2:9a

There will be trouble and distress for: The Greek is literally “tribulation and distress on.” The Berean Standard Bible and many English versions add the words There will be to make the English natural.

The context probably implies the words “he will give” again from 2:7c. For example:

He will give trouble and suffering to (New Century Version)

trouble: The Greek word refers to oppression, suffering, or persecution. God will cause all people who do evil to suffer.

distress: This word refers to difficulties or troubles that people experience. God’s punishment will be very difficult for these evil people.

who does evil: The word does indicates doing evil often. For example:

who lives doing evil
-or-
who practices evil deeds

does evil: This phrase refers to bad behavior. It includes not only treating others in unfair ways but also living in morally bad ways. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

are wicked (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
is a wrongdoer (Revised English Bible)
-or-
do bad

2:9b

first for the Jew, then for the Greek: This indicates that God will punish both Jews and Greeks. It also indicates that the Jews are first in status or time. The Jews are God’s people (higher status) but God will still judge them for their sins. Or it could mean that on the day of judgment, God will judge the Jews first.

In some languages, a literal translation would wrongly indicate two separate judgments. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Translate the literal meaning and allow other verses to indicate the correct meaning.

• Translate the literal meaning and explain it in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:

These words indicate that either (1) The Jews have higher status as God’s people but God will still judge them for their sins; or (2) On the day of judgment, God will judge the Jews first.

• Translate the meaning of the figure of speech. For example:

especially the Jews but so also the Gentiles

Greek: Here this word refers to people who are not Jews. For example:

Gentile (New International Version)
-or-
those who are not Jews (New Century Version)

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