Section 3:1–8
God is faithful and righteous
In chapter two, Paul spoke about some wrong ideas that the Jews had. In this section, Paul spoke to someone, probably a Jew, who might think that Paul implied that God was unfaithful to his covenant with the Jews. Paul showed that regardless of how God’s people had behaved, God was always faithful to what he said.
Keep in mind that Paul himself was a Jew. He knew how Jews thought, and he knew how to answer their objections.
Here are other possible headings for this section:
God is faithful to his covenant even if his people are not
-or-
God keeps his word and does what is right
Paragraph 3:1–4
3:1a
What, then, is the advantage of being a Jew?: This is a rhetorical question. It causes the reader to think about what the answer might be. Paul answered this question in 3:2.
then: This conjunction introduces something more that Paul wanted to say about circumcision (2:25–29). Based on what he said there, he now has another question for his readers. For example:
So (New Century Version)
But the connection is not introducing a logical conclusion. Your translation should not introduce a logical conclusion here. Additionally, the Berean Standard Bible places this word after “What.” Place this connecting word in a place that is natural for your language.
advantage: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as advantage means “something greater.” Jews have their covenant with God and his words. This is more than what the Gentiles have. Here are other ways to translate this word:
benefit (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
privilege/bonus
3:1b
Or: This word introduces another question similar in meaning to the question in 3:1a.
what is the value of circumcision?: In 2:25 Paul wrote “circumcision…is of value.” Here the clause is a what question. If possible, translate it using similar words to that verse. For example:
is circumcision valuable?
-or-
what is the worth of circumcision?
-or-
what is the use/benefit of being circumcised?
-or-
what good is circumcision?
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