Add parallel Print Page Options

 神照各人所作的報應各人

你這判斷人的啊!無論你是誰,都沒有辦法推諉。你在甚麼事上判斷人,就在甚麼事上定自己的罪;因為你所作的,正是你所判斷的事。 我們知道, 神必照著真理審判行這些事的人。 你這個人,你判斷行這些事的人,自己所行的卻是一樣,你以為能逃脫 神的審判嗎? 還是你藐視 神豐富的恩慈、寬容和忍耐,不曉得他的恩慈是要領你悔改的嗎? 可是你一直硬著心腸,不肯悔改,為自己積蓄 神的忿怒,就是他彰顯公義審判的那天所要發的忿怒。  神必照各人所作的報應各人: 以永生報答那些耐心行善、尋求榮耀尊貴和不朽的人, 卻以震怒和憤恨報應那些自私自利、不順從真理而順從不義的人; 把患難和愁苦加給所有作惡的人,先是猶太人,後是希臘人, 10 卻把榮耀、尊貴與平安賜給所有行善的人,先是猶太人,後是希臘人。 11 因為 神並不偏待人。

律法的作用刻在人心

12 凡不在律法之下犯了罪的,將不按律法而滅亡;凡在律法之下犯了罪的,將按律法受審判。 13 因為在 神面前,不是聽律法的為義,而是行律法的得稱為義。 14 沒有律法的外族人,如果按本性行律法上的事,他們雖然沒有律法,自己就是自己的律法; 15 這就表明律法的作用是刻在他們的心裡,有他們的良心一同作證,他們的思想互相較量,或作控告、或作辯護。 16 這也要照著我所傳的福音,在 神藉著耶穌基督審判各人隱情的那一天,彰顯出來。

內心作猶太人的才是猶太人

17 你身為猶太人,倚靠律法,仗著 神誇口, 18 而且明白他的旨意,又從律法得了教導,能夠辨別甚麼是好的, 19 自信是瞎子的嚮導,在黑暗中的人的光, 20 愚昧人的導師,小孩子的教師,在律法上得了整套的知識和真理; 21 你既然教導別人,難道不教導自己嗎?你傳講不可偷竊,自己卻偷竊嗎? 22 你說不可姦淫,自己卻姦淫嗎?你憎惡偶像,自己卻劫掠廟宇嗎? 23 你既然以律法誇口,自己卻因犯律法而羞辱 神嗎? 24 正如經上所說的:“ 神的名,因你們的緣故在列邦中被褻瀆。”

25 你若遵行律法,割禮固然有益處;但你若是犯律法的,你的割禮就不是割禮了。 26 這樣,沒有受割禮的人,如果遵守律法所規定的,他雖然沒有受過割禮,不也算是受過割禮的嗎? 27 那本來沒有受割禮卻遵守律法的人,就要審判你這有儀文和割禮而犯律法的人。 28 因為表面上作猶太人的並不是猶太人,在肉身上表面的割禮也不是割禮。 29 唯有在內心作猶太人的才是猶太人;割禮也是心裡的,是靠著聖靈而不是靠著儀文。這樣的人所受的稱讚,不是從人來的,而是從 神來的。

The Condemnation of the Moralist

[a] Therefore[b] you are without excuse,[c] whoever you are,[d] when you judge someone else.[e] For on whatever grounds[f] you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth[g] against those who practice such things. And do you think,[h] whoever you are, when you judge[i] those who practice such things and yet do them yourself,[j] that you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know[k] that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness[l] and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed![m] He[n] will reward[o] each one according to his works:[p] eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, but[q] wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition[r] and do not obey the truth but follow[s] unrighteousness. There will be[t] affliction and distress on everyone[u] who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek,[v] 10 but[w] glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, for the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God. 12 For all who have sinned apart from the law[x] will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous.[y] 14 For whenever the Gentiles,[z] who do not have the law, do by nature[aa] the things required by the law,[ab] these who do not have the law are a law to themselves. 15 They[ac] show that the work of the law is written[ad] in their hearts, as their conscience bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or else defend[ae] them,[af] 16 on the day when God will judge[ag] the secrets of human hearts,[ah] according to my gospel[ai] through Christ Jesus.

The Condemnation of the Jew

17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law[aj] and boast of your relationship to God[ak] 18 and know his will[al] and approve the superior things because you receive instruction from the law,[am] 19 and if you are convinced[an] that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an educator of the senseless, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the essential features of knowledge and of the truth— 21 therefore[ao] you who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who tell others not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor[ap] idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by transgressing the law! 24 For just as it is written, “the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”[aq]

25 For circumcision[ar] has its value if you practice the law, but[as] if you break the law,[at] your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 Therefore if the uncircumcised man obeys[au] the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 And the physically uncircumcised man,[av] by keeping the law, will judge you to be the transgressor of the law, even though[aw] you have the letter[ax] and circumcision! 28 For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something that is outward in the flesh, 29 but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart[ay] by the Spirit[az] and not by the letter.[ba] This person’s[bb] praise is not from people but from God.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 2:1 sn Rom 2:1-29 presents unusual difficulties for the interpreter. There have been several major approaches to the chapter and the group(s) it refers to: (1) Rom 2:14 refers to Gentile Christians, not Gentiles who obey the Jewish law. (2) Paul in Rom 2 is presenting a hypothetical viewpoint: If anyone could obey the law, that person would be justified, but no one can. (3) The reference to “the ones who do the law” in 2:13 are those who “do” the law in the right way, on the basis of faith, not according to Jewish legalism. (4) Rom 2:13 only speaks about Christians being judged in the future, along with such texts as Rom 14:10 and 2 Cor 5:10. (5) Paul’s material in Rom 2 is drawn heavily from Diaspora Judaism, so that the treatment of the law presented here cannot be harmonized with other things Paul says about the law elsewhere (E. P. Sanders, Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People, 123); another who sees Rom 2 as an example of Paul’s inconsistency in his treatment of the law is H. Räisänen, Paul and the Law [WUNT], 101-9. (6) The list of blessings and curses in Deut 27-30 provide the background for Rom 2; the Gentiles of 2:14 are Gentile Christians, but the condemnation of Jews in 2:17-24 addresses the failure of Jews as a nation to keep the law as a whole (A. Ito, “Romans 2: A Deuteronomistic Reading,” JSNT 59 [1995]: 21-37).
  2. Romans 2:1 tn Some interpreters (e.g., C. K. Barrett, Romans [HNTC], 43) connect the inferential Διό (dio, “therefore”) with 1:32a, treating 1:32b as a parenthetical comment by Paul.
  3. Romans 2:1 tn That is, “you have nothing to say in your own defense” (so translated by TCNT).
  4. Romans 2:1 tn Grk “O man.”
  5. Romans 2:1 tn Grk “Therefore, you are without excuse, O man, everyone [of you] who judges.”
  6. Romans 2:1 tn Grk “in/by (that) which.”
  7. Romans 2:2 tn Or “based on truth.”
  8. Romans 2:3 tn Grk “do you think this,” referring to the clause in v. 3b.
  9. Romans 2:3 tn Grk “O man, the one who judges.”
  10. Romans 2:3 tn Grk “and do them.” The other words are supplied to bring out the contrast implied in this clause.
  11. Romans 2:4 tn Grk “being unaware.”
  12. Romans 2:5 tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.
  13. Romans 2:5 tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”
  14. Romans 2:6 tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  15. Romans 2:6 tn Or “will render,” “will recompense.” In this context Paul is setting up a hypothetical situation, not stating that salvation is by works.
  16. Romans 2:6 sn A quotation from Ps 62:12; Prov 24:12; a close approximation to Matt 16:27.
  17. Romans 2:8 tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.
  18. Romans 2:8 tn Grk “those who [are] from selfish ambition.”
  19. Romans 2:8 tn Grk “are persuaded by, obey.”
  20. Romans 2:9 tn No verb is expressed in this verse, but the verb “to be” is implied by the Greek construction. Literally “suffering and distress on everyone…”
  21. Romans 2:9 tn Grk “every soul of man.”
  22. Romans 2:9 sn Paul uses the term Greek here and in v. 10 to refer to non-Jews, i.e., Gentiles.
  23. Romans 2:10 tn Grk “but even,” to emphasize the contrast. The second word has been omitted since it is somewhat redundant in English idiom.
  24. Romans 2:12 sn This is the first occurrence of law (nomos) in Romans. Exactly what Paul means by the term has been the subject of much scholarly debate. According to J. A. Fitzmyer (Romans [AB], 131-35; 305-6) there are at least four different senses: (1) figurative, as a “principle”; (2) generic, meaning “a law”; (3) as a reference to the OT or some part of the OT; and (4) as a reference to the Mosaic law. This last usage constitutes the majority of Paul’s references to “law” in Romans.
  25. Romans 2:13 tn The Greek sentence expresses this contrast more succinctly than is possible in English. Grk “For not the hearers of the law are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be declared righteous.”
  26. Romans 2:14 sn Gentile is a NT term for a non-Jew.
  27. Romans 2:14 tn Some (e.g. C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:135-37) take the phrase φύσει (phusei, “by nature”) to go with the preceding “do not have the law,” thus: “the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature,” that is, by virtue of not being born Jewish.
  28. Romans 2:14 tn Grk “do by nature the things of the law.”
  29. Romans 2:15 tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  30. Romans 2:15 tn Grk “show the work of the law [to be] written,” with the words in brackets implied by the Greek construction.
  31. Romans 2:15 tn Or “excuse.”
  32. Romans 2:15 tn Grk “their conscience bearing witness and between the thoughts accusing or also defending one another.”
  33. Romans 2:16 tn The form of the Greek word is either present or future, but it is best to translate in future because of the context of future judgment.
  34. Romans 2:16 tn Grk “of people.”
  35. Romans 2:16 sn On my gospel cf. Rom 16:25; 2 Tim 2:8.
  36. Romans 2:17 sn The law refers to the Mosaic law, described mainly in the OT books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
  37. Romans 2:17 tn Grk “boast in God.” This may be an allusion to Jer 9:24.
  38. Romans 2:18 tn Grk “the will.”
  39. Romans 2:18 tn Grk “because of being instructed out of the law.”
  40. Romans 2:19 tn This verb is parallel to the verbs in vv. 17-18a, so it shares the conditional meaning even though the word “if” is not repeated.
  41. Romans 2:21 tn The structure of vv. 21-24 is difficult. Some take these verses as the apodosis of the conditional clauses (protases) in vv. 17-20; others see vv. 17-20 as an instance of anacoluthon (a broken off or incomplete construction).
  42. Romans 2:22 tn Or “detest.”
  43. Romans 2:24 sn A quotation from Isa 52:5.
  44. Romans 2:25 sn Circumcision refers to male circumcision as prescribed in the OT, which was given as a covenant to Abraham in Gen 17:10-14. Its importance for Judaism can hardly be overstated: According to J. D. G. Dunn (Romans [WBC], 1:120) it was the “single clearest distinguishing feature of the covenant people.” J. Marcus has suggested that the terms used for circumcision (περιτομή, peritomē) and uncircumcision (ἀκροβυστία, akrobustia) were probably derogatory slogans used by Jews and Gentiles to describe their opponents (“The Circumcision and the Uncircumcision in Rome,” NTS 35 [1989]: 77-80).
  45. Romans 2:25 tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.
  46. Romans 2:25 tn Grk “if you should be a transgressor of the law.”
  47. Romans 2:26 tn The Greek word φυλάσσω (phulassō, traditionally translated “keep”) in this context connotes preservation of and devotion to an object as well as obedience.
  48. Romans 2:27 tn Grk “the uncircumcision by nature.” The word “man” is supplied here to make clear that male circumcision (or uncircumcision) is in view.
  49. Romans 2:27 tn Grk “through,” but here the preposition seems to mean “(along) with,” “though provided with,” as BDAG 224 s.v. διά A.3.c indicates.
  50. Romans 2:27 tn Or “written code.”
  51. Romans 2:29 sn On circumcision is of the heart see Lev 26:41; Deut 10:16; Jer 4:4; Ezek 44:9.
  52. Romans 2:29 tn Some have taken the phrase ἐν πνεύματι (en pneumati, “by/in [the] S/spirit”) not as a reference to the Holy Spirit, but referring to circumcision as “spiritual and not literal” (RSV).
  53. Romans 2:29 tn Or “written code.”
  54. Romans 2:29 tn Grk “whose.” The relative pronoun has been replaced by the phrase “this person’s” and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation.