In these two verses Paul uses a series of five verbs to describe the divine purpose and action. Each verb differs in meaning from the others, yet each is related to and grows out of the one which it follows. The first two verbs (already chosen, set apart) refer back to God’s eternal purpose before time began, while the next three verbs (called, put right with himself, shared his glory) describe the realization of God’s purpose in history. Before these verbs are looked at in detail, it will be helpful to remind ourselves of what Paul is doing in this passage. Negatively, he is not developing a doctrine of predestination in which he looks upon God as arbitrarily choosing some and rejecting others. Positively, he is reflecting on his own experience and the experience of other believers, and he sees this in light of God’s eternal purpose. In other words, Paul is saying that his own salvation and the salvation of others is a result of God’s purpose and of God’s grace; it did not happen by chance, and it was not something that the believer earned by his own merit. Therefore, up to this point Paul’s basic emphasis has been to show that salvation is by God’s grace alone and it is not due to any human effort. Now he emphasizes the other aspect of the salvation event, that is, that it is within the eternal purpose and intention of God.

The verb which the Good News Translation has translated already chosen literally means “to know beforehand,” and is used in Acts 26.5; Romans 11.2; 1 Peter 1.20; 2 Peter 3.17. Even though by definition this word means “to know beforehand,” when used by a Jewish speaker there is a possibility of an extended meaning in light of the Old Testament use of the word “to know” (Jeremiah 1.5; Amos 3.2; Hosea 13.5). For example, the meaning of “to choose beforehand” is obviously what is intended in 1 Peter 1.20, and it seems quite possible that that is the intended meaning in this passage and in Romans 11.2. In this present passage An American Translation* translates the verb as “marked out from the first” while the Jerusalem Bible renders by “chose specially long ago.” The Revised Standard Version, Phillips, and the New English Bible translate by verbs equivalent in meaning to “know beforehand,” and Moffatt renders by “decreed of old.” Several observations support the meaning of “to choose beforehand” as over against “to know beforehand” for this present passage: (1) although Paul is writing in Greek, his thoughts are conditioned by the Hebrew Old Testament, and the Hebrew verb “to know” implies much more than is conveyed by the same verb in English; (2) the meaning of “to choose beforehand” can be supported on the basis of 1 Peter 1.20, and apparently this is the meaning in Romans 11.2; (3) for English speakers at least, one can speak of knowing facts beforehand though not of knowing persons beforehand. In selecting an expression to translate had already chosen the closest equivalent may be “those whom God had designated beforehand” or “those whom God had selected out beforehand.”

The verb that the Good News Translation has translated set apart is also used in Acts 4.28; 1 Corinthians 2.7; Ephesians 1.5, 11. The meaning of “predestined” is indicated by the Revised Standard Version, An American Translation*, and Moffatt. The New English Bible translates this verb as “ordained” in verse 29 and as “fore-ordained” in verse 30, while the Jerusalem Bible translates the verb in both instances as “intended,” and Phillips renders by “chose” in both passages. By definition this word means “to decide beforehand” and obviously has that meaning in Acts 4.28. In 1 Corinthians 2.7 and Ephesians 1.5 it appears to have the meaning of “to choose beforehand,” and so would be essentially synonymous with the first verb that Paul uses in this passage. In the present passage the distinction between these two verbs seems to be as follows: the first verb (already chosen) points back to God’s choice of these people as his own, while the second verb (set apart) indicates that God had in mind a definite goal for those persons whom he had chosen (that is, to become like his Son).

In selecting an expression to render set apart, it is important to avoid the implication of setting something apart because it is bad. Since the process of “setting apart” so frequently involves separating out inferior objects rather than superior ones, there is a tendency for an expression meaning “to set apart” to acquire a connotation which would be unacceptable in this context. One may contrast chosen with set apart by translating the first part of verse 29 as “for those whom God had already chosen he also designated to become like his Son.” In some languages the process of designation may be expressed as “put upon them the need to become” or “marked them so that they would become.”

The phrase to become like his Son has been translated in a number of different ways, but the meaning is clear and the Good News Translation is true to what Paul intended (An American Translation* “to be like his Son”; Moffatt “share the likeness of his Son”). Although the verb set apart speaks as though this action was already decided on before history began, the purpose indicated, to become like his Son, can only be accomplished at the end of history.

First literally means “firstborn” (so most translations; New English Bible, An American Translation*, Jerusalem Bible “eldest”). In light of the Jewish use of this word, its primary component of meaning is that of priority (“first place”) rather than of age (“firstborn”). In fact, it is quite possible that in New Testament times this word had come merely to mean “first.”

The final purpose clause of verse 29, introduced by so that, is actually only a second purpose clause following the purpose expressed by to become like his Son. In some languages it may be necessary to mark this second purpose clause by reproducing part of the previous purpose clause—for example, “they will become like his Son so that his Son will be the first among many brothers” or “… first together with many brothers.”

In the first part of verse 30 the Good News Translation reverses the order of the verbs so as to draw attention to the new verb called. The New Testament often uses the verb “to call” as the way in which God approaches man, and this verb indicates that in the divine-human encounter the initiative is always with God. Once again it is important to realize that there is no intimation in this word that God did not call others; but when the Christian reflects on his own experience, he realizes that it is due to the fact that God has first come to him.

The verb put right with himself has been discussed earlier (see under 1.17). All five of these verbs which Paul uses are in the past tense, though it is difficult to see why he would use the past tense for the verb shared his glory. This verb must be taken as something which is still in the future, though it is looked upon as if it were already realized. The meaning of shared his glory is essentially the same as to become like his Son. That is, each one of these phrases emphasizes the fact that the ultimate goal for the Christian is to become like the God who revealed himself in Jesus Christ. In the present verse the word glory is used with the same meaning which it has in 3.23. It is difficult to express in some languages the concept of he also shared his glory with them. This may be expressed as “he gave them part of his majesty,” “he gave them some of the wonderfulness which he had,” or “he caused them to be glorious in some way similar to the way he is glorious.”

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 .