ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Romans 1.16

Book: Romans · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

14. I am debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are in Rome.

16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

  1. For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith. 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth in unrighteousness; (Romans 1:14-18, ASV)
WEB

14. I am debtor both to Greeks and to foreigners, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15. So, as much as is in me, I am eager to preach the Good News to you also who are in Rome.

16. For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes; for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.

  1. For in it is revealed God’s righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.” 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, (Romans 1:14-18, WEB)
KJV

14. I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 15. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

  1. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; (Romans 1:14-18, KJV)
YLT

14. Both to Greeks and to foreigners, both to wise and to thoughtless, I am a debtor, 15. so, as much as in me is, I am ready also to you who [are] in Rome to proclaim good news,

16. for I am not ashamed of the good news of the Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to every one who is believing, both to Jew first, and to Greek.

  1. For the righteousness of God in it is revealed from faith to faith, according as it hath been written, 'And the righteous one by faith shall live,' 18. for revealed is the wrath of God from heaven upon all impiety and unrighteousness of men, holding down the truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:14-18, 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

The letter's thesis, stated negatively first. "I am not ashamed of the gospel" is litotes, an understatement that asserts its opposite, and it carries force because the gospel Paul preaches has a crucified man at its centre. Crucifixion was a servile punishment designed to humiliate, and a message built on one was socially disreputable in the capital of the empire that used it.

Against that, Paul calls the gospel dynamis theou, the power of God, eis sōtērian, for salvation. The gospel is not described as information about salvation; it is the instrument through which salvation is effected. The qualifier panti tō pisteuonti, to everyone who believes, sets the sole condition and sets it universally.

"To the Jew first and also to the Greek" states the priority and the parity together, and both halves are needed for the letter's argument. The priority is historical and covenantal, Israel received the promises first, which Paul defends at length in chapters 9 to 11. The parity is soteriological, the same gospel saves both on the same terms. Paul will repeat the pair in the following verses when he applies wrath in the same order, so the formula governs judgment as evenhandedly as it governs salvation.

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.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

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.