Exegetically and translationally this verse presents no serious difficulties, though it is important to understand it in the light of Paul’s total argument. The impact of Paul’s argument is not to indicate that a man may be put into a right relationship with God through the keeping of the Law; rather he is arguing that the mere possession of the Law does not guarantee that a man is in a right relationship with God. Put right with God is literally “righteous beside God,” but for the English speaker “righteous” indicates a moral quality, while Paul is speaking of a relationship with God.

The logical relations of the parts of verse 13 are difficult to express in some languages, especially in those in which one cannot speak about hearing the Law without specifically indicating who does the hearing. Moreover, a passive expression such as are put right may need to be changed into an active one. This means that the total form of verse 13 may require considerable recasting—for example, “God does not put people right with himself just because they have listened to the Law. Rather, he does this when they do what the Law says they should do.” In some languages the passive expression may be retained but the expression of means by hearing the Law must be inverted—for example, “men are not put right with God merely by listening to the Law, but this does happen by their doing what the Law says they ought to do.” In a number of languages, however, one cannot render literally what the Law commands, since only people can “command.” One may need to translate the last part of this verse as “do what God has commanded in the Law.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .