complete verse (Romans 1:24)

Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 1:24:

  • Uma: “So, because men did not want to worship God, that’s why he just allowed them to follow the desire of their hearts, to behave evilly, with the result that they do behavior that is shameful with each other.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore God abandoned them to do the dirty-things their livers want to do. They do shameful things with their companions.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And because of this, God no longer pays any attention to them so that they might do all the filthy things that they want to do. And very shameful are the things which each one of them do to their bodies.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Therefore God has let-them -alone so that they obey/fulfil the evil-things their minds desire so that they do whatever kind of filthiness that shames their bodies/themselves.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Because this is what the people do, God separated from them, he gave them the road to do whatever evil settles in their hearts to do. Concerning these people, it is shameful about what they do to each other.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Romans 1:24

Beginning in this verse Paul describes the moral depravity which results from the rejection of God and the consequent worship of idols. Because men are such fools renders a strong transitional particle in Greek, which appears in the New English Bible as “for this reason” and in the Jerusalem Bible “that is why.” God has given them over is repeated in verses 26 and 28; it describes God’s judgment in abandoning men to their own sinful resources. The implication is that God has deserted them and let them go their own way. The filthy things their hearts desire is a reference to the moral and spiritual depravity of man. This depravity results in the misuse of their bodies: they do shameful things with each other (see also vv. 26-27).

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Romans 1:24

Paragraph 1:24–27

1:24a

God gave them over…to impurity: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as gave…over refers to putting someone under the control of something or someone else. Here it indicates that God put them under the control of impurity, so that they always did impure things. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

God put them under the control of impurity
-or-
God caused them to be ruled by ⌊thoughts of⌋ impurity
-or-
God…gave them the road to do whatever evil

impurity: This word refers to deeds that are immoral to do. Here are other ways to translate this word:

uncleanness (King James Version)
-or-
filthy practices (New Jerusalem Bible)

in the desires of their hearts: Here the word in introduces the situation of those people’s lives when God gave them over to impurity. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

⌊living⌋ in the lusts of their hearts
-or-
in ⌊their custom of following⌋ the lusts of their hearts

the desires of their hearts: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as desires refers to strong desires of any kind. But it implies bad desires here. Here are other ways to translate this word:

the sinful desires of their hearts (New International Version)
-or-
their inmost cravings (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
the evil-things their minds desire

hearts: In Greek, the word hearts refers figuratively to the inner person, which includes the mind, the emotions, and the will. See how you translated this word in 1:21.

1:24b

for: The word for here introduces the result of God giving them over to impurity, or explains what Paul meant when he wrote the word “impurity.” Here are other ways to translate this word:

of (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
so that (New American Standard Bible)
-or-

to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
to impurity, that is, the degrading of their bodies

the dishonoring of their bodies: The Greek phrase here is literally “their bodies to be dishonored.” It refers to doing things that damage it, or things that God does not allow, or not showing respect to it. Here it probably refers mostly to shameful sexual actions. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

dishonouring their own bodies (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
they dishonor their bodies by sexual perversion (God’s Word)
-or-
they shame their bodies
-or-
they cause their bodies to be full of shame

the dishonoring: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as dishonoring is passive. It is the people’s own impurity (1:24a) that dishonors or shames their bodies. The Greek verb is also present tense, indicating that they continue to do this. Translate it with that meaning. See the above examples.

with one another: Paul was talking of all of humanity. So this phrase indicates that the dishonoring happens in all of humanity. It does not focus on doing these things to or with each other, but indicates that the dishonoring happens among people rather than between people and other beings. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

among them (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
they altogether

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