SIL Translator’s Notes on Romans 5:16

5:16a

the gift is not like the result of the one man’s sin: This clause in Greek is literally “the gift (is) not as through the one man having sinned.” There are three ways to interpret this clause:

(1) The word “through” means the results or effects of. Paul said that the gift is not like what Adam’s sin caused to happen. For example:

the free gift is not like the effect of that one man’s sin (Revised Standard Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, English Standard Version, New American Bible, Revised Edition, New American Standard Bible)

(2) The word “through” is to be omitted. It does not contribute to the meaning here. For example:

there is a difference between God’s gift and the sin of one man (Good News Translation)

(Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, New Century Version)

(3) The word “through” means the results or effects of, and is also implied for the gift. For example:

the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin (New Living Translation (2004))

(New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because it is most consistent with the Greek text here. Here are other ways to translate this clause according to interpretation (1):

The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Another distinction between God’s gift and the result of one man’s sin is this.
-or-
And here is another difference between this gift of God and that not good result of the sin of Adam.

the gift: The word here in Greek is the same word as in 5:15c. Translate it in the same way here.

5:16b–c

The judgment that followed one sin brought condemnation, but the gift that followed many trespasses brought justification: There are two Greek words that combined can be translated using the English idiom “on one hand” and “on the other hand.” They contrast the two clauses. For example:

on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification (New American Standard Bible)

A simple translation in English is but, as in the Berean Standard Bible.

5:16b

In the Greek, 5:16b begins with a word that is usually translated as “for.” It introduces an explanation of 5:16a. It does not introduce a reason here. The Berean Standard Bible does not translate this word, but many English versions do. For example:

For (English Standard Version)

The judgment that followed one sin: This refers to God judging Adam guilty of sin after Adam disobeyed God’s command. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

after the one sin, God judged him guilty
-or-
Adam sinned and ⌊then⌋ God said that he did wrong

judgment: This word refers to God deciding that Adam had sinned. It does not refer to punishing Adam here. For that, see the note on “condemnation.”

one sin: Translate the word sin as you did in 5:13b. The word one indicates that this phrase refers to the sin in the Garden of Eden when Adam disobeyed God’s command.

brought: Here this word means “caused.” For example:

After the one sin, came the judgment of “Guilty” (Good News Translation)
-or-
resulting in (New American Standard Bible)

condemnation: This word refers to how someone is punished. Adam sinned and God punished him by saying that he would die.

5:16c

the gift that followed many trespasses brought justification: This clause indicates that after many people sinned many times, Jesus reconciled us to God (the gift), which caused God to decide that a person is acceptable to him. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
God’s free gift came after many sins, and it makes people right with God (New Century Version)

the gift: The word here in Greek is the same word as in 5:15a. Translate it as you did in 5:15a.

trespasses: Translate this word as you did in 5:15.

justification: This word indicates that God decides that a person is acceptable to him. Translate this word as you did in 4:25.

General Comment on 5:16b–c

Paul used the Greek words “from” (“followed” in the Berean Standard Bible) and “to” (“brought” in the Berean Standard Bible) in both 5:16b and 5:16c. This helps to make the differences between the two clauses more clear. If possible, use similar words in both clauses. For example:

the judicial action, following on the one offence, resulted in a verdict of condemnation, but the act of grace, following on so many misdeeds, resulted in a verdict of acquittal (Revised English Bible)
-or-

After that one man sinned ⌊once⌋, it caused God to judge him guilty. But after many sins God’s free gift came, and it caused God to make people right with him

But in some languages it is better to not have exactly the same words in both places. For example:

judgment, resulting from the one transgression, led to condemnation, but the gracious gift from the many failures led to justification (NET Bible)
-or-

following the one sin, God judged and put a burden, but following the sin of many, God’s gift came and took many people and made them righteous

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

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