By the free gift of God’s grace (New English Bible “by God’s free grace alone”) is literally “as a free gift by his (God’s) grace” (see Jerusalem Bible “through the free gift of his grace”). The word free gift indicates that man contributes nothing toward being put in a right relationship with God, while the phrase “by God’s grace” indicates that God supplies all that is necessary. In the phrase “by his grace” the possessive pronoun rendered God’s in the Good News Translation is in the emphatic position.
The expression of means in the phrase by the free gift of God’s grace must be transformed into a verb expression in some languages, for example—“by means of God’s showing his grace freely to people” or “because God shows his grace freely.” This very emphatic expression may be reproduced in both a positive and negative manner, since free may need to be expressed as involving “no exchange”—for example, “since it is God who shows grace, and it is not an exchange gift.”
Through Christ Jesus, who sets them free translates a noun expression in Greek “through the setting free in Christ Jesus.” Although “setting free” is a noun in Greek, it describes an event rather than an object, and so is better rendered by a verb in English. This word is rendered in a variety of ways in the different translations—for example, “redemption” (Revised Standard Version, New American Bible), “ransom” (Moffatt), “by being redeemed” (Jerusalem Bible), “deliverance” (An American Translation*), and “act of liberation” (New English Bible). This particular word is used only once in the Septuagint (Daniel 4.34, which speaks of Nebuchadnezzar’s recovery from his madness, “the time of my setting free came”), but other words derived from the same stem are used in a number of passages, especially in those which speak of God’s setting his people free from Egypt. Although some of the Old Testament passages make mention of a price paid to effect the release, the emphasis is never on that aspect; the emphasis is rather on the result accomplished, that is, on the act of setting free. Paul uses this word once again in Romans (8.23), and it appears elsewhere in his writing in 1 Corinthians 1.30; Ephesians 1.7, 14; 4.30; Colossians 1.14. It is also found in Luke 21.28 and Hebrews 9.15; 11.35. In each of these passages the emphasis is upon the act of being set free, and in Ephesians 1.7 and Colossians 1.14 the setting free is specifically identified with the forgiveness of sins.
It may also be helpful to throw some further light on the verb translated put right. So far the verb has appeared three times in this letter (2.13; 3.4, 20), while its related noun form has appeared four times (1.17; 3.5, 21, 22). The verb itself is a causative stem, and means something like “to make right.” The analogy that Paul has in mind is that of a law court. This then is not an ethical term, as though God’s pronouncement made men morally upright or virtuous; rather it is used to indicate that God pronounces men acquitted or not guilty in his sight. In other words this is merely another term used to describe the way in which God forgives. The simplest way to express this idea in today’s English is to say that God puts man into a right relationship with himself.
The serious difficulty of translation in verse 24 results from the two types of agents by which men are put right. God is, of course, the primary agent. He is the one who puts men right with himself. At the same time this verse specifies that it is done through Christ Jesus. In some languages the secondary agent must always be expressed by a causative verb—for example, “God causes Christ Jesus to put men right with God.” In other instances, secondary agency is expressed by a paratactically combined clause which indicates the direct agent—for example, “God puts all men right with himself; Christ Jesus does this” or “God puts men right with himself; he did this by means of Christ Jesus, who sets them free.”
This last phrase who sets them free is variously translated, depending upon the particular cultural context which is employed as a basis for the expression—for example, “he causes them to go out,” “he causes them to be untied,” or “he takes away the accusations against them.”
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 .