Romains 4
1 Quel avantage pouvons-nous dire que notre premier père Abraham a obtenu par lui-même?
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 Si ce sont ses oeuvres qui l'ont justifié, il peut être orgueilleux; mais il ne le peut pas devant Dieu.
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 Que dit l'Écriture: «Abraham eut foi en Dieu, et cela lui fut compté pour justice»
[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 Or le salaire de celui qui a fait de bonnes oeuvres n'est pas considéré comme une grâce, mais comme une dette.
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 Quant à celui qui n'a pas fait de bonnes oeuvres, mais qui a foi en Celui qui justifie le pécheur, sa foi lui «est comptée pour justice».
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 aussi parle du bonheur de celui que Dieu considère comme juste indépendamment de ses oeuvres:
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 «Heureux ceux dont les fautes sont pardonnées Et dont les péchés sont effacés.
[God] is pleased with people whose sins have been {whose sins [he] has} forgiven, and whose sins he [has decided] to forget [DOU].
8 Heureux celui dont le Seigneur ne porte pas en compte le péché.»
[God] causes to be happy the people whose sins he no longer keeps a record of.
9 Cette béatitude ne s'adresse-t-elle qu'aux circoncis? ne s'applique-t-elle pas aussi aux incirconcis? Quand nous disons pour Abraham que «sa foi lui fut comptée pour justice, »
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 comment lui fut-elle comptée? avant ou après sa circoncision? Ce n'est pas après, c'est avant sa circoncision!
([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 Et il a reçu le signe de la circoncision comme le sceau de la justice que sa foi lui avait obtenue quand il n'était pas circoncis; c'était pour qu'il fût le père de tous les incirconcis qui auraient la foi, et qu'elle leur fût comptée pour justice.
[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 Il devait être aussi le père des circoncis qui non seulement le seraient, mais qui marcheraient sur ses traces, en ayant la foi qu'il avait, lui, notre père Abraham, avant sa circoncision.
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 En effet, ce n'est pas une Loi qui a assuré à Abraham et à ses descendants la possession du monde, c'est la justice que procure la foi.
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 Si c'est une Loi qui assure cette possession, alors la foi est inutile et la promesse est annulée.
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 (La Loi ne produit que la colère, et là où il n'y a pas de Loi, il n'y a pas non plus de violation.)
16 Voici pourquoi la possession vient par la foi: c'est pour qu'elle soit l'effet d'une grâce, et que la promesse soit assurée à tous les descendants, non pas seulement à ceux qui ont reçu la Loi, mais à ceux qui ont eu la foi d'Abraham; il est notre père à tous
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 (ainsi que cela est écrit: «Je t'ai rendu père de plusieurs peuples»), il l'est devant le Dieu en qui il a cru, qui rend la vie aux morts et qui appelle à l'existence ce qui n'existe pas.
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 Contre toute espérance, il a été plein d'espérance, il a cru et il est devenu «le père de plusieurs peuples» (selon cette parole: «Telle sera ta postérité»).
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 Sa foi n'a pas faibli; il n'a pas fait attention à son extrême vieillesse (il était presque centenaire) ni à l'âge trop avancé de Sarra.
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 Il ne douta pas de la promesse de Dieu; il ne fut pas incrédule; au contraire, fortifié par sa foi, il donna gloire à Dieu,
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 convaincu que Celui qui a promis est assez puissant pour remplir sa promesse.
He was also convinced {very sure} that the thing that God promised, God was able to do.
22 Voilà pourquoi «elle lui fut comptée pour justice».
And that is the reason that the record of his sins was erased {[God] erased the record of his sins}.
23 Or ce n'est pas pour lui seul que ce mot est écrit: «cela lui fut compté»,
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 c'est aussi pour nous; cela doit nous être «compté» également à nous qui croyons en celui qui a ressuscité des morts notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ,
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 lui qui «a été livré à cause de nos péchés» et a été ressuscité à cause de notre justification.
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.
