complete verse (Romans 13:3)

Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 13:3:

  • Uma: “If our behavior is good, relatives, we are not afraid of the government. The ones who are afraid are people whose behavior is evil. So, in order that we not be afraid of the government, do good, so the government will praise us.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Because the ones who do good are not afraid of the ones who rule in the land/place. Only the ones who do bad are the ones afraid of them. You do not have to be afraid of the ones who rule the land as long as your doings are good and they will yet praise you.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “It’s not necessary for us to be afraid of those who rule over us if our behavior is good. We should only be afraid if we do evil. If it’s your desire that you do not be afraid of those who rule, then you must do good and then they will praise you.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The one who does good, he has nothing to fear from those who rule, but the one who does evil, he of course is afraid. So if you want to not be afraid of officials, you should do what is good and they will honor/praise you.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Because the authority does not live in order to scare the people who do good. Rather it is the people who do evil he apprehends. If you do not want to fear the authorities, then do good in order that you will be looked well upon.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Romans 13:3

By those who do good but by those who do evil represents an abstract noun construction in Greek (literally “not … to good work but to evil”). The reference is to good conduct as opposed to bad conduct (see Revised Standard Version and New English Bible), and the Good News Translation expresses this idea of conduct by verb phrases rather than by noun phrases. This first sentence in verse 3 may be expressed in some languages as “For those who do good have no need to be afraid of rulers; only those who do evil must be afraid of rulers.”

The man in authority (Revised Standard Version “him who is in authority”) may more literally be rendered as “the authority” (see New English Bible “of the authorities”); but generally it is better to render this by reference to the one in authority rather than to employ an abstract expression.

The question and response in the second and third sentence of verse 3 can be more idiomatically expressed in some languages as condition and result—for example, “If you would like to be unafraid of those in authority, then do what is good, and those in authority will praise you.” As in so many contexts, it may be necessary to use plural expressions rather than singular ones in order to indicate the general nature of such circumstances and relations.

He will praise you is literally “you will have praise from it” (that is, from the authority), and is rendered “you will receive his approval” (Revised Standard Version) or “you will have their approval” (New English Bible). The exegetical grounds for rendering the abstract noun “authority” by the man in authority … he is found in the following verse, where this abstract expression is made concrete in the phrase he is God’s servant.

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 13:3

13:3a

For: This word introduces an explanation of incurring judgment in 13:2b.

rulers: This word refers to the governing authorities in 13:1–2. Using this new word, some languages might need to explicitly connect it to those people in 13:1–2. For example:

⌊those⌋ rulers

are not a terror: This refers to not being someone that people are afraid of. Some languages must explain how the word terror is used here. For example:

are not a cause of fear (New American Bible, Revised Edition)
-or-
are not people to be feared

terror: This word generally means “fear.” Here it refers to the fear of being caught and punished for doing something bad.

to good conduct: Here the word conduct refers to what one does. For example:

to good deeds/behavior

In some languages it will be more natural to make explicit that it is people doing this good conduct. For example:

to ⌊people who do⌋ good things

but to bad: This indicates that rulers are a terror to people who have bad conduct. Some languages must add some or all of the words missing from the Greek and the English. For example:

but to bad conduct
-or-
but to ⌊the one who does⌋ evil
-or-
but he is a terror to ⌊the person who has⌋ bad conduct

13:3b

Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority?: The Greek is more literally “Do you (sing.) want to not fear the authority?” It is a rhetorical question. It introduces the topic of how to have no fear of people in authority. Paul himself answered how in 13:3c. Here are other ways to translate these words:

Do you want to have no fear of authority?
-or-
Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? (New International Version)
-or-
if you want to live with no fear of authority (New Jerusalem Bible)

13:3c

Then do what is right: The Greek is more literally “Do the good.” It is the answer to how to not fear people in authority. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

Do good (NET Bible)
-or-
Then you must do good deeds/things

right: The Greek word refers to what is morally good. For example, helping the poor is morally good, but stealing is not, even though the thief might think it is good for himself.

13:3d

you will have his approval: The Greek is literally “you (sing.) will have praise from it.” The word “it” refers to the authority in 13:3b and implies the person holding that authority. Here the word his refers in general to that person. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

he will commend you (New International Version)
-or-
they will praise you (Good News Translation)

approval: This word refers to words saying someone is good. Here it is praise for doing good.

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