Passage
Romans 1.1
Book: Romans · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
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ASV
1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
- which he promised afore through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3. concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, (Romans 1:1-3, ASV)
WEB
1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Good News of God,
- which he promised before through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3. concerning his Son, who was born of the offspring of David according to the flesh, (Romans 1:1-3, WEB)
KJV
1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
- (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3. Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; (Romans 1:1-3, KJV)
YLT
1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, having been separated to the good news of God
- which He announced before through His prophets in holy writings 3. concerning His Son, (who is come of the seed of David according to the flesh, (Romans 1:1-3, YLT)
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Setting
- Speaker: Paul the Apostle
- Audience: the Roman house churches (mixed Jewish-Gentile), whom Paul had not yet met
- Location: Corinth, near the close of the third missionary journey
- Time period: c. AD 56-57
Theological reading
Paul opens with the longest self-introduction in his correspondence, because he is writing to a church he did not found and has never visited, and his authority to address it has to be established before the letter's argument can land.
Three self-descriptions are stacked. Doulos, slave or bondservant of Christ Jesus, places him under ownership rather than in a partnership. Klētos apostolos, a called apostle, grounds his commission in divine summons rather than in appointment by the Jerusalem church, which matters because his apostleship was contested. Aphōrismenos, set apart, uses the language of consecration for a purpose; the same root lies behind the Pharisaic self-designation Paul had once owned, so the term he formerly wore as a separatist he now applies to separation for the gospel of God rather than from the nations.
The genitive "gospel of God" sets the letter's frame at once. The good news is not Paul's message about God but God's own announcement, which is why verse 2 immediately roots it in what God "promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures." Before a word of argument, Paul has denied that his gospel is an innovation.
Key words
Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.
- G2098 - euangelion, euangelion, Strong's G2098
- G1401 - doulos, doulos, Strong's G1401
- G5547 - christos, christos, Strong's G5547
- G2424 - Iesous, Iesous, Strong's G2424
- G2316 - theos, theos, Strong's G2316
Quoted in
Arguments and defeaters:
Lexicon:
Passages:
Why these four translations
ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.
The four:
- ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.
See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.