Romans 10

Brothers
Though some versions retain the older English plural, “brethren,” the translation “brothers” here remains perfectly accurate to the Greek text (ἀδελφοί; adelphoi) and is more natural to modern readers. This language describes the close familial union fellow believers have with one another by virtue of their union with Christ. Paul uses this term to show the unity in Christ he shares with them even though he has not yet met them in person.

not according to knowledge
Translations vary in how to render this phrase, but the most literal understanding of the Greek is to say “not according to knowledge” (οὐ κατʼ ἐπίγνωσιν; ou kat epignōsin). By using the preposition “according to” and the word sometimes translated as “real knowledge” (often knowledge of God in Christ, cf. Phil 1:9; Col 1:9), Paul is saying that these unbelieving Jews have a great desire to serve God, but the desire is not governed and guided by the truth of God revealed in Christ. As verse 3 says, they do not know about the righteousness which God provides freely, and therefore they seek to establish their own righteousness.

the righteousness of God
Some translations render τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιοσύνην (tou theou dikaiosynēn) as “God’s righteousness,” but this Greek construction is more safely translated as “the righteousness of God” (lit. “the of-God righteousness”). Granted, the word order varies slightly from the repeated idea later in the sentence (also translated as “the righteousness of God”), because here it fronts the modifier “of God.” However, the present translation protects the reading of the genitive construction, “of God” (τοῦ θεοῦ; tou theou), which carries the understanding that this righteousness is “from God,” rather than simply being a characteristic of His. The point is not that they did not know that God was righteous, but rather that they did not acknowledge the righteousness that He offers freely through His Son.

about the righteousness which is of the law: “THE MAN WHO DOES…
The translation here seeks to accurately follow the Greek structure and word order to more clearly show that Paul is referring to an Old Testament passage here. Thus, rather than something like, “For Moses writes that the man…”, this translation has, “For Moses writes about the righteousness…” (Μωϋσῆς γὰρ γράφει ὅτι τὴν δικαιοσύνην; Mōysēs gar graphei hoti tēn dikaiosynēn). Furthermore, the translation as “the righteousness which is of law” helps to highlight the righteousness itself, since Paul is comparing and contrasting two forms of righteousness (that which comes from works of the law, and that which comes as a free gift in Christ). The following phrase, then, is rendered in caps to highlight Paul’s intentional citation of Leviticus 18:5. Paul speaks of the man who seeks to attain righteousness by “doing” (ποιέω; poieō) the things God requires in the Law is required to live by the Law in perfect obedience. Partial obedience is useless to attain righteousness (cf. James 2:10). This emphasis upon what a sinner might “do” is then contrasted with what God Himself has done to give righteousness to such sinners (cf. vv. 6–9).

of faith
“Of faith” is a literal translation of the Greek phrase ἐκ πίστεως (ek pisteōs), and expositors can bring out the sense in which the “of” is understood as “from.” This contrast in righteousness which is “of faith” and the righteousness which is “of law” (cf. v. 5) helps to highlight Paul’s point regarding the means by which man is counted righteous.

in this way
The translation “in this way” is a more literal translation of the Greek adverb οὕτως (houtōs) than something like “as follows.” Paul explains here that a person should reason about righteousness along the same lines as the instructions given in Deuteronomy 30:12–14, and thus Paul says “in this way” before alluding to that passage. The righteousness of faith is not attained through effort and retrieval but by simply believing the word preached which is “near you, in your mouth and in your heart.”

GO UP
“Go up” provides a literal translation of the Greek term ἀναβαίνω (anabainō). While some translations acceptably say “ascend,” the English gloss of “go up” better highlights the contrast to verse 7 in which someone asks who will “go down” to bring Christ up from the dead. In neither case (going up or down) can man do anything to complete the redemptive work of Christ. As has been said, Jesus comes all the way to us.

GO DOWN
“Go down” provides a literal translation of the Greek term καταβαίνω (katabainō). This rhetoric of “going down” enhances the contrast between this verse and verse 6 (refer to the discussion above on that verse).

Lord
One of the practices of the New Testament writers as they quoted, alluded to, and translated from Old Testament texts was to render the tetragrammaton (יהוה; yhwh; “Yahweh”) as κύριος (kyrios; “Lord”). Such is the case here, as Paul is alluding back to Joel 2:32, where the prophet declares that “everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be delivered.” He will explicitly quote this text in verse 13. This demonstrates that it is the person who truly recognizes and confesses Jesus as Yahweh who will be saved. This, then, is an unequivocal reference to Jesus’ deity.

leading to righteousness…leading to salvation
The phrases “leading to” in this verse provide a literal translation for the preposition εἰς (eis). This presposition is often used to describe purpose, not causation. Belief in Christ leads to righteousness, and confession of sin to salvation.

LORD
Refer to the discussion on verse 9 above.

proclaim
The phrase “proclaim good news” rather than “bring good news” better captures the verbal idea behind εὐαγγελίζω (euangelizō) from which we get the term “evangelism.” A reader may be also able to discern the root “angel” (ἄγγελος; angelos) in the term, which simply means “messenger.” The prefix εὐ (eu) for “good” then clarifies that the verbal proclamation refers to something that is good. Thus, “proclaim good news” is more accurate overall than “bring good news.” Additionally, a consistent translation as “proclaim good news” with “proclaim” rather than “preach” helps to distinguish εὐαγγελίζω (euangelizō) from the term for “preach” (κήρυσσω; kēryssō). In this verse, both terms appear together as Paul emphasizes the importance of sending those who preach (κήρυσσω; kēryssō), calling back to Isaiah 52:7 which describes the beauty of receiving a proclamation of good news (εὐαγγελίζω; euangelizō).

have they never heard?
This question opens with the Greek negative particle μή (mē), which, according to normal Greek usage, sets an expectation for a negative answer. This is why some translations structure the question, “Surely they have never heard, have they?” But the Greek does not require that translation. The negative particle does not require such an emphatic negation “surely…never.” Also, to avoid adding words with do not appear in the Greek, the rhetorical question is simply translated with a familiar English structure. In this way, nothing external is added and the force of the rhetorical question and the expected negative answer remains intact. A benefit of this translation is that the question’s form better matches the Greek, and this brings the idea of “hearing” to the forefront before Paul continues to explain.

On the contrary
“On the contrary” gives a consistent translation to the emphatic Greek particle μενοῦνγε (menounge). The particle carries the idea of a forceful correction of an idea, in this case the question that Paul is raising in the beginning of the verse. Such a translation is consistent because the term appears also in Romans 9:20 with a similar function.

did Israel not know?
Refer to the discussion on verse 18 above related to the question that expects a negative answer. In this case, the rhetorical emphasis now reflects that of the Greek, and the idea of “knowing” is then put to the forefront for a reader to then see the connection to the nation “without understanding” who will come to know God.

ALL DAY LONG
Though the Greek phrase Ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν (holēn tēn hēmeran) has the article before “day,” the translation here is simply “all day long” rather than “all the day long” because the article in English is not required to communicate the intended sense. Thus, the familiar idiom “all day long” is sufficient. This also allows this verse to match with the translation in Isaiah 65:2, showing greater consistency between Paul’s source text and his citation here. This allows the reader to more clearly see whether Paul uses exactly the same or slightly different wording and phrasing than the text he is citing to demonstrate the theological point he intends to bring out from the Old Testament text.