complete verse (Romans 13:2)

Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 13:2:

  • Uma: “So, people who oppose the government are rejecting what God made-certain. And people whose behavior is like that will certainly be punished.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Everyone who opposes a person who rules in the land/place, they also oppose God, because God is the one who placed/put them in that their work. And the ones who oppose them will be punished.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for the people who resist the government, what they are resisting is that which God has set up, and because of this, God will punish them.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Therefore the one who opposes those who rule opposes those whom God has appointed. The one who does that will of course be punished.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Concerning the person who rejects what an authority says, then it is God himself who appointed the authority who is being rejected. Then it is the person’s own fault when he is punished by the authority.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Romans 13:2

In Greek this verse begins with a particle meaning “so that” (An American Translation*), and this appears in the New English Bible as “consequently” (New American Bible “as a consequence”) and in the Revised Standard Version as “therefore.” The force of the particle is to introduce a conclusion based on the judgment in the previous verse. However, it is not always necessary to have a transitional particle such as “then” or “hence.” The fact that verse 2 is a conclusion to verse 1 is evident from the content itself. Note that there is no particle in the Good News Translation rendering.

What God has ordered (Revised Standard Version “what God has appointed”) renders a noun phrase in Greek (“the thing ordered by God”). Ordered may be rendered in some languages as “put there,” “arranged,” or “established.” It is important to avoid a term which would suggest “command” in the sense of a verbal order.

Anyone who does so is plural in Greek (“those who resist”), but in English discourse structure it is more natural to employ a singular after anyone, whoever, or everyone (v. 1).

Will bring judgment on himself is naturally taken as a reference to God’s judgment (see the similar expression in Mark 12.40 and James 3.1); however, this may be a reference either to God’s judgment as exercised by the government authorities or to the final exercise of God’s judgment at the last day. In the present context the first of these possibilities seems more probable. Accordingly, an equivalent expression may be “will cause the ruler to condemn him,” “will cause his own condemnation,” or “will cause himself to be punished.”

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 .