The Greek in Romans 2:15 that is translated as “is written on their hearts” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with ist als inneres Programm in sie hineingelegt or “is placed in them as an internal program.”
conscience
The Hebrew and Greek that is rendered in English as “conscience” is translated into Aari as “our thoughts speak to us,” in Nuer it is “the knowledge of their heart” (source: Jan Sterk), in Cheke Holo “to know what is straight and what is wrong” (source: Carl Gross), in Chokwe “law of the heart” (source D.B. Long in The Bible Translator 1953, p. 135ff. ), in Toraja-Sa’dan penaa ma’pakilala or “the admonishing within” (source: H. van der Veen in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 21 ff. ), in Yatzachi Zapotec as “head-hearts,” in Tzeltal as “hearts” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), in Enlhet as “innermost,” in Northern Emberá as “thinking” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1975, p. 201ff. ), and in Elhomwe as “what reminds the heart” or “whole heart” (“since the idea of conscience is something that reminds the heart”) (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
In Warao it is translated with obojona, a term that “includes the concepts of consciousness, will, attitude, attention and a few other miscellaneous notions” (source: Henry Osborn in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 74ff. ). See other occurrences of Obojona in the Warao New Testament.
In Mbudum it is translated as “the heart that does not leap.” (Source: Ervais Fotso Noumsi in Le Sycomore, 16/1, 2022 )
See also conscience seared and perfect conscience / clear conscience, clear conscience towards God and all people, and brothers, up to this day I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God.
complete verse (Romans 2:15)
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 2:15:
- Uma: “From that behavior of theirs we clearly know that there are commands from the Lord’s Law written in their heart. From their thinking also we know that there are laws in their heart, for they say in their hearts: ‘That action is wrong,’ or they say: ‘That action is good.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “It is seen by their deeds that they know in their livers as to what is said in the law of Musa. They know in their minds whether their deeds are good or bad. Sometimes they think that their deeds are bad and sometimes also they think that their deeds are good.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “By means of their good works, we can tell that their breath teaches them what is commanded by the Law. They know in their minds what is good and what is bad to do. For there are times when they say that their behavior is good, and times when they say that it’s bad.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “Thus they show by what they do that the commands of the law are stored/put-away in their minds. Their minds also confirm that that is true, because their minds are the very-thing that tells them whether what they are doing is good or bad.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tenango Otomi: “By how they live it is apparent that they know in their thoughts the good which the law says to do. They know whether it is good or not good what they do.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
- Hopi: “For he who walks that way shows that he has a law in his heart. And he knows quickly when he has sinned. And he knows when he has done right.”
- Isthmus Zapotec: “In this way they show they already have the law in their hearts. All by themselves they realize what is right and their minds make them understand if they are erring or if they are doing right.”
- Central Tarahumara: “And they thus show that they obey well a commandment which is written like there in their hearts. And they know well in their own hearts that they are thus ordered, because they are accused by their own thoughts when they do evil. And they are not thus accused when they do good.” (Source for this and two above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
Central Mazahua: “Those who aren’t Jews, when they do good, it is seen that they know in their hearts what the law says. They know in their hearts when they do good, when they do bad. Their thoughts, sometimes they think, Why did I do bad? Sometimes they know that they did good.”
law
The Greek, Hebrew, and Ge’ez that is translated in English as “Law” or “law” is translated in Mairasi as oro nasinggiei or “prohibited things” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Noongar with a capitalized form of the term for “words” (Warrinya) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
In Yucateco the phrase that is used for “law” is “ordered-word” (for “commandment,” it is “spoken-word”) (source: Nida 1947, p. 198) and in Central Tarahumara it is “writing-command.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
In a 1922 translation into Chagatai, a precursor language of both Uzbek and Uighur, it is translated with the Arabic loan word shari’at (شريعت), originally meaning “(Islamic) law (Shari’a).” (Source: F. Erbay and F.N. Küçükballı in Acta Theologica 2025 45/2, p. 133ff. )
Translation commentary on Romans 2:15
When Paul says “they show,” he evidently means their conduct shows, which may be rendered as “by what they do they show” or “by their behavior they indicate.”
“The work of the Law” may be taken either in the sense of what the Law commands (see Jerusalem Bible, An American Translation*, Revised Standard Version), or with the meaning of “the effect of the Law” (New English Bible, Moffatt).
Written in their hearts may be rendered as “exists in their hearts” or “is found in their minds.”
Show that this is true basically means “give testimony as a witness” (see New English Bible “their conscience is called as witness” and An American Translation* “their consciences will testify for them”). Paul gives three evidences to indicate that the Gentiles are a law to themselves, though they do not possess the Mosaic Law: (1) their conduct (2) their consciences, and (3) their thoughts.
It is difficult in many languages to distinguish between “heart” and “conscience.” In some instances there may be a highly idiomatic expression for conscience—for example, “the little man that stands within” or “one’s innermost.” More frequently one must combine the concepts of both thought and heart—for example, “how they think in their hearts.”
The pronoun this in the phrase this is true must refer back to the fact that what the Law commands is written in their hearts. It may be necessary to make this explicit by translating: “what they think in their hearts shows that what the Law commands is written there.”
Their thoughts sometimes accuse them and sometimes defend them is a difficult clause in Greek, though most modern translations accept the same exegesis that the Good News Translation follows. The Greek of this clause is difficult because there is no expressed object of the verb accuse or defend. It is possible to render this as the King James Version does, “their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another”; but the question is whether Paul is speaking of a person’s thoughts sometimes accusing and sometimes defending himself, or whether he is thinking of a person’s thoughts sometimes accusing and sometimes defending someone else. In light of the rest of the verse, the former of these possibilities is probably better. Accuse and defend are expressed in some languages as direct discourse—for example, “sometimes their thoughts say, You did wrong, and sometimes their thoughts say, You did right.”
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 2:15
2:15a
So they: The Greek word is literally “who” and the Greek sentence continues from 2:14. The word “who” refers back to the Gentiles (2:14a). The Berean Standard Bible and many English versions begin a new sentence here for more natural English and therefore translate the Greek word as So they.
But the Gentiles are not purposely going around and showing this. It is their deeds that show that the principles of God’s law are in their hearts. For example:
Their conduct (Good News Translation)
show: The present tense here indicates that Gentiles show this throughout their lives. Consider how to indicate that in your language.
the work of the law is written on their hearts: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
⌊God⌋ wrote the work of the law on their hearts
the work of the law: This phrase refers to doing good deeds and avoiding bad deeds, following the principles of God’s law. Examples are: “honor your father and mother” (Exodus 20:12) and “do not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Gentiles did not have the exact words of the Old Testament but they behaved in similar ways. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
the requirements of the law (New International Version)
-or-
the effect of the Law (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
what the law requires (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
what is right and wrong, just as the law commands (New Century Version)
-or-
the good which the law says to do
law: Here this word refers to the laws that God gave to the Jews. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly refer to laws in general. If that is true in your language, explain it in the text. For example:
God’s law (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
the law ⌊of Moses⌋
is written on their hearts: The phrase is written on is used as a metaphor here. It means “exists in.” The Gentiles often behave as if they already know how God wants them to behave. In some languages a literal translation would not be natural. If that is true in your language, translate without the metaphor. For example:
is in their hearts
-or-
they know
their hearts: Here the word hearts refers figuratively to the inner being, which includes the mind, the emotions, and the will. In some languages a literal translation would not refer to the inner being. If that is true in your language, you may want to use the word or phrase that has the right meaning. For example:
their insides/livers
-or-
their mind and will
2:15b
their consciences also bearing witness: This indicates that the consciences of Gentiles also show that the principles of God’s law are written on their hearts. Here are other ways to translate these words:
Their consciences also show that this is true (Good News Translation)
-or-
to this their conscience gives supporting witness (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Their minds also confirm that that is true
consciences: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as consciences refers to the record of past deeds that a person has in his mind and causes him to feel ashamed or guilty when he does something wrong. It also makes him feel good when he does what is right. Here are other ways to translate this word:
Their minds also confirm that that is true, because their minds are the very-thing that tells them whether what they are doing is good or bad.
-or-
they say in their hearts: “That action is wrong,” or they say: “That action is good.”
-or-
They know in their minds what is good and what is bad to do.
2:15c–d
and their thoughts either accusing or defending them: The word and indicates here that the thoughts of the Gentiles also show that the principles of God’s law are written on their hearts.
their thoughts either accusing or defending them: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as thoughts is literally “between-one-another thoughts.” It refers to the thoughts of Gentiles, some which accuse them when they have done wrong, and some which commend them when they have done right. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them (New International Version (2011))
-or-
thoughts that say they did wrong or sometimes even say they did right
-or-
their minds tell them whether what they are doing is bad or good
-or-
think “That action is wrong,” or “That action is good.”
2:15c
thoughts either accusing: In some languages the word thoughts cannot go with the word accusing. See the above examples.
2:15d
or defending them: Here the Greek includes a word that is usually translated as “even.” The Berean Standard Bible omits this word. It indicates that much more often the thoughts of Gentiles accuse them and their thoughts only occasionally “defend them.”
defending: Here the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as defending refers to explaining behavior so that someone else will see that that behavior was acceptable. In this case, a Gentile might give reasons why he thinks that what he did was a good deed. Here are other ways to translate this word:
excuse (English Standard Version)
-or-
tell them they are doing right (New Living Translation (2004))
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Commentaire sur la traduction de la lettre aux Romains 2.15
Ils montrent : ce verset commence par une forme pronominale en grec, que certains rendent par le pronom relatif « qui » ou par le pronom « ils », renvoyant aux non-Juifs. Paul est en train de commenter ce qu’il vient de dire en Rom 2.14. Certaines versions ajoutent au début de ce verset, « Par leur conduite… », se référant à ce que précède.
montrent rend un verbe qui signifie « démontrer », « indiquer » ou même « prouver » (Bible en français courant). Il est sous-entendu qu’ils montrent par ce qu’ils font que…
que l’œuvre voulue par la loi est litt. « l’œuvre de la loi » (Nouvelle Bible Segond). Cette expression peut être comprise de plusieurs manières : « les exigences de la loi », « la pratique ordonnée par la loi » (Bible en français courant) ou « l’effet de la loi ». Mais la plupart des versions adoptent pour la première interprétation, c’est-à-dire ce que la loi ordonne de faire.
est inscrite dans leur cœur est litt. « écrite dans leur cœur », expression qui vient de l’Ancien Testament. En Jér 17.1, le prophète Jérémie dit que la culpabilité d’Israël est « inscrite sur la tablette de leur cœur ». Dans le contexte de cette lettre, c’est une façon figurée (ici, positive) de dire que les non-Juifs connaissent la loi sans l’avoir lue et sans l’avoir apprise. Si le langage figuré « écrite dans leur cœur » est compréhensible dans la langue cible, c’est bon de le garder. Sinon, on pourrait dire que « la loi se trouve dans leur cœur », « en eux », « dans leur for intérieur » ou « dans leur esprit ».
leur conscience en témoigne également : dans de nombreuses langues, il est difficile d’établir une distinction entre les mots conscience et « cœur ». Dans plusieurs langues, ce dernier est le siège de l’émotion mais aussi de la réflexion. Le mot grec συνείδησις suneidêsis, conscience, renvoie à l’endroit où les décisions morales sont prises. Selon Louw et Nida (I :324), il correspond à la « voix intérieure de quelqu’un ». Dans la langue cible, s’il n’existe pas deux mots pour conscience et « cœur », on pourrait utiliser ce dernier mot, en disant, par exemple, « comment ils pensent dans leur cœur » ou « au fond de leur cœur ». On pourrait dire que « la réflexion de leur cœur leur dit ce qui est juste ou pas » ou « dans leur cœur ils savent ce que loi de Dieu dit, sans l’avoir apprise ».
en témoigne rend un verbe qui signifie « confirmer », l’acte de donner un témoignage qui confirme un fait. Une version en anglais dit « leur conscience apporte un témoignage qui appuie cela ». En effet, Paul soutient que les non-Juifs (ou les « païens »), « se tiennent lieu de loi à eux-mêmes, bien qu’ils ne possèdent pas la loi de Moïse » ( Rom 2.14), en évoquant le fait que leur conscience ainsi que leurs jugements intérieurs ou « leurs pensées » (Bible en français courant) les guident.
ainsi que leurs jugements intérieurs qui tour à tour les accusent et les défendent : ainsi que introduit une clarification du mot conscience en décrivant l’action de celle-ci. Le mot grec λογισμός logismos, ici au pluriel, signifie « pensées », « raisonnements », « calculs » ou « réflexion ». Le texte dit litt. « et entre les uns les autres les raisonnements accusant ou bien défendant ». Bien que la formulation en grec soit compliquée, l’idée est simple et connue de tous les êtres humains. La Bible en français courant parle de « leurs pensées qui parfois les accusent et parfois les défendent ». Leenhardt (p. 49) note à cet effet qu’il s’agira du « …dialogue de l’homme avec lui-même, ce débat où il est tour à tour l’accusateur et le défenseur de soi-même… »
tour à tour : ces mots expriment l’idée que les pensées ne sont pas stables. La personne s’accuse, puis se reprend et s’excuse. La Bible en français courant et la Parole de Vie l’expriment par la répétition du mot « parfois » : « leurs pensées qui parfois les accusent et parfois les défendent » ; « ils sont capables tantôt de s’accuser de leurs fautes, tantôt de se défendre ». Dans le cas où on ne pourrait pas formuler ces notions, le traducteur pourrait avoir recours au discours direct, par exemple, « parfois leurs pensées disent : “tu as mal agi” et parfois leurs pensées disent : “tu as bien agi” ».
Source: Margot, Jean-Claude & Zogbo, Lynell. La lettre aux Romains – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2021.
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