Romanos 4
1 Quid ergo dicemus invenisse Abraham patrem nostrum secundum carnem?
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 enim Abraham ex operibus iustificatus est, habet gloriam, sed non apud Deum.
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 Quid enim dicit Scriptura? Credidit Abraham Deo: et reputatam est illi ad iustitiam.
[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 Ei autem, qui operatur, merces non imputatur secundum gratiam, sed secundum debitum.
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 Ei vero, qui non operatur, credenti autem in eum, qui iustificat impium, reputatur fides eius ad iustitiam secundum propositum gratiæ Dei.
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 Sicut et David dicit beatitudinem hominis, cui Deus accepto fert iustitiam sine operibus:
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 Beati, quorum remissæ sunt iniquitates, et quorum tecta sunt peccata.
[God] is pleased with people whose sins have been {whose sins [he] has} forgiven, and whose sins he [has decided] to forget [DOU].
8 Beatus vir, cui non imputavit Dominus peccatum.
[God] causes to be happy the people whose sins he no longer keeps a record of.
9 Beatitudo ergo hæc in circumcisione tantum manet, an etiam in præputio? Dicimus enim quia reputata est Abrahæ fides ad iustitiam.
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 Quomodo ergo reputata est? In circumcisione, an in præputio? Non in circumcisione, sed in præputio.
([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 signum accepit circumcisionis, signaculum iustitiæ fidei, quæ est in præputio: ut sit pater omnium credentium per præputium, ut reputetur et illis ad iustitiam:
[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 et sit pater circumcisionis non iis tantum, qui sunt ex circumcisione, sed et iis, qui sectantur vestigia fidei, quæ est in præputio patris nostri Abrahæ.
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 Non enim per legem promissio Abrahæ, aut semini eius ut heres esset mundi: sed per iustitiam fidei.
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 enim qui ex lege, heredes sunt: exinanita est fides, abolita est promissio.
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 Lex enim iram operatur. Ubi enim non est lex: nec prævaricatio.
16 Ideo ex fide, ut secundum gratiam firma sit promissio omni semini, non ei, qui ex lege est solum, sed et ei qui ex fide est Abrahæ, qui pater est omnium nostrum ante Deum,
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 cui credidit, qui vivificat mortuos, et vocat ea quæ non sunt, tamquam ea quæ sunt. (Sicut scriptum est: Quia patrem multarum gentium posui te.)
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 Qui contra spem in spem credidit, ut fieret pater multarum gentium secundum quod dictum est ei: Sic erit semen tuum.
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 Et non infirmatus est fide, nec consideravit corpus suum emortuum, cum iam fere centum esset annorum: et emortuam vulvam Saræ:
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 In repromissione etiam Dei non hæsitavit diffidentia, sed confortatus est fide, dans gloriam Deo:
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 plenissime sciens quia quæcumque promisit, potens est et facere.
He was also convinced {very sure} that the thing that God promised, God was able to do.
22 Ideo et reputatum est illi ad iustitiam.
And that is the reason that the record of his sins was erased {[God] erased the record of his sins}.
23 Non est autem scriptum tantum propter ipsum quia reputatum est illi ad iustitiam:
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 sed et propter nos, quibus reputabitur credentibus in eum, qui suscitavit Iesum Christum Dominum nostrum a mortuis,
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 qui traditus est propter delicta nostra, et resurrexit propter iustificationem nostram.
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.
