complete verse (Romans 4:23)

Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 4:23:

  • Uma: “What is written there is not just Abraham’s portion.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “That writing about Ibrahim hep was not only for him,” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the written word of God long ago which says that God considered him to be righteous, this was not written only about Abraham,” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “These words which say that God counted him as righteous were not written for Abraham only,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “When the word was written that then Abraham was cleared, it wasn’t written just to praise Abraham.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Romans 4:23

In Paul’s argument this verse is transitional. Paul has demonstrated on the basis of scripture that Abraham was accepted as righteous by God through faith, and now he begins to show how this applies also to everyone else who has faith.

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 .