Romans 2 is the second chapter of the

Epistle to the Romans The Epistle to the Romans is the sixth book in the New Testament, and the longest of the thirteen Pauline epistles. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by Paul the Apostle to explain that Salvation (Christianity), salvation is offered ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

of the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

. It was written by

Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

, while he was in

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

in the mid-50s AD, with the help of an

amanuensis An amanuensis ( ) ( ) or scribe is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. It may also be a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In some aca ...

(secretary), Tertius, who adds his own greeting in Romans 16:22. Biblical scholar William Sanday observes that although "the main theme of the Epistle sthe doctrine of

justification by faith (or simply ), meaning justification by faith alone, is a soteriological doctrine in Christian theology commonly held to distinguish the Lutheranism, Lutheran and Reformed tradition, Reformed traditions of Protestantism, among others, from th ...

", in verse 6 Paul "lays down with unmistakable definiteness and precision the doctrine that

works Works may refer to: People * Caddy Works (1896–1982), American college sports coach * John D. Works (1847–1928), California senator and judge * Samuel Works (c. 1781–1868), New York politician Albums * ''Works'' (Pink Floyd album), a Pi ...

, what a man has done, the moral tenor of his life, will be the standard by which he will be judged at the last day".Sanday, W. (1905)
Romans 2
in ''Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers'', accessed on 5 September 2016

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

. This chapter is divided into 29 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

containing the text of this chapter are: *

Papyrus 40 Papyrus 40 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), designated by 𝔓40, is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. The manuscript paleographically has been assigned to the 3rd century. Description It is a papyrus manuscript of the Epistle to ...

(~250; extant verses 1–3) * Papyrus 113 (3rd century; extant verses 12–13, 29) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Old Testament and the majority of the New Testament. It is designated by siglum B or 03 in the Gregory-Aland numb ...

(325–350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (; Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), also called the Sinai Bible, is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the deuterocanonica ...

(330–360) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early ...

(400–440) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, written on parchment. It is designated by the siglum C or 04 in the Biblical manuscript#Gregory-Aland, Gregory-Aland numbering of New ...

(~450; extant verses 1–4)

Old Testament references

* Romans 2:6 references Psalm 62:12 and Proverbs 24:12 * Romans 2:24 references Isaiah 52:5 and Ezekiel 36:20,23 * Romans 2:29 references Deuteronomy 10:16 and Deuteronomy 30:6

New Testament references

* : * : and

Analysis

Paul's rhetoric style here and in other parts of the epistle (cf. Romans 3:1-9; 3:27–4:25; 9:19–21; 10:14–21; 11:17–24; 14:4–12) resembles the '' diatribe'', a form of argumentation by 'debating' with an imaginary opponent (as common among Cynic or Stoic philosophers), such as responding to objections using the expression "by no means!" (; cf. Romans 3:4, 6, 31; 6:2,15; 7:7,13; 9:14; 11:1, 11) to 'pull' the reader into the 'conversation' on Paul's side. Unlike in Romans 2:17–3:20 where Paul plainly addresses a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

interlocutor, the dialogue partner in verses 1–16 is not explicitly identified. The

Jerusalem Bible ''The Jerusalem Bible'' (JB or TJB) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a Catholic Bible, it includes 73 books: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonical ...

states that the opening verses are addressed to the Jews, while Craig Hill observes that the whole of Romans 2:1–3:20 "speaks to perceived Jewish attitudes".

God's righteous judgment

Verse 2

:''But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.'' Sanday notes Paul's assumption that this statement "will be acknowledged as a general principle by his readers, whether Jew or Gentile".

No partiality with God

Verse 11

* Cross-reference verse 11 with Deuteronomy 10:17 and Acts 10:34

Verse 16

:''On that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus''. This is the only reference to

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

after Paul's initial thanksgiving in Romans 1:8 until his reference to faith in Jesus Christ in Romans 3:22-26. Hill finds "almost nothing" to be "distinctly Christian" at this point in Paul's letter.

Verse 17

:''Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God,'' The

Textus Receptus The (Latin for 'received text') is the succession of printed Greek New Testament texts starting with Erasmus' ''Novum Instrumentum omne'' (1516) and including the editions of Robert Estienne, Stephanus, Theodore Beza, Beza, the House of Elzevir ...

(1550) reads , ''ide su ioudaios eponomazē'', which was translated in the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...

as "Behold, thou art called a Jew". But many translations read "If you call yourself a Jew".

Antoine Augustin Calmet Antoine Augustin Calmet, (; 26 February 167225 October 1757), a French Benedictine abbot, was born at Ménil-la-Horgne, then in the Duchy of Bar, part of the Holy Roman Empire (now the French department of Meuse, located in the region of Lor ...

lists "many manuscripts,

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...

Origen Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...

, St. Ambrose, Sedulius Scottus, Theophylactus, and the Latin

Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Diocese of ...

as reflecting the latter reading. Sanday calls the King James reading "corrupt" noting that the reading "but if" reflects "a decisive consensus of the best manuscripts".

Circumcision

Paul refers to

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...

as a physical mark of

Jewish identity Jewish identity is the objective or subjective sense of perceiving oneself as a Jew and as relating to being Jewish. It encompasses elements of nationhood, "The Jews are a nation and were so before there was a Jewish state of Israel" "Jews are ...

, but for a Jew who breaks the law it becomes a sign of contradiction: "your circumcision has become uncircumcision" (Romans 2:25). The prophet

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

had spoken of those who were "circumcised yet uncircumcised" (Jeremiah 9:25). Paul reiterates the teaching of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

that: drawing on Moses' words in Deuteronomy 30:6:

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Epistle to the Romans 02