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Legacy Standard Bible Translation Notes
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The Tyndale Center for Bible Translation

NOTES

BIBLE

Romans 4

1

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?

Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν εὑρηκέναι Ἀβραὰμ τὸν προπάτορα ἡμῶν κατὰ σάρκα;

 
2

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about⁠—but not before God!

εἰ γὰρ Ἀβραὰμ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη, ἔχει καύχημα· ἀλλʼ οὐ πρὸς θεόν,

 
3

For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS COUNTED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

τί γὰρ ἡ γραφὴ λέγει; Ἐπίστευσεν δὲ Ἀβραὰμ τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην.

 
4

Now to the one who works, his wage is not counted according to grace, but according to what is due.

τῷ δὲ ἐργαζομένῳ ὁ μισθὸς οὐ λογίζεται κατὰ χάριν ἀλλὰ κατὰ ὀφείλημα·

according to grace…according to what is due
While many translations have “as a favor” and “as what is due” here, the wording “according to grace” and “according to what is due” more accurately represents the use of κατά (kata) in the Greek text (κατὰ χάριν…κατὰ ὀφείλημα; kata charinkata opheilēmai). The Greek preposition κατά (kata) often functions to indicate a standard, pattern, expectation, etc. according to which something must adhere or by which it must be measured. Thus, here, the standard by which one’s wage is counted is not what is due him (i.e., owed to him) but rather simply the grace of God.

grace
Though some translations use “favor” here, “grace” better translates the Greek word χάρις (charis), a word with rich theological meaning. Translating it as “grace” more clearly brings out Paul’s point. Righteousness is not paid out by God as a wage owed to someone because of his or her good works, but is given by God as a gracious gift through faith.

 
5

But to the one who does not work, but believes upon Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

τῷ δὲ μὴ ἐργαζομένῳ, πιστεύοντι δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν δικαιοῦντα τὸν ἀσεβῆ, λογίζεται ἡ πίστις αὐτοῦ εἰς δικαιοσύνην,

 
6

just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

καθάπερ καὶ Δαυὶδ λέγει τὸν μακαρισμὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ᾧ ὁ θεὸς λογίζεται δικαιοσύνην χωρὶς ἔργων·

 
7

“BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN,
AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED.

Μακάριοι ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνομίαι
καὶ ὧν ἐπεκαλύφθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι,

 
8

BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”

μακάριος ἀνὴρ οὗ οὐ μὴ λογίσηται κύριος ἁμαρτίαν.

 
9

Therefore, is this blessing on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “FAITH WAS COUNTED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

Ὁ μακαρισμὸς οὖν οὗτος ἐπὶ τὴν περιτομὴν ἢ καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ἀκροβυστίαν; λέγομεν γάρ· Ἐλογίσθη τῷ Ἀβραὰμ ἡ πίστις εἰς δικαιοσύνην.

 
10

How then was it counted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;

πῶς οὖν ἐλογίσθη; ἐν περιτομῇ ὄντι ἢ ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ; οὐκ ἐν περιτομῇ ἀλλʼ ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ·

 
11

and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be counted to them,

καὶ σημεῖον ἔλαβεν περιτομῆς, σφραγῖδα τῆς δικαιοσύνης τῆς πίστεως τῆς ἐν τῇ ἀκροβυστίᾳ, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν πατέρα πάντων τῶν πιστευόντων διʼ ἀκροβυστίας, εἰς τὸ λογισθῆναι αὐτοῖς τὴν δικαιοσύνην,

 
12

and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.

καὶ πατέρα περιτομῆς τοῖς οὐκ ἐκ περιτομῆς μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς στοιχοῦσιν τοῖς ἴχνεσιν τῆς ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ πίστεως τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν Ἀβραάμ.

 
13

For the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Οὐ γὰρ διὰ νόμου ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῷ Ἀβραὰμ ἢ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ, τὸ κληρονόμον αὐτὸν εἶναι κόσμου, ἀλλὰ διὰ δικαιοσύνης πίστεως·

 
14

For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith has been made empty and the promise has been abolished;

εἰ γὰρ οἱ ἐκ νόμου κληρονόμοι, κεκένωται ἡ πίστις καὶ κατήργηται ἡ ἐπαγγελία·

empty
The phrase “made empty” translates the verb κενόω (kenoō), and is nearly equivalent to the meaning of the Greek word. Some translations render κενόω (kenoō) as “made void” or “made null,” which indeed communicates the meaning of the text, but “make empty” gives a more vivid word picture of the concept. This is not a matter of a poor versus a good translation, but a good versus a better translation. In Greek thought, something that is empty is useless or inconsequential. Thus, Paul is saying that faith has been made empty, or rendered useless, if keepers of the Law are those who are justified.

 
15

for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no trespass.

ὁ γὰρ νόμος ὀργὴν κατεργάζεται, οὗ δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν νόμος, οὐδὲ παράβασις.

trespass
The expression “breaking the law” is more of a modern conception of legal phraseology. In ancient cultural understanding, statutes and laws were not pictured as barriers, but boundary lines, and thus to act outside of what is right by law was not to “break” but to “cross over” or “transgress” those boundaries. That is precisely the idea here, communicated by the word παράβασις (parabasis), which means to overstep or transgress.

 
16

For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be according to grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the seed, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all⁠—

Διὰ τοῦτο ἐκ πίστεως, ἵνα κατὰ χάριν, εἰς τὸ εἶναι βεβαίαν τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν παντὶ τῷ σπέρματι, οὐ τῷ ἐκ τοῦ νόμου μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ ἐκ πίστεως Ἀβραάμ (ὅς ἐστιν πατὴρ πάντων ἡμῶν,

according to grace
Refer to the discussion on verse 4 above.

 
17

as it is written, “A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU”⁠—in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.

καθὼς γέγραπται ὅτι Πατέρα πολλῶν ἐθνῶν τέθεικά σε), κατέναντι οὗ ἐπίστευσεν θεοῦ τοῦ ζῳοποιοῦντος τοὺς νεκροὺς καὶ καλοῦντος τὰ μὴ ὄντα ὡς ὄντα·

—as it is written…I MADE YOU—
Some translations place the statement, “as it is written, A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS I HAVE MADE YOU” in parentheses since it is an interruption in the flow of Paul’s argumentation here. However, it is used less as a parenthetical statement and more as an an emphatic appeal to the Old Testament promise, meant to be viewed in the foreground rather than the background. Thus, it is offset here with dashes rather than parentheses to show its proper prominence.

 
18

In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR SEED BE.”

ὃς παρʼ ἐλπίδα ἐπʼ ἐλπίδι ἐπίστευσεν εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι αὐτὸν πατέρα πολλῶν ἐθνῶν κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον· Οὕτως ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα σου·

 
19

And without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb;

καὶ μὴ ἀσθενήσας τῇ πίστει κατενόησεν τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σῶμα νενεκρωμένον, ἑκατονταετής που ὑπάρχων, καὶ τὴν νέκρωσιν τῆς μήτρας Σάρρας,

 
20

yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,

εἰς δὲ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ θεοῦ οὐ διεκρίθη τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἀλλὰ ἐνεδυναμώθη τῇ πίστει, δοὺς δόξαν τῷ θεῷ

 
21

and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to do.

καὶ πληροφορηθεὶς ὅτι ὃ ἐπήγγελται δυνατός ἐστιν καὶ ποιῆσαι.

 
22

Therefore IT WAS ALSO COUNTED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

διὸ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην.

 
23

Now not for his sake only was it written THAT IT WAS COUNTED TO HIM,

Οὐκ ἐγράφη δὲ διʼ αὐτὸν μόνον ὅτι ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ,

 
24

but for our sake also, to whom it will be counted, as those who believe upon Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

ἀλλὰ καὶ διʼ ἡμᾶς οἷς μέλλει λογίζεσθαι, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν ἐπὶ τὸν ἐγείραντα Ἰησοῦν τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν ἐκ νεκρῶν,

 
25

He who was delivered over on account of our transgressions, and was raised on account of our justification.

ὃς παρεδόθη διὰ τὰ παραπτώματα ἡμῶν καὶ ἠγέρθη διὰ τὴν δικαίωσιν ἡμῶν.

 
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The English biblical text is taken from the Legacy Standard Bible
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The Hebrew Old Testament is taken from the Unicode/XML Westminster Leningrad Codex
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Transcribed to Unicode/XML by Christopher V. Kimball, Publisher (Tanach.us Inc.)
The Westminster Leningrad Codex is in the public domain.
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The Greek New Testament is taken from the Society of Biblical Literature Greek New Testament
Edited by Michael W. Holmes
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Copyright 2010 Logos Bible Software and the Society of Biblical Literature
For more information about the SBLGNT visit www.SBLGNT.com