4:3a

For: The conjunction For introduces support for Abraham not being able to boast before God in 4:2c. For example:

because (New Century Version)

In some languages it is more natural to omit the conjunction and allow the context to imply the connection.

what does the Scripture say?: This is a rhetorical question. It functions to emphasize what God’s word says about Abraham. Here are some ways to translate this:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

What does Scripture say? (God’s Word)

• As a statement. For example:

Indeed, the Scriptures say
-or-
the Scriptures certainly tell us

the Scripture: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Scripture is literally “writing.” In the New Testament, this word always refers to something written in the Old Testament. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

the sacred writings
-or-
the writings ⌊which are⌋ holy
-or-
God’s message that they wrote

See how you translated the word Scripture in 1:2.

4:3b

4:3b–c is a quote from Genesis 15:6. 4:3a does not explicitly introduce the quote from the Old Testament. In some languages it is more natural to explicitly introduce the quote. For example:

It says,…

Also see the second meaning line in the Display of 4:3a.

Abraham believed God: Here Paul used the word believed to refer to accepting what God said as true. This refers to Abraham believing that God would one day fulfill the promise that God told him. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

Abraham trusted God to ⌊fulfill his promise⌋
-or-
Abraham believed God’s promise to him
-or-
Abraham had faith in God ⌊to fulfill his promise⌋

4:3c

and it was credited to him as righteousness: The word it refers to “Abraham believed God.” Some languages need to use a different word or phrase. For example:

and that was counted to him as righteousness
-or-
and that belief was counted to him as righteousness

it was credited to him as righteousness: The phrase it was credited indicates that God thought about Abraham believing him and so gave him the status of righteous. God called Abraham righteous because Abraham believed what God told him. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

it was reckoned to him as righteousness (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
it was counted to him as righteousness (English Standard Version)
-or-
he was declared to be a righteous person because of that belief of his

This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

God counted him as righteous
-or-
because of his faith God accepted him as righteous (Good News Translation)
-or-
because of his faith God said he was straight in his sight

as righteousness: The word righteousness refers to the status of being right. Here it indicates that a person’s relationship with God is right. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

as a just man
-or-
to be right ⌊with God⌋

General Comment on 4:3b–c

These words are a quote found in Genesis 15:6. If you indicate the location of quotes from the Old Testament with cross-references, you may want to do so here.

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