believe.”

In Greek to save is actually a noun phrase (“for salvation”), but an event is here spoken of and so a verb expression is accurate and more natural as an English equivalent (Jerusalem Bible “it is the power of God saving all who believe”). Although the word “salvation” covers a wide area of meaning (in the early books of the Old Testament it often denoted deliverance from physical danger), in this verse it refers to Christian salvation, the deliverance from the power of sin.

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 .

For the gospel reveals is in the Greek a passive construction, literally “for in it is revealed.” For the gospel reveals may be rendered as “for the Good News shows” or “the Good News explains.”

How God puts men right with himself represents the Greek phrase “the righteousness of God.” In this context, however, “the righteousness of God” does not refer to God’s own righteous character, but to his saving activity whereby he puts men in the right (as a judge declares a man innocent), or whereby he puts men in a right relationship to himself. Both An American Translation* (“God’s way of uprightness”) and the New English Bible (“God’s way of right and wrong”) indicate that this is a description of God’s activity rather than of his character, but both of these translations do so with a rendering that sounds too impersonal. The Jerusalem Bible renders this phrase by “the justice of God,” but explains in a note: “the saving justice (cf. Isaiah 56.1) of God, 3.26, who fulfills his promise to save by giving salvation as a free gift.” See further the comments on the verb (generally rendered “justify”) in 3.24 below.

Traditionally, this reference to “the righteousness of God” has been explained as “forensic righteousness,” that is to say, “God declaring men right.” Accordingly, some translations employ “the gospel reveals how God declares men straight” or “how men have a straight heart.” However, the theological focus at this point seems not to be so much on God’s declaration of man’s imputed innocence as on the fact that he puts men in a new relationship to himself. It is man’s confidence in God which puts him in a new covenant relationship with God and thus establishes his “righteousness.” The phrase in the Good News Translation, puts men right with, seems to be particularly appropriate since it emphasizes this aspect of relation. It is not always easy to find a similar type of expression in other languages, and especially one which carries over a form such as right which has such a close relationship to “righteous” and “righteousness.” In some instances translators use phrases such as “how God arranges people with himself as they should be,” “how God brings men back to himself in the right way as they should be” or “how God makes men straight with himself.”

Through faith, from beginning to end represents a rather ambiguous phrase in Greek, literally “from faith to faith.” This expression is taken by some to mean “originating in God’s faithfulness and resulting in man’s faith,” but it is more likely that it means “faith from start to finish.” The New English Bible renders this as “starts from faith and ends in faith.” In order to render satisfactorily the expression through faith, from beginning to end it may be necessary to recast rather radically the sets of semantic components—for example, “all this happened because people believed,” “this is just a matter of people’s believing,” or “all that God does depends upon people’s trusting throughout.”

As the scripture says (literally “as it is written”) is a reference to one passage of scripture, and not to the Old Testament as a whole.

He who is put right with God through faith shall live represents a quotation from Habakkuk 2.4 (see also in Galatians 3.11; Hebrews 10.38) and does not agree precisely either with the Hebrew text (“the righteous shall live by my faithfulness”), or with the Septuagint (“the righteous shall live by his faithfulness”), either in form or in meaning. Although it is possible that the traditional translation expresses the meaning (see the alternative rendering in the Good News Translation, “he who is put right with God shall live through faith”), it is more likely that Paul means: “he who is put right with God through faith shall live.” He who is put right with God translates the Greek, “the righteous (one).” Again, the meaning depends on the whole context of the letter, and while some see this as a moral attribute in man (“the upright [man]” of An American Translation* and Jerusalem Bible; “the righteous [man]” of most translations), it seems rather that Paul is speaking of the man “who is put into a right relationship with God by faith” (see New English Bible “he shall gain life who is justified through faith”). Since in many languages it is difficult to employ the passive expression he who is put right with God, one may be obliged to use an active form: “the man whom God has put right with himself.”

Through faith indicates instrumentality, often expressed as causative if faith is rendered as a separate verb of believing—for example, “the one whom God has put right with himself because he trusts God.”

In some languages an expression such as shall live may mean merely continued physical existence. For this reason it is necessary in some instances to specify the kind of living referred to here as being exceptional—for example, “shall really live” or “shall truly live.” The emphasis in this passage is clearly upon the quality of life, not upon mere continued existence.

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 .