#textual variant

4 ἓν σῶμα καὶ ἓν πνεῦμα, καθὼς καὶ ἐκλήθητε ἐν μιᾷ ἐλπίδι τῆς κλήσεως ὑμῶν· 5 εἷς κύριος, μία πίστις, ἓν βάπτισμα, 6 εἷς θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ πάντων, ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ διὰ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν.

My translation:

4 There is one body and one Breath, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one lord, one faith, one immersion, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Notes:

ICC says that the absence of any connecting particle at the start of this passage “makes it more vivid and impressive”.

In this passage there are no verbs; something like εστί could be assumed. All translations begin verse 4, “There is...”

There are seven uses of the cardinal number one (εἷς, μία, ἕν) in this passage. EGGNT says that this stresses the concept of “one” more than the nouns (or sequence thereof) that follow.

Verse 4

The use of καλέω and ἡ κλῆσις connect this passage to the previous.

EGGNT notes that the use of ἡ ἐλπίς here points not to the individual experience of hope, but the content of that hope. The dative is probably of sphere.

EGGNT says that τῆς κλήσεως is a subjective genitive (“the hope produced by your calling”), but it seems like this is not consistent with the previous note. It could also be a genitive of source (“the hope from your calling”). It is taken temporally by NIV (“when you were called”) and HCSB (“at your calling”).

Verse 5

EGGNT sees in εἷς κύριος a connection to the Shema (Ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ· Κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν Κύριος εἷς ἐστιν Deuteronomy 6:4 LXX) and a confession of Jesus as the Lord of the Jewish scriptures.

Similarly to ἐλπίς above, EGGNT notes that πίστις probably refers not to an individual experience of faith but the content of our communal faith.

Verse 6

EGGNT suggests that πάντων with θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ suggests subordination, “Father over all”. But this would be redundant in English with the following ἐπὶ πάντων, so most all translations go with, “Father of all”.

EGGNT notes the debate as to the gender of πάντων. If masculine, then “all people”; if neuter, then “all things”.

Most all translations do not deviate from, “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all”, although NRSV & HCSB have for επὶ: “above all”.

With διὰ πάντων, NLT adds, “living through all”.

35 καὶ εἱστήκει ὁ λαὸς θεωρῶν.  ἐξεμυκτήριζον δὲ καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες λέγοντες· Ἄλλους ἔσωσεν, σωσάτω ἑαυτόν, εἰ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ ἐκλεκτός. 36 ἐνέπαιξαν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ οἱ στρατιῶται προσερχόμενοι, ὄξος προσφέροντες αὐτῷ 37 καὶ λέγοντες· Εἰ σὺ εἶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων, σῶσον σεαυτόν. 38 ἦν δὲ καὶ ἐπιγραφὴ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ· Ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων οὗτος.

My translation:

35 And the people stood watching. And the leaders were ridiculing him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if this man is the chosen Christ of God.” 36 And the soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If you are the king of the Judeans, save yourself.” 38 And an epigraph was also above him, “This man is the king of the Judeans.”

Notes:

with ἵστημι (v. 35), the pluperfect (εἱστήκει) is translated as a simple past tense.

θεωρῶν is a participle of manner modifying εἱστήκει.

ἐκμυκτηρίζω, “ridicule, sneer”, is from ἐκ + μυκτηρίζω (“to turn up one's nose”). It occurs 2x in the NT, here and in 16:14 when Jesus teaches that you can't love both God and money, and the Pharisees react with ridicule.

Most translations take καὶ as, “even”, or omit it, since the context seems to contrast the demeanor of the people with that of the leaders. On the other hand, Luke's word choice may be meant to allude to Psalm 21:8 LXX: πάντες οἱ θεωροῦντές με ἐξεμυκτήρισάν με, “all those watching me ridiculed me”. NIGTC says, ‘the people are not excluded from mocking Jesus, even if Luke plays this fact down.’

λέγοντες is pleonastic.

τοῦ θεοῦ could go with ὁ Χριστὸς or ὁ ἐκλεκτός. Most translations go with the former. In the sense it goes with both.

We saw ἐμπαίζω (v. 36), “make fun of, mock”, in 22:63, of the guards mocking Jesus before the meeting of the Sanehdrin. These events are the fulfillment of Jesus' prediction in 18:32.

Here καὶ is, “also”, since the soldiers are engaging in similar activity to the Jewish leaders.

The presents προσερχόμενοι, προσφέροντες (v. 36) and λέγοντες (v. 37) are participles of manner, describing how they mocked Jesus.

τό ὄξος (6x), is, “sour wine, wine vinegar”. Strong's says, ‘sour wine mixed with water, a common drink of Roman soldiers.’ BDAG: ‘it relieved thirst more effectively than water and, being cheaper than regular wine, it was a favorite beverage of the lower ranks of society.’ HELPS says, ‘low-grade, sour wine, given as a cheap painkiller to people condemned to crucifixion.’ Thus the act could be seen as one of kindness, but the idea is probably that it was an act of mockery in offering a cheap drink to a king.

For προσφέρω, “I bring to”, most translations have, “offer”.

ἡ ἐπιγραφή (v. 38; 5x), ἐπί + γραφή, is, “epigraph”; latin: “inscription”. This is where the charge against the criminal would be written.

Here ἐπί is, “over, above”.

30 Παρακαλῶ δὲ ὑμᾶς [ἀδελφοί,] διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ πνεύματος συναγωνίσασθαί μοι ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ πρὸς τὸν θεόν, 31 ἵνα ῥυσθῶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀπειθούντων ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ καὶ ἡ διακονία μου ἡ εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ εὐπρόσδεκτος τοῖς ἁγίοις γένηται, 32 ἵνα ἐν χαρᾷ ἐλθὼν πρὸς ὑμᾶς διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ συναναπαύσωμαι ὑμῖν. 33 Ὁ δὲ θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν, ἀμήν.

My translation:

30 And I exhort you [brothers], through our lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Breath to struggle together with me in your prayers for me to God, 31 that I might be delivered from the disobedient in Judea and that my service which is unto Jerusalem might be acceptable to the holy ones, 32 in order that, coming to you in joy through the will of God, I might rest up with you. 33 And may the God of peace be with all of you, amen.

Notes:

15:30

δὲ is transitional (“Now”, NASB, HCSB, NET).

The direct object of the present παρακαλῶ (from παρακαλέω) is ὑμᾶς; NASB, NIV, NET: “I urge”; NRSV, HCSB: “appeal”; Cranfield: “ask”.

The vocative ἀδελφοί is absent from a few ancient manuscripts, but is keeping with Paul’s style.

The prepositional phrase διὰ τοῦ κυρίου modifies παρακαλέω above. The phrase could be instrumental (BDAG), indicate basis (EGGNT) or agency (Findlayson); NRSV, NASB, NIV: “by”; HCSB, NET: “through”. EGGNT say that διὰ indicates the divine authority Paul is invoking. ἡμῶν is a genitive of subordination. Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ is appositional to τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν.

καὶ adds a second prepositional phrase. διὰ could be taken here as above, although Cranfield says that διὰ above indicates the authority of Paul’s appeal, but this διὰ the grounds of it. τοῦ πνεύματος indicates source with τῆς ἀγάπης (CEV: “the love that comes from the Holy Spirit”).

The hapax legomenon συναγωνίζομαι is, “I fight/contend along with” (BDAG), from σύν + ἀγωνίζομαι (8x) “I fight, struggle”; BDAG says the term has a ‘focus on a supportive role’ and can be translated “help, assist”; NASB: “strive together with me”; NIV: “join me in my struggle”. The aorist middle infinitive συναγωνίσασθαί is complementary with παρακαλέω above. μοι is a dative of association after a συν-prefixed verb. The infinitive is modified by three prepositional phrases, ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς which is locative or temporal or instrumental, ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ which indicates advantage, and πρὸς τὸν θεόν which indicates direction. The article ταῖς with προσευχαῖς is possessive (“your prayers”).

15:31

This ἵνα indicates the content of the prayers, while the ἵνα in verse 32 indicates the outcome.

ῥυσθῶ (from ῥύομαι “I rescue, deliver”; see note on 7:24) is subjunctive (aor. pass.) after ἵνα. The preposition ἀπὸ denotes separation; the articular present participle τῶν ἀπειθούντων (from ἀπειθέω “I disobey”; see note on 2:8) is substantival (“the disobedient”; NRSV, NIV, HCSB: “unbelievers”). The locative prepositional phrase ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ is attributive τῶν ἀπειθούντων; we would have expected a repetition of the article (τῶν ἀπειθούντων τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ).

καὶ introduces a second purpose after ἵνα.

ἡ διακονία (“service”), modified by subjective μου, is the subject of the aorist subjunctive γένηται (from γίνομαι). The noun refers to the delivery of the collection, and in fact is changed to δωροφορία (“gift-bearing”) in some manuscripts (Metzger). The article ἡ places the locative prepositional phrase εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ in the 2nd attributive position with ἡ διακονία. εὐπρόσδεκτος (“acceptable”; see note on v. 16; NIV: “favorably received”) is the predicate of γίνομαι. τοῖς ἁγίοις is an ethical dative with εὐπρόσδεκτος.

15:32

ἵνα indicates the purpose of the prayers (v. 30).

The main verb συναναπαύσωμαι below has three modifiers: the prepositional phrase ἐν χαρᾷ which indicates manner, the aorist participle ἐλθὼν (from ἔρχομαι) with πρὸς ὑμᾶς which is temporal-antecedent, and the prepositional phrase διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ which indicates means or agency. Some manuscripts instead read θελήματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ; Paul nowhere else refers to the will of “Christ”, so this is the harder reading and may be original.

The hapax legomenon συναναπαύομαι is, “I rest with [someone]”, from σύν + ἀναπαύω (12x) “I give rest” (which is from ἀνά + παύω, 15x, “I cease”). συναναπαύσωμαι is subjunctive (aor.) after ἵνα. ὑμῖν is a dative of association after a συν-prefixed verb (NRSV, NET: “be refreshed in your company”; NASB: “relax ...”). The middle-voice is intransitive. Given that this word went on to be used to mean “sleeping together”, some later scribes changed the word to the less-troublesome ἀναψύχω “I refresh, revive”.

15:33

ὁ θεὸς is the subject of an implied optative εἴη. The genitive τῆς εἰρήνης with ὁ θεὸς indicates product. The prepositional phrase μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν (“with all of you”) modifies the implied verb.

Δικαιωθέντες οὖν ἐκ πίστεως εἰρήνην ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ 2 διʼ οὗ καὶ τὴν προσαγωγὴν ἐσχήκαμεν [τῇ πίστει] εἰς τὴν χάριν ταύτην ἐν ᾗ ἑστήκαμεν καὶ καυχώμεθα ἐπʼ ἐλπίδι τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ.

My translation:

Having been justified therefore out of faith we have peace before God through our lord Jesus Christ 2 through whom we have also had a way of approach [by faith] to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God.

Notes:

5:1

The aorist passive participle δικαιωθέντες (from δικαιόω, “I justify”; HCSB, NET: “declared righteous”) is causal with the indicative verb ἔχομεν below. The aorist-tense indicates antecedent action, the moment of coming to peace with God at our justification. The prepositional phrase ἐκ πίστεως modifying δικαιόω literally denotes origin (lit. “out of faith”), but has an instrumental sense (“by faith”, most translations; NIV: “through faith”).

εἰρήνην is the direct object of the present indicative ἔχομεν (from ἔχω). Paul’s use of εἰρήνη probably reflects the Hebrew concept of shalom which includes the idea of “completeness”, “fullness” in one’s relationship with God (NIGTC). Instead of ἔχομεν some manuscripts read the subjunctive εχωμεν, which would be hortatory (“let us have peace”, so ICC, NIGTC). Although external manuscript support is weighty for the subjunctive, internal evidence suggests that the indicative is original: 1) in Pauline theology peace is something God gives, not something we achieve (EGGNT), and, 2) exhortation is out of place at this point in the letter. The UBS Committee rates the indicative an {A}. NET marginal notes say, ‘The “A” rating on behalf of the indicative in the UBS5 appears overly confident. Nevertheless, the indicative is probably correct’ (so Cranfield, most translations).

The prepositional phrase πρὸς τὸν θεὸν is locative (“toward God”; most translations: “with God”) or indicates reference (“with respect to God”).

The prepositional phrase διὰ τοῦ κυρίου is instrumental, and/or indicates the agent of our reconciliation, the mediator Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, which is in apposition to τοῦ κυρίου. ἡμῶν is a genitive of subordination.

5:2

The antecedent of the relative pronoun οὗ is Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. The instrumental prepositional phrase διʼ οὗ modifies the verb ἐσχήκαμεν below.

καὶ here is adjunctive (“also”).

ἡ προσαγωγή (3x), from πρός + ἄγω (cf. προσάγω, 4x, “I bring to, approach”), means, ‘a way to approach’, i.e., “access” (BDAG, most translations; NASB: “our introduction” (introductio being the exact Latin equivalent of προσαγωγή). ‘The rendering “access” is inadequate, as it leaves out of sight the fact that we do not come in our own strength but need an ‘introducer’—Christ’ (ICC). The word was used of the privilege of approaching someone of high station. τὴν προσαγωγὴν is the direct object of the perfect ἐσχήκαμεν (from ἔχω, perfect root εσχ-); the perfect is intensive, which ‘indicates initial entrance and highlights continuing availability’ (EGGNT); most translations: “obtained”; NIV: “gained”.

The instrumental dative τῇ πίστει modifies ἔχω. The evidence for its inclusion is equally balanced; it was either omitted as redundant by copyists or added for extra clarification (Metzger). The UBS Committee rates the reading a {C}, and enclosed it in brackets to indicate doubt.

The prepositional phrase εἰς τὴν χάριν modifying ἔχω is locative after an implied verb of movement (ἄγω). The near demonstrative pronoun ταύτην is attributive. “This grace” probably refers to justification (Cranfield).

The antecedent of the relative pronoun ᾗ is τὴν χάριν. The prepositional phrase ἐν ᾗ is locative modifying the perfect ἑστήκαμεν (from ἵστημι); perfect forms of this verb generally have a present sense (“in which we stand”). Cranfield says that although the verb may denote situation and mean little more than ἐσμέν, it probably carries the sense “stand firm” or “abide”.

The present indicative καυχώμεθα (from καυχάομαι, “I boast”; ESV, HCSB, NET: “rejoice”; NASB: “celebrate”) is united by καὶ probably to ἔχομεν (v. 1) rather than ἐσχήκαμεν or ἑστήκαμεν. καυχώμεθα could also be read as subjunctive (“let us boast”), but most translations opt for the indicative.

The prepositional phrase ἐπʼ ἐλπίδι is locative, but probably figuratively indicates cause, manner (most translations: “in hope”, “in the hope”), or basis (EGGNT).

18 Ὃς παρʼ ἐλπίδα ἐπʼ ἐλπίδι ἐπίστευσεν εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι αὐτὸν πατέρα πολλῶν ἐθνῶν κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον· οὕτως ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα σου, 19 καὶ μὴ ἀσθενήσας τῇ πίστει κατενόησεν τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σῶμα [ἤδη] νενεκρωμένον, ἑκατονταετής που ὑπάρχων, καὶ τὴν νέκρωσιν τῆς μήτρας Σάρρας·

My translation:

18 Who, against hope upon hope, believed, unto him becoming father of many nations according to that having been spoken: “Thus will be your seed,” 19 and not being weak in faith, he considered his own body [already] having been put to death, existing about one hundred years, and the deadness of the womb of Sarah;

Notes:

4:18

The antecedent of the relative pronoun ὃς is Abraham. ὃς is the subject of the aorist ἐπίστευσεν (from πιστεύω). The verb is modified by the prepositional phrases παρʼ ἐλπίδα and ἐπʼ ἐλπίδι. παρά with the accusative ἐλπίδα probably means, “against, contrary to hope” (BDAG), but could also mean “beyond hope” (Cranfield). ἐπί with the dative ἐλπίδι probably indicates basis, ‘on the basis of hope, supporting itself on hope’ (BDAG). NASB: “In hope against hope” (sim. most other translations); NRSV HCSB: “hoping against hope”.

εἰς τὸ + infinitive (γενέσθαι, aor. inf. of γίνομαι) could indicate the content of Abraham’s faith (“he believed that he would become”, NRSV), but more likely indicates result after πιστεύω (so Cranfield; “so that he might become”, NASB; “and so became”, NIV; “with the result that he became”, NET). αὐτὸν, referring to Abraham, is the accusative subject of the infinitive and πατέρα is the predicate accusative. ἐθνῶν, modified by πολλῶν, is a genitive of relationship modifying πατέρα. The phrase refers again to Genesis 17:5.

The article τὸ substantizes the perfect passive participle εἰρημένον (from λέγω, perf. root ειρ-) to function as the object of the preposition κατὰ. The prepositional phrase modifies γίνομαι and indicates standard (“according to what had been spoken”, HCSB). The participle introduces direct discourse.

The following is a quotation from the LXX of Genesis 15:5.

The adverb οὕτως (“so”) functions as the predicate of the future ἔσται (from εἰμί) and τὸ σπέρμα (“seed”; most translations: “descendants”; NIV, ESV: “offspring”), modified by the genitive of relationship σου, is the subject. In the text of Genesis 15, οὕτως is anaphoric, referring to the number of the stars visible to Abraham in the sky.

4:19

The negated aorist participle μὴ ἀσθενήσας (from ἀσθενέω, “I am weak”) adverbially modifies the verb κατενόησεν below, and is probably temporal (“He did not weaken in faith when”, NRSV, emphasis mine) or attendant circumstance (“Without becoming weak in faith he ...”, NASB). τῇ πίστει modifies the participle as a dative of respect or location (“weaken in faith”, NRSV; sim. most translations).

κατανοέω (14x) here is, “I consider, contemplate” (BDAG), from κατά + νοέω (14x) “I understand, think, consider”. ὃς (v. 18) is the subject of the aorist κατενόησεν (NRSV, HCSB, NET: “considered”; NASB: “contemplated”; NIV: “faced the fact”). τὸ ... σῶμα is the direct object of the verb; the reflexive genitive pronoun ἑαυτοῦ is possessive. Some manuscripts read οὐ before κατενόησεν, which would cause the participle μὴ ἀσθενήσας above to be causal (“Because he was not weak in faith, he did not consider ...”). The balance of internal and external evidence is even, but in the end the UBS Committee omitted οὐ from their text and rated the shorter reading a {C} (Metzger).

The external manuscript evidence favors the retention of ἤδη. On the other hand, internal evidence suggests it was added (why would it have been removed if original?). Thus the UBS Committee chose to include the word but enclose it within brackets to indicate doubt (Metzger).

νεκρόω (3x), from νεκρός, is, “I put to death” (BDAG). The perfect passive participle νενεκρωμένον is best read as a predicate adjective, taking κατανοέω as an equative verb. For τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σῶμα νενεκρωμένον, BDAG suggests the translation, “his worn-out body”; HCSB: “he considered his own body to be already dead”; ESV: “he considered his own body, which was as good as dead”.

The hapax legomenon ἑκατονταέτης is, “one hundred years old”, from ἑκατόν (17x) “one hundred” + τό ἔτος “year”.

The enclitic adverb πού (7x) here means, “about, approximately” (BDAG), not to be confused with the interrogative adverb ποῦ.

The present participle ὑπάρχων (from ὑπάρχω, “I am, I exist”, a common substitute for εἰμί) modifies κατανοέω above, indicating cause. ἑκατονταετής is the predicate adjective of ὑπάρχω.

ἡ νέκρωσις (2x), from νεκρός, is, “deadness” (most translations), “mortification” (BDAG); NRSV: “barrenness” (cf. English medical term necrosis). τὴν νέκρωσιν is a second direct object of κατανοέω alongside τὸ σῶμα.

7 εἰ δὲ ἡ ἀλήθεια τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τῷ ἐμῷ ψεύσματι ἐπερίσσευσεν εἰς τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, τί ἔτι κἀγὼ ὡς ἁμαρτωλὸς κρίνομαι; 8 καὶ μὴ καθὼς βλασφημούμεθα καὶ καθώς φασίν τινες ἡμᾶς λέγειν ὅτι ποιήσωμεν τὰ κακά, ἵνα ἔλθῃ τὰ ἀγαθά; ὧν τὸ κρίμα ἔνδικόν ἐστιν.

My translation:

7 And if the truth of God in my falsehood overflowed unto His glory, why am even I yet judged as a sinner? 8 And why, as we are slandered and as some say we say, should we not do evil things, in order that good things might come? The judgment of them is just.

Notes:

3:7

Metzger says the UBS Committee sees the reading εἰ γάρ as a ‘rather inept scribal substitution’, and εἰ δέ as the original, in order to sustain the required parallel with verse 5. δέ is rated a {B} by the Committee.

εἰ introduces the protasis of a first-class conditional statement.

ἡ ἀλήθεια, modified by the possessive or subjective genitive τοῦ θεοῦ, is the subject of the aorist ἐπερίσσευσεν (from περισσεύω, “I abound, overflow”; HCSB: “is amplified”; NET: “enhances”; NIV: “increases”). The aorist is gnomic, usually rendered by a present tense in English.

The hapax legomenon τό ψεῦσμα, from ψεύδομαι (12x) “I lie” (see v. 4) is, “lying, untruthfulness” (BDAG); NRSV: “falsehood”; most translations: “lie”. The prepositional phrase ἐν τῷ ἐμῷ ψεύσματι is causal (“by my falsehood”; ESV, NASB: “through my lie”), modifying περισσεύω. ἐμῷ is an emphatic alternative to μοι.

The prepositional phrase εἰς τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ also modifies περισσεύω, indicating direction or result (“abounds to his glory”, ESV).

The rhetorical question begun with the neuter interrogative pronoun τί (here functioning adverbially, “Why?”) is the apodosis of the conditional statement. τί is probably best treated as having a dual object: τί [ἔτι ... κρίνομαι] καὶ [μὴ ... ἀγαθά] (v. 8).

The adverb ἔτι (“still”, most translations) modifies the present passive κρίνομαι (from κρίνω; most translations, “judged”; ESV, NIV: “condemned”).

κἀγὼ is a crasis of καὶ + ἐγώ, here, “even I”. The “even” is omitted by most translations. EGGNT commends Jewett’s translation of τί ἔτι κἀγὼ: “Why am I of all people?”

κρίνω is modified by the adverbial phrase ὡς ἁμαρτωλὸς. EGGNT says ὡς ἁμαρτωλὸς is elliptical for, “in the way that a sinner would be judged”.

3:8

This verse is ‘unusually clumsy and tangled’ (Cranfield). καὶ μὴ is best seen as introducing a question which is picked up with ποιήσωμεν, with καθὼς ... λέγειν taken as a parenthetical comment.

The correlative adverb καθὼς connects the present passive βλασφημούμεθα (from βλασφημέω, here, “I slander”) to the alleged question which follows (ποιήσωμεν ... ἀγαθά).

The double use of καθώς is probably due to a shift in voice from passive to active (EGGNT).

The subject of the present φασίν (from φημί, “I say”; most translations: “claim”; NET: “allege”) is τινες. The present infinitive λέγειν (from λέγω) is the direct object of φημί. ἡμᾶς is the accusative subject of the infinitive, which is translated as an indicative verb (“as some say that we say”). ὅτι introduces the content of what Paul and friends are accused of saying.

The parenthetical comment over, the rhetorical question continues. καὶ is probably best taken as a second object of the question τί from verse 7, with an assumed λέγομεν: “why am I judged as a sinner and [why] not [say], ‘Let us do evil ...’”

μὴ negates the aorist subjunctive ποιήσωμεν (from ποιέω), which is hortatory (“Should we not do ...?”). The plural neuter τὰ substantizes the adjective κακά as an abstract noun (“evil”, rather than “evil things”; HCSB: “what is evil”) and the direct object of ποιέω. Alternatively, μὴ can be read as the anticipated negative answer to the question, “We shouldn’t do evil, should we?”, not just negating the subjunctive verb.

The ἵνα indicates result. ἔλθῃ (from ἔρχομαι) is subjunctive (aor.) after ἵνα; τὰ ἀγαθά (“good”; see note on τὰ κακά above) is the subject of the verb. Neuter plural verbs often take a singular verb.

The objective genitive plural relative pronoun ὧν (“of them”) modifies τὸ κρίμα (most translations: “condemnation”), which is the subject of ἐστιν (from εἰμί). The antecedent of ὧν is τινες. Most translations render ὧν as a simple possessive pronoun (“Their condemnation”).

13 οὐ θέλω δὲ ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ἀδελφοί, ὅτι πολλάκις προεθέμην ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, καὶ ἐκωλύθην ἄχρι τοῦ δεῦρο, ἵνα τινὰ καρπὸν σχῶ καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν καθὼς καὶ ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἔθνεσιν. 14 Ἕλλησίν τε καὶ βαρβάροις, σοφοῖς τε καὶ ἀνοήτοις ὀφειλέτης εἰμί, 15 οὕτως τὸ κατʼ ἐμὲ πρόθυμον καὶ ὑμῖν τοῖς ἐν Ῥώμῃ εὐαγγελίσασθαι.

My translation:

13 And I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that many times I purposed to come to you, but I was hindered until now, in order that I might have some fruit among you just as among the rest of the nations. 14 To the Greeks and also to the barbarians, to the wise and also to the foolish I am a debtor, 15 thus I, for my part, am eager to preach the good news also to you in Rome.

Notes:

1:13

δὲ is transitional (“Now ...”).

The present infinitive ἀγνοεῖν (from ἀγνοέω, “I do not know, am ignorant”; most translations, “unaware”) is complementary with the negated present θέλω. ὑμᾶς is the accusative subject of the infinitive. HCSB & NIGTC state the phrase positively: “I want you to know”.

ἀδελφοί is used as a vocative. In Greek, the masculine is used for gender-inclusive circumstances (“brothers and sisters”, most translations; cf. ESV marginal note).

ὅτι indicates the content of what Paul does not want the Romans to be unaware.

πολλάκις (18x) is an adverb from πολύς meaning, “many times, often, frequently” (BDAG).

προτίθεμαι (3x), from πρό + τίθημι, is literally “I place before”; the verb ‘is stronger than βούλεσθαι or θέλειν’ (Cranfield). The active-voice verb meant, “I set [a plan] before [the public for approval]”; the middle-voice here denotes setting a plan before oneself, i.e., “plan, propose, intend” (BDAG); ESV, NET: “intended”. The aorist προεθέμην is modified by the adverb πολλάκις. The aorist infinitive ἐλθεῖν (from ἔρχομαι) is complementary with the verb. The infinitive is modified by the spatial prepositional phrase πρὸς ὑμᾶς (NLT: “to visit you”).

καὶ here is disjunctive (“but”).

The aorist passive ἐκωλύθην is from κωλύω, “I hinder, prevent”.

The adverb δεῦρο (7x) is usually used in the NT as an imperatival particle with locative meaning, “Come [to this place]”; here it is temporal, meaning “Now”. Thus ἄχρι τοῦ δεῦρο means, “until now” (NIV, HCSB, NET); “so far” (NASB), and modifies κωλύω above (the adverb ἄχρι is here an ‘improper preposition’ since it takes an object). Most translations put καὶ ... δεῦρο in parenthesis to avoid disruption of the flow of thought from ἐλθεῖν to ἵνα.

The ἵνα clause indicates the purpose of the infinitive ἐλθεῖν above.

τινὰ καρπὸν is the direct object of σχῶ (from ἔχω; NASB: “obtain”), which is subjunctive (aor.) after ἵνα, literally “in order that I might have some fruit”; ESV: “in order that I may reap some harvest”; HCSB: “... have a fruitful ministry”.

καὶ here is, “also” or “even”, and the locative prepositional phrase ἐν ὑμῖν (“among you”) modifies ἔχω above.

The clause introduced by the comparative adverb καθὼς modifies ἔχω above.

Most translations omit this second instance of καὶ (NIV, HCSB omit both).

The locative prepositional phrase ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἔθνεσιν modifies an assumed verb such as εἶχον καρπὸν (“just as I had fruit among the rest of the Gentiles”).

1:14

ὁ βάρβαρος (6x) is, “foreigner” (cf. English loanword barbarian), referring to non-Greeks who spoke a language unknown to the ‘civilized’ Greeks and Latins. Most translations, “barbarians”; NIV: “non-Greeks”.

The adjective σοφός (20x), from ἡ σοφία, is, “wise”.

The adjective ἀνόητος (6x), from α + νοέω “I think”, is, “unintelligent, foolish, dull-witted” (BDAG).

Both phrases Ἕλλησίν τε καὶ βαρβάροις (“to both Greeks and to Barbarians”) and σοφοῖς τε καὶ ἀνοήτοις (“to both the wise and the foolish”) are datives of advantage or respect modifying εἰμί below.

ὁ ὀφειλέτης (7x), from ὀφείλω “I owe”, is “debtor” or “one under obligation”. ὀφειλέτης is the predicate of εἰμί; NIV, HCSB: “I am obligated”; ESV, NASB: “I am under obligation”; NET, NRSV: “I am a debtor”.

1:15

οὕτως here draws an inference from what precedes, “so, hence” (BDAG).

The adjective πρόθυμος (3x), from πρό + ὁ θυμός “passion”, is “ready, willing, eager” (BDAG); the πρό-prefix indicates, “predisposed” (HELPS). The substantival τὸ πρόθυμον is modified by the prepositional phrase κατʼ ἐμὲ which here is equivalent to a possessive pronoun ‘with limiting force’, i.e., “my eagerness” (BDAG). Since this verse has no indicative verb, Cranfield puts τὸ κατʼ ἐμὲ πρόθυμον as the subject of an implied ἐστίν and the infinitive εὐαγγελίσασθαι below as the predicate (“So my eagerness is to evangelize”; most translations, “I am eager ...”). Alternatively, τὸ could nominalize the phrase κατʼ ἐμέ to mean, “what is in accordance with me”, i.e., “I, for my part” (ICC), as the subject of the implied ἐστίν, and πρόθυμον the predicate (NASB: “So, for my part, I am eager”).

καὶ here is, “also”.

63 ὁ δὲ ἀρχιερεὺς διαρρήξας τοὺς χιτῶνας αὐτοῦ λέγει· Τί ἔτι χρείαν ἔχομεν μαρτύρων; 64 ἠκούσατε τῆς βλασφημίας· τί ὑμῖν φαίνεται; οἱ δὲ πάντες κατέκριναν αὐτὸν ἔνοχον εἶναι θανάτου.

65 Καὶ ἤρξαντό τινες ἐμπτύειν αὐτῷ καὶ περικαλύπτειν αὐτοῦ τὸ πρόσωπον καὶ κολαφίζειν αὐτὸν καὶ λέγειν αὐτῷ· Προφήτευσον, καὶ οἱ ὑπηρέται ῥαπίσμασιν αὐτὸν ἔλαβον.

My translation:

63 And the high priest, having torn his clothes, says, “Why do we still have need of witnesses? 64 You heard the slander; how does it appear to you?” And they all condemned him to be liable to death.

65 And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him with their fists and to say to him, “Prophesy!” And the helpers received him with blows.

Notes:

14:63

διαρρήσσω (5x, also spelled διαρρήγνυμι), is an intensified form of ῥήσσω/ῥήγνυμι (7x) “I tear, break, burst”; with fabric, “tear”. The aorist participle διαρρήξας is temporal-antecedent with the historical present λέγει (from λέγω), of which ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς is the subject. The tearing of the clothes of the presiding judge was actually the normal procedure upon proof of blasphemy.

ὁ χιτών (11x) is, “tunic, garment”; in the plural, “clothes”; ESV: “garments”; HSCB: “robes”. τοὺς χιτῶνας is the direct object of διαρρήσσω.

The neuter interrogative pronoun τί functions adverbially meaning, “Why?” (if τί modified χρείαν [“what need”], it would need to be the accusative τίνα). τί and the adverb ἔτι (“still”) modify the present ἔχομεν (from ἔχω), and χρείαν (“need”) is the direct object. The genitive modifier μαρτύρων (“of witnesses”) is objective.

14:64

ἡ βλασφημία (18x), from βλασφημέω, is “slander, an insult”. The English loanword “blasphemy” is used for slander against God (as is the context here), although in the NT the word is used for offenses against God and man alike. τῆς βλασφημίας is the genitive direct object of the aorist ἠκούσατε (from ἀκούω). Normally the genitive after ἀκούω is reserved for the speaker, while the content of the speech is in the accusative.

The interrogative pronoun τί (“What?”) is the subject of the present passive φαίνεται (from φαίνω, here “appear” in the pass. with act. sense). ὑμῖν is the indirect object. Here the passive verb essentially means, “seem”, and thus the question directed at the ruling council, “How does it seem to you?” (NASB), idiomatically means, “What is your decision?” (BDAG; ESV, HCSB); NIV: “What do you think?”; NET: “What is your verdict?”.

κατακρίνω (18x), from κατά + κρίνω, is literally “I judge down”, i.e., “judge against”, “condemn” (most translations). The article οἱ, modified by πάντες, functions as a pronoun referring to the chief priests, scribes and elders of the Sanhedrin and is the subject of κατέκριναν. αὐτὸν, referring to Jesus, can be read as the direct object of the verb or the subject of the infinitive below.

The adjective ἔνοχος (10x) meant “guilty of” in 3:29, but here “liable to” (NIGTC), from ἐνέχω (3x) “to have [something] against [someone]” (see 6:19); most translations: “deserving”; NIV: “worthy”. ἔνοχον is the predicate of the present infinitive εἶναι (from εἰμί), which indicates indirect discourse after κατακρίνω. The genitive θανάτου is objective (“they all condemned Him to be deserving of death”, HCSB). NLT combines both senses of the word with, “‘Guilty!’ they all cried. ‘He deserves to die!’”

14:65

τινες (“some”), presumably a subset of the Sanhedrin, is the subject of the aorist ἤρξαντό (from ἄρχομαι). The verb is followed by four complementary infinitives. The accent from the enclitic τινες has moved back onto ἤρξαντό.

ἐμπτύω (6x) is, “I spit on”, from ἐν + πτύω (3x) “I spit”.

περικαλύπτω (3x) is, “I cover around, blindfold”, from περί + καλύπτω (8x) “I cover”. τὸ πρόσωπον is the direct object.

κολαφίζω (5x) is, “I strike with the fist” (sim. NASB, NIV, NET). ESV: “strike”; HCSB: “beat”. αὐτὸν, referring to Jesus, is the direct object.

The present infinitives ἐμπτύειν, περικαλύπτειν, κολαφίζειν, and λέγειν (from λέγω) are complementary with ἄρχομαι above. αὐτῷ, referring to Jesus, is the indirect object of λέγω.

The aorist imperative προφήτευσον is from προφητεύω, “I prophesy”. Some manuscripts here add τίς ἐστιν ὁ παίσας σε; (“Who is it that has struck you?”), probably added in order to harmonize with Matthew and Luke (Metzger). The shorter reading is rated a {B} by the UBS Committee.

οἱ ὑπηρέται (see note on v. 54; “guards”, ESV, NIV, NET; “officers”, NASB) is the subject of the aorist ἔλαβον (from λαμβάνω), and αὐτὸν, referring to Jesus, is the direct object.