Once again Paul makes an appeal to scripture; this time to Malachi 1.2-3. The verb loved has the force of “chose,” while the verb hated has the force of “rejected.” In this type of context it seems particularly useful to employ such terms as “chose” and “rejected” rather than the literal loved and hated, especially since an equivalent of hated may give entirely wrong connotations in a receptor language.

That Paul intends this scripture quotation to have a special weight is indicated by the way in which he introduces it, as the scripture says, and by the fact that he himself makes no further comment on it.

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 .