In some languages the initial question of verse 33 may be rendered by an expression such as “can” or “is able to”—for example, “who can accuse God’s chosen people?” or “who can declare, The people whom God has chosen are guilty?” The answer to such a rhetorical question is “no one,” and the second part of verse 33 is the reason for that—for example, “no one can accuse them, since God himself has declared them not guilty” or “no one can say, They are guilty, since God himself has said, They are innocent.”

God himself declares them not guilty! may be taken as a question indicating irony on Paul’s part—for example, “will God, who himself declares them not guilty, be the one to accuse them?” But this introduces an unnecessary complication into what Paul is saying, and no translators follow this in the text of their translations (see, however, the alternative rendering in the New English Bible). Declares them not guilty translates the same verb that is rendered elsewhere with the meaning “to be put right with God” (see under 4.5).

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 .