In Greek this verse begins with a particle meaning “so that” (An American Translation*), and this appears in the New English Bible as “consequently” (New American Bible “as a consequence”) and in the Revised Standard Version as “therefore.” The force of the particle is to introduce a conclusion based on the judgment in the previous verse. However, it is not always necessary to have a transitional particle such as “then” or “hence.” The fact that verse 2 is a conclusion to verse 1 is evident from the content itself. Note that there is no particle in the Good News Translation rendering.

What God has ordered (Revised Standard Version “what God has appointed”) renders a noun phrase in Greek (“the thing ordered by God”). Ordered may be rendered in some languages as “put there,” “arranged,” or “established.” It is important to avoid a term which would suggest “command” in the sense of a verbal order.

Anyone who does so is plural in Greek (“those who resist”), but in English discourse structure it is more natural to employ a singular after anyone, whoever, or everyone (v. 1).

Will bring judgment on himself is naturally taken as a reference to God’s judgment (see the similar expression in Mark 12.40 and James 3.1); however, this may be a reference either to God’s judgment as exercised by the government authorities or to the final exercise of God’s judgment at the last day. In the present context the first of these possibilities seems more probable. Accordingly, an equivalent expression may be “will cause the ruler to condemn him,” “will cause his own condemnation,” or “will cause himself to be punished.”

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 .