Translation commentary on Romans 1:26

Because men do this is literally “because of this,” and it has been rendered by such expressions as “for this reason” (Revised Standard Version), “in consequence” (New English Bible), and “this is why” (An American Translation*, Jerusalem Bible). In this verse any reference to men must, of course, be to “persons.” In the present verse passions is equivalent to “lusts.” The sin to which Paul has reference is homosexuality among women; homosexuality among men is referred to in the following verse. In most languages there is a perfectly proper manner of referring to homosexual activity. The reference to shameful passions may simply be translated by some generic term for homosexual relations, or it may require a very general expression such as “they have bad sexual desires” or “they have the wrong kind of sexual desires.” This can then be followed by the two statements, the one referring to women and the other to men. The second sentence in verse 26 may simply be translated as “women have sexual relations with women, which is not the way it should be.” This final phrase is simply a way of indicating the unnatural character of such acts.

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 .

Translation commentary on Romans 1:27

The first sentence of verse 27 may be rendered in some languages as “in a similar way men give up sleeping with women and want to sleep with other men” or “… want to have men as their wives.” Men do shameful things with each other may be rendered as “men have sexual relations with one another, and this is shameful” or “… this is bad.”

They themselves are punished as they deserve is literally “the payment which is necessary” (see New English Bible “the fitting wage”), but in the present context “payment” refers to God’s punishment upon them. In a number of languages the passive are punished must be changed into an active expression—for example, “as a result God punishes them.”

Wrongdoing is literally “deceit” or “error” (see Revised Standard Version), but the reference is to sexual perversion (see New English Bible, Jerusalem Bible). For their wrongdoing may be rendered as “because of the evil which they have done” or “because of the bad way in which the have acted.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Romans 1:28

This verse is the climax of man’s fall from God: they refuse to keep in mind the true knowledge about God. The verb translated refuse to keep in mind basically means to reject something that one has put to the test. There is evidently a play on words in Greek between the verb refuse to keep in mind and the adjective corrupted, but this is difficult to carry over in translation. In the present context corrupted refers to a mind that no longer functions as it should; this does not imply insanity, but rather the lack of ability to make moral and spiritual distinctions. Phillips renders this phrase as “degenerate minds” and the New English Bible as “depraved reason.”

Refuse to keep in mind may be rendered as “say, We will not think about” or “declare, We will not remember.” The true knowledge about God may be rendered as “what men may know is true about God.”

Has given them over to is not easily rendered in some languages. In fact, it must frequently be broken into two parts—for example, “he has let them go so that they will only think in bad ways” or “he has let them leave him, and now they only think in corrupted ways.”

The concept of corrupted minds must be rendered in some languages by an idiomatic expression—for example, “a mind that is hungry for dirty words,” “a mind that is completely twisted,” or “a mind which has only stinking thoughts.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Romans 1:29 – 1:31

Similar lists of sins appear in the New Testament at 13.13; 1 Corinthians 5.10, 11; 6.9, 10; 2 Corinthians 12.20, 21; Galatians 5.19-21; etc. The specific sins mentioned do not necessarily represent distinct and separate qualities in each case; in some instances it is obvious that Paul has heaped synonyms together. Nevertheless, the translator must attempt, insofar as possible, to cover all of these areas of sin and wickedness with more or less equivalent terms. For wickedness and evil it may be necessary to employ simply one generic expression equivalent to “badness.”

In a number of languages most of the nouns which identify evil activities must be expressed as verbs, so that greed must be rendered as “they want what others have” and vice as “they engage in badness with one another” or “they cause badness to one another.”

Similarly, jealousy and murder may be translated as “they are very jealous of one another” and “they kill one another.” Fighting is a Greek word which means “strife” or “party spirit,” resulting in sharp argument and dissension. Deceit may be equivalent to “they deceive one another.” Malice is a word which occurs only here in the New Testament and is defined as “the tendency to put the worst construction on everything.” Malice may be rendered in some languages as “they are always thinking the worst of others.”

Gossip may be rendered as “they say bad things about one another.” This is substantially equivalent to the first evil mentioned in verse 30, and the same translation may cover both expressions. In some languages one may have idiomatic expressions for gossip—for example, “they harvest lies” or “they throw lies into the wind,” with the implication that the lies will be carried far and wide.

The word rendered hateful to God (so also New English Bible) appears only here in the New Testament, and may possibly be taken as active: “haters of God” (Revised Standard Version) or “enemies of God” (Jerusalem Bible). Insolent may be rendered as “they insult one another.” Terms such as proud and boastful may be translated in such a way as to indicate the difference between personal attitudes and outward behavior—for example, “in their hearts they think they are great and they are always telling people that they are great” or “their hearts are proud and their words are big.” In some languages pride is expressed in a somewhat idiomatic form: “they think they are chiefs” or “they are always giving themselves power.”

They are immoral is simply a highly generic expression to describe evil, and the word which follows, translated they do not keep their promises, apparently is a play on words with the preceding term. Failure to keep their promises may be rendered as “they do not do what they say they will do” or “they promise but do not perform.” This may be rendered idiomatically in some languages as “they gamble with their words” or “their words have several layers.”

The negative expression they show no kindness or pity may be rendered positively in some languages as “they go on handling others roughly.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Romans 1:32

In the phrase rendered God’s law, the Greek word is not the ordinary word for law, but one that may be understood as “God’s decree” (Revised Standard Version, An American Translation*; cf. New English Bible “just decree of God”) or as “God’s verdict” (Jerusalem Bible).

Deserve death may often be rendered simply as “ought to die.” Some languages may express this idea in an idiomatic manner: “the promise of death sits on them.”

The contrast indicated by not only … but … also may need to be altered so as to shift the focus more precisely to the second part—for example, “and also they do what is even worse” or “and in addition they do something which is even worse than all the other bad they have done.”

Showing approval may be expressed in some languages as “they are happy with those who do these things,” “they say to those who do these things, You are doing all right,” or “they take into their own hearts those who do such things.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Romans 2:1

This verse begins with the same particle that was used in 1.24. Originally it meant something like “therefore,” but many commentators believe that here its use is no more than a transitional particle.

Do you, my friend, pass judgment on others? is in Greek a statement which the Good News Translation renders as a question in order to stress the emphatic nature of what Paul is saying.

The initial sentence in Greek is divided into two sentences in the Good News Translation. The first is a question, Do you, my friend, pass judgment on others?, and the second is a statement, You have no excuse at all, whoever you are. In some languages the use of such a rhetorical question may be misleading. Obviously Paul is not asking people whether they pass judgment; he is simply stating that anyone and everyone who passes judgment has no excuse. A common and generally acceptable way of dealing with this type of structure is to employ a conditional clause—for example, “If you pass judgment on others you have no excuse at all, regardless of who you are.”

My friend (literally “O man”) does not appear as such in many modern translations. However, Romans not only reflects the letter form of the first century A.D., but in this chapter it has the form of a diatribe, a type of discourse used by preachers and philosophers of that century. The Good News Translation seeks to maintain the continuity with this diatribe form; many modern translators feel that this form of address is redundant for the English reader, and so omit it.

In a number of languages, it is quite impossible to use an expression such as my friend. That would seem to be entirely too personal and imply that Paul was addressing his letter or remark to only one person. A plural form is sometimes acceptable, “my friends,” but more often than not it is necessary to use an expression such as “you who judge.”

You have no excuse at all is emphatic in the Greek sentence order. Have no excuse may be rendered as “have no word to oppose,” “cannot save yourself from accusation,” or even, in the form of direct discourse, “cannot say, I am not guilty.”

In Greek pass judgment and judge are the same words; condemn comes from the same root as these two words, only it is a strengthened form. Whoever judges others condemns himself. In a number of languages there are two quite distinct words for judging. One implies purely objective evaluation and the other suggests strong condemnation. The first type of term would be relatively out of place in this kind of context, and hence it is the second which must normally be chosen for all three expressions: pass judgment, judge, and condemn.

The reference to the same things is to the various kinds of evil mentioned in 1.28-32. Do the same things may therefore be rendered as “act in such evil ways,” “do so many evil deeds,” or “behave so evilly.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Romans 2:2

We know introduces a general statement of truth acknowledged by all; in the New English Bible this appears as “it is admitted.” Because of the very general character of an expression such as we know, it may be necessary to employ “we all know” or “all men know.”

God is right when he judges refers to the standard of God’s judgment. Some take this as a reference to God’s impartial judgment (Jerusalem Bible, Phillips), while others appear to accept the same interpretation as the Good News Translation (New English Bible “God’s judgment is rightly passed”; An American Translation* “God’s judgment rightfully falls”). In some languages one must render this statement as “God is completely justified when he judges” or “God does right when he judges.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Romans 2:3

In Greek this verse is one sentence, a question. For the sake of carrying the force of Paul’s statement for the English reader, the Good News Translation divides this into two sentences, the first an exclamation, and the second a question. In the Greek the second you of do you think you is in the stressed position.

The rhetorical question Do you think you will escape God’s judgment? must in many languages be changed into an emphatic negative, since this is not a request for information but a strong denial of the possibility of escaping. An appropriate rendering may therefore be “you certainly will not escape God’s judgment,” “you certainly will not be able to get away without God judging you,” or “you will certainly not avoid God when he judges you.”

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 .