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Romans 2

1Therefore you are without excuse, whoever you are who judge, for in judging the other person you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things. 2We know that God's judgment against those who practice such things accords with truth. 3Do you suppose, you who judge those who practice such things and do them yourself, that you will escape God's judgment? 4Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that God's kindness leads you to repentance? 5But with your hardness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and the revealing of the righteous judgment of God, 6who will repay each person according to his deeds: 7eternal life to those who, by perseverance in good work, seek glory and honor and imperishability; 8but wrath and fury to those who are driven by selfish ambition and disobey the truth but obey unrighteousness. 9Affliction and distress will come upon every human soul who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11For there is no partiality with God.

12For all who sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who sinned under the law will be judged through the law. 13For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be declared righteous. 14For whenever Gentiles who do not have the law do by nature what the law requires, these, though they do not have the law, are a law to themselves. 15They show the work of the law written in their hearts, with their conscience bearing witness alongside it and their thoughts in dispute with one another, accusing or even defending them, 16on the day when God judges people's secrets through Christ Jesus, according to my good news.

17But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God 18and know his will and approve what is excellent, being instructed from the law, 19and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light for those in darkness, 20an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—21then you who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who proclaim that one must not steal, do you steal? 22You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24For, as it is written, “God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

25For circumcision is beneficial if you practice the law, but if you are a lawbreaker, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26So if the uncircumcised person keeps the law's requirements, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27And the person uncircumcised by nature who fulfills the law will judge you who, despite the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. 28For being a Jew is not a matter of outward appearance, nor is circumcision outward, in the flesh; 29rather, a person is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. His praise comes not from people but from God.

Translation notes 5

2:1–4 — The person who judges. Paul turns from “they” to a singular “you,” confronting the person who condemns others while doing the same things. The Greek address means a human being, not necessarily a male. Verse 17 explicitly identifies a Jewish interlocutor; that identity is not supplied early in verse 1.

2:5–11 — Judgment and deeds. “Storing up” preserves the treasury image, here with wrath as the accumulated treasure. The text says that God repays each person according to deeds and promises life to those who persevere in good; no explanatory “if anyone could do so” has been added. “Every human soul” means every person. The Jew/Greek order remains the same for judgment and good outcome.

2:12–16 — Law, conscience, and judgment. “Law” principally refers here to the law given to Israel. “Declared righteous” retains the judicial force of the verb. In verse 14 “by nature” may instead qualify Gentiles' not having the law by birth. “A law to themselves” means that their conduct shows the law’s demands, not that they are free to disregard moral requirements. “Work of the law” in verse 15 concerns what the law requires. The placement of verse 16 is difficult: it may connect directly with the thoughts' accusation and defense, or resume the judgment described in verses 12–13 after an explanatory aside.

2:17–24 — Instruction and inconsistency. “Approve what is excellent” can also mean “discern what differs.” “Infants” is a teaching image. “Rob temples” is the direct sense of the verb in verse 22; the precise practice or incident behind the accusation is not supplied. Verse 24 quotes Isaiah 52:5 in the form Paul uses. Some textual traditions begin verse 17 “Look, you are called a Jew” rather than the base's “But if you call yourself a Jew.”

2:25–29 — Circumcision and the heart. Paul contrasts the bodily mark with doing the law, then uses the image of heart circumcision. “Written code” renders “letter,” the written law in this contrast, rather than the idea of literal interpretation. “By the Spirit” is provisional; “in spirit,” referring to the inward person, is another interpretation. The text does not include the adjective “true” before “Jew.” Chapter 3 immediately asks what advantage the Jew has; the present contrast should be read with that continuation.