# Romans 2.18 **Book:** [Romans](/codex/romans/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 16. in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ. 17. But if thou bearest the name of a Jew, and restest upon the law, and gloriest in God, > > **18. and knowest his will, and approvest the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,** > > 19. and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them that are in darkness, 20. a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth; (Romans 2:16-20, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 16. in the day when God will judge the secrets of men, according to my Good News, by Jesus Christ. 17. Indeed you bear the name of a Jew, and rest on the law, and glory in God, > > **18. and know his will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,** > > 19. and are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20. a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of babies, having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth. (Romans 2:16-20, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 16. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. 17. Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, > > **18. And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; approvest: or, triest the things that differ** > > 19. And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, 20. An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. (Romans 2:16-20, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 16. in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my good news, through Jesus Christ. 17. Lo, thou art named a Jew, and dost rest upon the law, and dost boast in God, > > **18. and dost know the will, and dost approve the distinctions, being instructed out of the law,** > > 19. and hast confidence that thou thyself art a leader of blind ones, a light of those in darkness, 20. an instructor of foolish ones, a teacher of babes, having the form of the knowledge and of the truth in the law. (Romans 2:16-20, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** _TBD_ - **Audience:** _TBD_ - **Location:** _TBD_ - **Time period:** _TBD_ ## Theological reading _Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._ ## 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._ - None of the words in this verse has its own lexicon entry yet. ## Notes _Your annotations._ ## 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](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/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](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.