Rom 4
1 Te koinih pumsa ah a pa Abraham loh a hmuh te metla n'thui uh eh?
Abraham is the [revered] ancestor of us [Jews]. So think about what we can conclude [from what happened to Abraham about how God can erase the record of our sins]. [RHQ]
2 Abraham he khoboe loh tang sak koinih thangpomnah a khueh, Tedae Pathen taengkah moenih,
If it was because of Abraham’s doing [good] things that the record of his sins was erased {that [God] erased the record of his sins}, Abraham could then have been able to boast [about that to people], but he would not have [had any basis to] boast to God [about it].
3 Te dongah cacim loh balae a thui? Abraham loh Pathen te a tangnah dongah anih te duengnah la a nawt,
[Remember that] in the Scriptures it is written {someone wrote} [PRS] that Abraham believed what God [promised] [RHQ], and as a result the record of his sins was erased {[God] erased the record of his sins}.
4 A saii dongkah thapang te lungvatnah la n'nawt pawt vetih a laiba banghui ni te.
If we receive wages for work that we do, those wages are not considered to be a gift. Instead, they [are considered] to be what we have earned. [Similarly, if God erases the record of our sins because we did things to earn God’s favor], we would not consider that [God’s erasing the record of our sin] was [a gift. Instead, we would consider it as what we had earned].
5 Saii pawt dae baltalh aka tang sak kung soah a tangnah vaengkah tangnah te duengnah la a nawt pah.
But suppose that we do not do things [to gain God’s acceptance]. Suppose that we instead trust [in God], who erases the record of sins of wicked people. Then the erasing of the record of our sins because of our trusting [in Christ] is considered to be a gift to us, [not something that we earned].
6 David long pataeng khaw, “Khoboe kah voelah Pathen loh duengnah la a nawt pah hlang te tah yoethennah ni,” a ti.
Similarly, it is as David wrote [in the Psalms] about people being happy whose record of sins God has erased even though they have not done things [to earn it. David wrote]:
7 Olaeknah loh a hlah tih a tholh a muekdah pah rhoek te tah a yoethen uh.
[God] is pleased with people whose sins have been {whose sins [he] has} forgiven, and whose sins he [has decided] to forget [DOU].
8 Boeipa loh tholh a nawt pah voel pawt hlang te tah a yoethen,
[God] causes to be happy the people whose sins he no longer keeps a record of.
9 Tangkhuet la, “He yoethennah tah yahvinrhetnah soah pawt atah pumdul ham a?” n'ti uh vaengah Abraham kah a tangnah te ni duengnah la a nawt pah.
As for our being happy [because God has erased the record of our sins], (it is not something that [only] we Jews [can experience]./is it [MTY] something that [only] we Jews [can experience]?) [RHQ] [No, it is] also something that non-Jews [can experience] [MTY]. [What is written in the Scriptures], that it was because Abraham trusted [in God] that the record of his sins was erased {[God] erased the record of his sins}, [also shows that this is true].
10 Te vaengah metlam a nawt pah? yahvinrhetnah a om vaengah a? Pumdul vaengah a? yahvinrhetnah vaengah pawt tih pumdul vaengah ni.
([Think about] when [God erased the record of Abraham’s sins]./When did [God erase the record of Abraham’s sins]?) [RHQ] (Consider whether [it happened] after someone circumcised [Abraham to mark him as one who belonged to God], or before someone circumcised him./[Did it happen] after [Abraham was] circumcised [to be marked as one who belonged to God], or before he was circumcised?) [RHQ] It happened before he was circumcised, not after he was circumcised.
11 Te dongah yahvinrhetnah he miknoek la a dang te pumdul vaengkah aka tangnah kah duengnah kutnoek ni. Anih te pumdul lamloh aka tangnah rhoek boeih kah a napa la om sak ham neh amih te khaw duengnah la nawt ham ni ana khueh.
[Many years later, God commanded that] Abraham [be] circumcised. Abraham’s accepting that ritual simply showed [that he knew that God had accepted him]. [He knew that God] had [erased the record of his sins] because he trusted [in God] while he was still, [in effect, a non-Jew because] he had not been circumcised. [So we can understand that] Abraham became (a spiritual ancestor/like an ancestor) to [all] of us whose record of sins has been erased {whose sins [God] has erased the record of} because we believe [in God’s promise, even though some of us] are not circumcised.
12 Te phoeiah, yahvinrhetnah kah pa he, yahvinrhetnah bueng kah pawt tih a pa Abraham pumdul vaeng kah tangnah kholaeh te aka vai rhoek ham khaw a om sak.
Likewise, Abraham is the [spiritual] ancestor of all us Jews who are not merely circumcised but who, more importantly, [believe in God’s promise] as our ancestor Abraham did, even before he was circumcised.
13 Abraham neh a tiingan te Diklai rhopangkung la om ham te olkhueng nen pawt tih tangnah kah duengnah nen ni olkhueh a paek.
God promised Abraham and his descendants that they would receive [the blessings that he promised to give to the people in] the world. But when he promised that, it was not because Abraham [obeyed] the laws [that God later gave to Moses]. Instead, it was because Abraham believed [that God would do what he promised that he would do]. As a result, God erased the record of his sins.
14 Olkhueng rhang neh rhopangkung la om koinih, tangnah te tlongtlai tih olkhueh te a hmil coeng.
If [we think that] it is those who [obey God’s] laws who will receive [what he has promised], it is useless [for us to trust in him. And what he] promised is worthless. [Remember that] it is [stated] in God’s law [PRS] [that] he will punish [people who do not perfectly obey them], and remember that wherever [MTY] laws exist, [people] disobey them [LIT].
15 Olkhueng loh thintoek a thoeng sak dae olkhueng a om na pawt ah boekoeknah a om moenih,
16 A lungvatnah vanbangla olkhueh kah tiingan boeih taengah a khangmai la om sak ham khaw tangnah nen ni a om tangloeng. Olkhueng kah tiingan taeng bueng ah pawt tih Abraham kah tangnah kah tiingan taengah khaw a om sak. Amah tah mamih boeih kah napa la om.
So it is because [we] trust [in God that we will receive the things that he has promised]. [It is not because we perfectly obey God’s laws. He wants] (to [erase the record of our sins/to declare us no longer guilty]) without our earning it. As a result, what God now promises, he guarantees to give to all people who are [Abraham’s spiritual] descendants. [He promises to do that not only for us Jewish believers], who [have] God’s laws [and trust in him as Abraham did], but also for those [non-Jews who do not have God’s laws but] who trust [in him] as Abraham did. Abraham is the [spiritual] ancestor of all of us [believers].
17 Namtom rhoek boeih kah napa la nang kan coelh tila a daek tangtae vanbangla anih loh a tangnah hlan ah aka duek rhoek te aka hing sak tih, aka om pawt te aka om bangla aka khue, Pathen te om lamhma coeng.
What is written {What [Moses] wrote} [in the Scriptures about what God promised Abraham shows that this is true]. [God said to him], “It is in order that you [(sg)] may be the ancestor of many ethnic groups that I have chosen you.” Romans 4:17b-22 God [guaranteed that he would give Abraham many descendants]. Abraham confidently believed that God [would do that],
18 Anih tah a ngaiuepnah voel ah a ngaiuep tih a tangnah dongah namtom rhoek boeih kah napa la om ni tila a thui vanbangla nang kah tiingan te om van ni.
even though there was no physical reason for him to hope [that he would have descendants, because he and his wife were too old to bear children]. But God is the one who causes dead people to live again, and who talks about things that do not yet exist as already existing. [God said to Abraham], “You will have so many descendants that they will be [as impossible to count as the stars].” And Abraham believed that, and he believed that he would become the ancestor of many ethnic groups.
19 Kum yacut pakhat lo tih aka duek tangtae amah pum neh Sarah kah bung duekrhok te a poek dae tangnah dongah a thathae pawh,
He did not doubt [that God would do what he promised], even though he knew that his body was already [as incapable of begetting children as if he were] dead [MET] because he was about 100 years old. And [even though he realized that] Sarah had never been able to become pregnant [IDM],
20 Tedae Pathen kah olkhueh soah hnalvalnah neh boelhkhoeh pawt tih tangnah neh a thaphoh,
he did not doubt at all that God [would do what he had] promised. Instead, he trusted [in God] more/very strongly, and he thanked God [for what God was going to do].
21 Pathen te thangpomnah a paek vaengah olkhueh te aka rhoi thai khaw amah ni tila m'ming.
He was also convinced {very sure} that the thing that God promised, God was able to do.
22 Te dongah anih te duengnah la a nawt,
And that is the reason that the record of his sins was erased {[God] erased the record of his sins}.
23 Tedae anih taengah a nawt te amah bueng ham a daek pah moenih,
The words [in the Scriptures], “The record of his sins was erased {[God] erased the record of his sins},” are not only about Abraham.
24 Tedae mamih ham khaw, duek lamkah aka thoo mamih kah Boeipa Jesuh aka tangnah rhoek ham khaw amah te a nawt coeng.
They were also written {[They] also wrote that} for us whose record of sins would be erased {[God] would erase}. They were written {[They] wrote it} for us who believe [God], the one who caused our Lord Jesus to become alive again after he died.
25 Amah te mamih kah tholhdalhnah kongah a voeih tih mamih kah tiktamnah ham a thoh coeng.
Jesus allowed [men] to execute [MTY] him so that [God could forgive] our evil deeds. And [God] caused Jesus to live again because [God wanted to show that because of the death of Jesus he was able to] erase the record of our sins.
