Translation commentary on Romans 15:13

As in so many other instances of third person imperative, it may be necessary to introduce verse 13 by an expression of prayer—for example, “I pray that God.”

God, the source of hope (so also New American Bible, Moffatt “the God of your hope”) is literally “the God of hope.” “Of hope” is ambiguous in this context, and so the Good News Translation makes the meaning of the genitive expression clear. The source of hope may be expressed as a causative: “the one who causes us to hope.” In this context it may be more appropriate to employ only the plural “you” instead of “us”: “the one who causes you to hope.”

Fill you with all joy may be rendered as “cause you to be completely happy,” “cause you to feel happy completely in your hearts,” or even “cause your hearts to burst because of happiness.” Peace also must be understood as the goal of what God has caused: “that God may cause you to have complete happiness and to enjoy peace” or “… experience complete peace.” Peace may be expressed idiomatically in some languages—for example, “to sit down in your hearts” or “to hear quietness in your hearts.”

“In believing” (Revised Standard Version) is taken by the Good News Translation to mean “by means of believing,” and the object of this belief is supplied: by means of your faith in him. As in so many instances, means may be expressed in some languages by a clause of cause—for example, “because you believe in him.” It is perfectly proper to express this faith as “faith in Christ,” but within this particular context it seems more fitting to express it as “faith in God.”

So that your hope will continue to grow is more literally “so that you may abound in hope” (see King James Version, Revised Standard Version). The verb “to abound” is no longer in current English usage, and so some of the modern English translations restructure by making hope the object of a verb phrase (for example, the New American Bible “so that you may have hope in abundance”; An American Translation* “so that you may have overflowing hope”). The New English Bible renders “overflow with hope.” The Good News Translation restructures by making hope the subject of the intransitive verb grow, while taking the expression “you … in hope” as the equivalent of your hope. Moreover, since the tense of the Greek verb “to abound” indicates continuing action, the Good News Translation translates by continue to grow.

In a number of languages one cannot speak of “hope growing.” One can, however, “hope more and more,” “hope more firmly,” or “be more steadfast in hoping.” By the power of the Holy Spirit may be interpreted as the means and therefore become the subject of an expression of cause: “so that the Holy Spirit will cause you to have more and more hope.”

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 15:13

Paragraph 15:13

15:13a

Now may the God of hope fill you: This indicates that Paul wanted God to fill the Roman believers. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

I pray that God…will fill you (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
I request that he give you
-or-
I-desire-that…God…will graciously-favor you

the God of hope: Here the word of indicates that God enables us to hope. As believers we also hope in God, but that does not seem to be the main reason why Paul wrote of hope here. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

God, the source of hope, (Good News Translation)
-or-
God, who gives hope, (Contemporary English Version)

hope: This word refers to wanting something to happen or even confident expectation that something will happen. The meaning is “confident expectation” here. See how you translated this word in 4:18 or 12:12.

fill: Here this word is a figure of speech that indicates that God will give completely the ability to have joy and peace. Some languages can use fill in that way. Some languages must translate with a different word or phrase for the correct meaning. For example:

give in/an abundance
-or-
cause that you may completely rejoice…
-or-
give you happiness and peace…that is complete

all joy and peace: The word all connects to both joy and peace. In some languages it is more clear or natural to repeat this word. For example:

all joy and ⌊all⌋ peace

all: Here this word refers to all kinds of joy and all kinds of peace. In some languages the word all cannot be placed with a singular item like joy or peace. If that is true in your language, translate the correct meaning. For example:

all kinds of joy and ⌊all kinds of⌋ peace

joy: This word refers to a continuing experience of being happy or glad. See how you translated this word in 14:17.

peace: Here this word refers to well-being and being free from troubles. See how you translated this word in 1:7 or 14:17.

as you believe in Him: There are several ways to interpret the Greek words here. Here are the three main ones:

(1) It means within the sphere or influence of believing. Joy and peace are experienced within the sphere or influence of believing. For example:

in your faith (New Jerusalem Bible)

(Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, English Standard Version, New American Bible, Revised Edition, New American Standard Bible, King James Version)

(2) It indicates that believing is the way in which one experiences or gets joy and peace. For example:

by means of your faith in him (Good News Translation)

(Good News Translation, God’s Word)

(3) It indicates that joy and peace are experienced at the same time as one believes. For example:

as you believe in him (NET Bible)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, NET Bible, Revised English Bible, New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because it seems the most fitting definition here.

believe in Him: There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as believe :

(1) It refers to faith, as in the Berean Standard Bible.

(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition, English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, Revised English Bible)

(2) It refers to trust. For example:

trust (New International Version)

(New International Version, New Living Translation (2004), New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

The Greek is in the present tense, which indicates an ongoing faith.

15:13b

so that: These words introduce the purpose of Paul praying for God to give them joy, peace, and hope.

you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit: Some English versions place by the power of the Holy Spirit first in the clause to emphasize it. However, in the Greek it is a place that does not normally indicate emphasis. Place this phrase wherever is most natural in your language.

overflow with hope: Here the word overflow refers to having very much hope. The Greek word is the verb related to the word that means “abundant.” Paul wanted them to have abundant hope. Here are other ways to translate this word:

be rich in hope (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
filled full of hope
-or-
have very great hope
-or-
hope ⌊in God⌋ in complete sufficiency
-or-
hope very strongly/much

the Holy Spirit: This phrase refers to God’s Spirit. The word Spirit is used in a similar way that a person refers to his spirit. The word Holy here means “clean” or “sacred.” But it also refers to “coming from God.” See how you translated this phrase in 5:5 or 14:17.

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Commentaire sur la traduction de la lettre aux Romains 15.13

Encore une fois Paul prend un mot dans une phrase précédente et le réutilise. En Rom 15.12, les nations mettent leur espoir dans le Messie. Dans ce verset, Paul utilise le nom lié au verbe espérer, en faisant référence au Dieu de l’espérance.

Que le Dieu de l’espérance vous comble de joie et de paix dans la foi : Paul exprime son vœu ou sa prière pour ses lecteurs-auditeurs à la troisième personne du singulier. Dans certaines langues ce style ne sera pas naturel, et on dira plutôt « Je prie Dieu que… »

le Dieu de l’espérance : dans certaines langues cette expression sera ambiguë : est-ce Dieu qui espère ou Dieu qui inspire l’espérance ? C’est pourquoi la Bible en français courant précise en disant « Dieu, la source de l’espérance ». Voir aussi la La Bible du Semeur, « Dieu, qui est l’auteur de l’espérance » et la Parole de Vie « Dieu, qui donne l’espérance » (Parole de Vie). On pourrait aussi parler du « Dieu, celui qui nous fait espérer… »

vous comble de joie et de paix est litt. « vous remplisse avec joie débordante avec paix ». La Nouvelle Bible Segond parle de « toute joie et paix », et la Bible en français courant, « d’une joie et d’une paix parfaites » Dans certaines langues, il vaut mieux utiliser un verbe générique, « Que le Dieu de l’espérance vous donne de la joie… », « Que Dieu… fasse que vous ayez une joie complète et que vous jouissiez de la paix » ou « …que vous connaissiez une paix parfaite ».

Pour paix, voir Rom 1.7. Les traducteurs l’exprimeront sous une forme idiomatique, par exemple, « cœur froid » ou parfois un mot qui parle de bien-être, comme שָׁלוֹם šâlôm en hébreu. Plusieurs langues ont un tel terme qui pourrait servir ici.

dans la foi rend un infinitif verbal, litt. « dans le [fait de] croire ». Proche du grec, la Bible de Jérusalem dit « dans votre acte de foi ». Selon la Bible en français courant, dans la foi signifie « par votre foi » et l’objet de cette foi y est explicité : « …votre foi en lui ». La La Bible du Semeur est similaire : « par votre confiance en lui ». D’autres y voient une notion causale : « à cause de votre foi » (Parole de Vie), « parce que vous croyez en lui ». Il est possible de penser que la foi implique « foi au Christ », mais, dans ce contexte, il semble plus juste de penser à « la foi en Dieu », en raison de la mention de Dieu au début du verset.

afin que vous débordiez d’espérance : la préposition εἰς eis introduit un but. La traduction de la Traduction œcuménique de la Bible est proche du grec et si possible, les traducteurs devront garder le langage figuré, avec le verbe déborder. Paul présente l’image d’une coupe qui déborde de joie, comme dans la La Bible du Semeur, « Ainsi votre cœur débordera d’espérance ». Si le langage figuré ne peut pas être retenu, on pourrait dire « afin que vous soyez riches d’espérance » (Bible en français courant) ou « Alors vous serez pleins d’espérance » (Parole de Vie). Pour espérance, voir dans cette section Rom 15.4, mais aussi Rom 5.2. Une autre solution serait « afin que vous espériez de plus en plus ».

par la puissance de l’Esprit Saint est litt. « avec la force/le de l’Esprit Saint ». Pour Esprit Saint, voir Rom 1.4.

Source: Margot, Jean-Claude & Zogbo, Lynell. La lettre aux Romains – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2021.