The introductory statement certainly not! may be reproduced in some languages as “indeed you must not think so” or “certainly that is not true.” This same Greek expression is translated as by no means in verse 6.

In this verse Paul uses a third person imperative form (the Revised Standard Version translates literally “Let God be true”), which must be taken in the sense of God must be true (so New English Bible; An American Translation* “God must prove true”; Jerusalem Bible “God will always be true”). In the context the statement means that God will do what he has said he will do, he will keep his word.

In a number of languages one can speak of “a true word” or “speaking truly,” but it is not possible to say that a person “is true.” In rendering the statement God must be true one may have to introduce some verb of speaking for example, “you may know that God always speaks the truth.” It is inappropriate in some languages to introduce an obligatory element such as must in connection with speaking the truth, since this would imply that God is under some moral obligation to speak the truth rather than that by his very nature he always speaks the truth. This particular meaning of true is clearly contrasted in the following clause which speaks of other persons being liars.

Every man is a liar is an allusion to Psalm 116.11, while the scripture quotation in the last part of this verse is an exact quotation from Psalm 51.4 in the Septuagint. The scene described in the 51st Psalm is that of a court scene in which God always emerges victorious over his opponents because he is right.

As the scripture says is the same formula that appears in 1.17 and 2.24.

As in the case of the clause God must be true, the auxiliary verbs must in the two lines of quotation should be interpreted not as obligation but as certainty—for example, “you will certainly be shown to be right” and “you will certainty win your case.” An active alternative to the passive expression must be shown may be “whenever you speak, everyone will certainly see that you are right.”

In some languages it is not easy to find a satisfactory equivalent of the last statement of verse 4, since subjecting God to a court trial may seem quite inappropriate, and there may be no terms for trial which do not prejudge the guilt of one being tried. Accordingly, one may employ in some instances: “whenever you defend yourself you will show that you have done right” or “you will always win out against those who accuse you.”

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 .