Romans 1:18-32
New English Translation
The Condemnation of the Unrighteous
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people[a] who suppress the truth by their[b] unrighteousness,[c] 19 because what can be known about God is plain to them,[d] because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people[e] are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts[f] were darkened. 22 Although they claimed[g] to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings[h] or birds or four-footed animals[i] or reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over[j] in the desires of their hearts to impurity,[k] to dishonor[l] their bodies among themselves.[m] 25 They[n] exchanged the truth of God for a lie[o] and worshiped and served the creation[p] rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones,[q] 27 and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women[r] and were inflamed in their passions[s] for one another. Men[t] committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God,[u] God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done.[v] 29 They are filled[w] with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with[x] envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 senseless, covenant-breakers,[y] heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they fully know[z] God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die,[aa] they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them.[ab]
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- Romans 1:18 tn The genitive ἀνθρώπων could be taken as an attributed genitive, in which case the phrase should be translated “against all ungodly and unrighteous people” (cf. “the truth of God” in v. 25 which is also probably an attributed genitive). C. E. B. Cranfield takes the section 1:18-32 to refer to all people (not just Gentiles), while 2:1-3:20 points out that the Jew is no exception (Romans [ICC], 1:104-6; 1:137-38).
- Romans 1:18 tn “Their” is implied in the Greek, but is supplied because of English style.
- Romans 1:18 tn Or “by means of unrighteousness.” Grk “in (by) unrighteousness.”
- Romans 1:19 tn Grk “is manifest to/in them.”
- Romans 1:20 tn Grk “they”; the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Romans 1:21 tn Grk “heart.”
- Romans 1:22 tn The participle φάσκοντες (phaskontes) is used concessively here.
- Romans 1:23 tn Grk “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God in likeness of an image of corruptible man.” Here there is a wordplay on the Greek terms ἄφθαρτος (aphthartos, “immortal, imperishable, incorruptible”) and φθαρτός (phthartos, “mortal, corruptible, subject to decay”).
- Romans 1:23 sn Possibly an allusion to Ps 106:19-20.
- Romans 1:24 sn Possibly an allusion to Ps 81:12.
- Romans 1:24 tn Or “God delivered them up to the desires of their hearts for impurity.” It is possible that a technical, legal idiom is used here; if so, it would describe God delivering sinners up to a custodian for punishment (see R. Jewett, Romans [Hermeneia], 166-67). In this instance, then, sinners would be given over to their own desires for the express purpose of working more impurity.
- Romans 1:24 tn The genitive articular infinitive τοῦ ἀτιμάζεσθαι (tou atimazesthai, “to dishonor”) has been taken as (1) an infinitive of purpose; (2) an infinitive of result; or (3) an epexegetical (i.e., explanatory) infinitive, expanding the previous clause.
- Romans 1:24 tn Grk “among them.”
- Romans 1:25 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.
- Romans 1:25 tn Grk “the lie.”
- Romans 1:25 tn Or “creature, created things.”
- Romans 1:26 tn Grk “for their females exchanged the natural function for that which is contrary to nature.” The term χρῆσις (chrēsis) has the force of “sexual relations” here (L&N 23.65).
- Romans 1:27 tn Grk “likewise so also the males abandoning the natural function of the female.”
- Romans 1:27 tn Grk “burned with intense desire” (L&N 25.16).
- Romans 1:27 tn Grk “another, men committing…and receiving,” continuing the description of their deeds. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
- Romans 1:28 tn Grk “and just as they did not approve to have God in knowledge.”
- Romans 1:28 tn Grk “the things that are improper.”
- Romans 1:29 tn Grk “being filled” or “having been filled,” referring to those described in v. 28. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
- Romans 1:29 tn Grk “malice, full of,” continuing the description. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
- Romans 1:31 tn Or “promise-breakers.”
- Romans 1:32 tn Grk “who, knowing…, not only do them but also approve…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
- Romans 1:32 tn Grk “are worthy of death.”
- Romans 1:32 sn “Vice lists” like vv. 28-32 can be found elsewhere in the NT in Matt 15:19; Gal 5:19-21; 1 Tim 1:9-10; and 1 Pet 4:3. An example from the intertestamental period can be found in Wis 14:25-26.
1 Kings 14:16
New English Translation
16 He will hand Israel over to their enemies[a] because of the sins which Jeroboam committed and which he made Israel commit.”
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- 1 Kings 14:16 tn Heb “and he will give [up] Israel.”
2 Chronicles 12:5
New English Translation
5 Shemaiah the prophet visited Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who were assembled in Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have rejected me, so I have rejected you and will hand you over to Shishak.’”[a]
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- 2 Chronicles 12:5 tn Heb “also I have rejected you into the hand of Shishak.”
Nehemiah 9:28
New English Translation
28 “Then, when they were at rest again, they went back to doing evil before you. Then you abandoned them to[a] their enemies, and they gained dominion over them. When they again cried out to you, in your compassion you heard from heaven and rescued them time and again.
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- Nehemiah 9:28 tn Heb “in the hand of” (so KJV, ASV); NAB “to the power of.”
Isaiah 54:7-8
New English Translation
7 “For a short time I abandoned[a] you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 In a burst[b] of anger I rejected you[c] momentarily,
but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you,”
says your Protector,[d] the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 54:7 tn Or “forsook” (NASB).
- Isaiah 54:8 tn According to BDB 1009 s.v. שֶׁטֶף the noun שֶׁצֶף here is an alternate form of שֶׁטֶף (shetef, “flood”). Some relate the word to an alleged Akkadian cognate meaning “strength.”
- Isaiah 54:8 tn Heb “I hid my face from you.”
- Isaiah 54:8 tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
Jeremiah 7:27-29
New English Translation
27 Then the Lord said to me,[a] “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you. When you call out to them, they will not respond to you. 28 So tell them: ‘This is a nation that has not obeyed the Lord their God and has not accepted correction. Faithfulness is nowhere to be found in it. These people do not even profess it anymore.[b] 29 So mourn,[c] you people of this nation.[d] Cut off your hair and throw it away. Sing a song of mourning on the hilltops. For the Lord has decided to reject[e] and forsake this generation that has provoked his wrath!’”[f]
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- Jeremiah 7:27 tn The words “Then the Lord said to me” are not in the text but are implicit in the shift from the second and third person plural pronouns in vv. 21-26 to the second singular in this verse. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Jeremiah 7:28 tn Heb “Faithfulness has vanished. It is cut off from their lips.”sn For the need for faithfulness see 5:1, 3.
- Jeremiah 7:29 tn The word “mourn” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation for clarity to explain the significance of the words “Cut your hair and throw it away.”sn See Mic 1:16 and Job 1:20 for other examples of this practice that was involved in mourning.
- Jeremiah 7:29 tn The words, “you people of this nation” are not in the text. Many English versions supply “Jerusalem.” The address shifts from second masculine singular addressing Jeremiah (vv. 27-28a) to second feminine singular. It causes less disruption in the flow of the context to see the nation as a whole addressed here as a feminine singular entity (as, e.g., in 2:19, 23; 3:2, 3; 6:26) than to introduce a new entity, Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 7:29 tn The verbs here are the Hebrew scheduling perfects. For this use of the perfect see GKC 312 §106.m.
- Jeremiah 7:29 tn Heb “the generation of his wrath.”
Jeremiah 12:7-8
New English Translation
7 “I will abandon my nation.[a]
I will forsake the people I call my own.[b]
I will turn my beloved people[c]
over to the power[d] of their enemies.
8 The people I call my own[e] have turned on me
like a lion[f] in the forest.
They have roared defiantly at me,[g]
so I will treat them as though I hate them.[h]
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 12:7 tn Heb “my house.” Or, “I have abandoned my nation.” The word “house” has been used throughout Jeremiah for the temple (e.g., 7:2, 10), the nation or people of Israel or Judah (e.g. 3:18, 20), and the descendants of Jacob (i.e., the Israelites, e.g., 2:4). Here the parallelism argues that it refers to the nation of Judah. The translation throughout vv. 5-17 assumes that the verb forms are prophetic perfects, the form that conceives of the action as being as good as done. It is possible that the forms are true perfects and refer to a past destruction of Judah. If so, it may have been connected with the assaults against Judah in 598/7 b.c. by the Babylonians and the nations surrounding Judah that are recorded in 2 Kgs 24:14. No other major recent English version reflects these as prophetic perfects besides NIV and NCV, which does not use the future until v. 10. Hence the translation is somewhat tentative. C. Feinberg, “Jeremiah,” EBC 6:459 takes them as prophetic perfects, and H. Freedman (Jeremiah [SoBB], 88) mentions that as a possibility for explaining the presence of this passage here. For another example of an extended use of the prophetic perfect without imperfects interspersed, see Isa 8:23-9:6 HT (9:1-7 ET). The translation assumes they are prophetic and are part of the Lord’s answer to the complaint about the prosperity of the wicked; both the wicked Judeans and the wicked nations God will use to punish them will be punished.
- Jeremiah 12:7 tn Heb “my inheritance.”
- Jeremiah 12:7 tn Heb “the beloved of my soul.” Here “soul” stands for the person and is equivalent to “my.”
- Jeremiah 12:7 tn Heb “will give…into the hands of.”
- Jeremiah 12:8 tn See the note on the previous verse.
- Jeremiah 12:8 tn Heb “have become to me like a lion.”
- Jeremiah 12:8 tn Heb “have given against me with her voice.”
- Jeremiah 12:8 tn Or “so I will reject her.” The word “hate” is sometimes used in a figurative way to refer to being neglected, i.e., treated as though unloved. In these contexts it does not have the same emotive connotations that a typical modern reader would associate with hate. See Gen 29:31, 33 and E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 556.
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