In Greek the first part of this verse includes a phrase that is equivalent to a passive (see Revised Standard Version “for you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear”), which the Good News Translation transforms into an active construction. “You received” indicates that someone has given something, and the implied subject is God, God has given you. The phrase “spirit of slavery” is taken to mean “a spirit which brings about slavery.” In this context “spirit” is taken as a specific reference to God’s Spirit, for the Spirit that God has given you does not make you a slave. Finally, the phrase “into fear” implies result, and so the Good News Translation renders cause you to be afraid. The phrase which the Revised Standard Version renders “to fall back into fear” is literally “again into fear.” Most translations make the idea of “again” explicit, whereas the Good News Translation leaves this as an implicit item in the translation. The idea is that before the coming of God’s Spirit the believers were slaves of fear, but now God’s Spirit has released them from fear.

The Good News Translation has the same sort of restructuring in the second clause of this verse (literally “but you received a spirit of adoption”) as it has in the earlier part. The phrase “spirit of adoption” is again a reference to the Holy Spirit, while the genitive relation means that the Spirit (of God) makes you God’s sons. Some translators make a full stop at this point (so Revised Standard Version, Moffatt) and connect the remainder of this verse with the following verse. The reason for this is that Paul here uses a phrase which is ambiguous; it may mean either “by whom” or “in the time which.” Most translators understand the phrase in the former sense, while those who take it in the latter sense connect it with what follows (see Revised Standard Version “when we cry”). If the former interpretation is accepted, then the reference is clearly to God’s Spirit and so the Good News Translation renders this phrase as by the Spirit’s power (see New English Bible “Spirit … enabling us to cry”.)

If in this verse one understands “spirit” in the sense of the human spirit, the rendering must, of course, be quite different. In some languages, for example, translators employ expressions such as “God has not given you a heart like a slave, thus causing you to be afraid, but he has given you a heart like a son, and therefore you can say to God, You are my Father.” However, this type of interpretation seems to be far less satisfactory than one which recognizes the use of “Spirit” as a reference to God’s Spirit.

Similar judgments may be made regarding an exegesis such as the New English Bible, which sees in the first part of this verse a reference to the human spirit (“a spirit of slavery”) and in the second half of the verse a reference to God’s Spirit (“a Spirit that makes us sons”). Although it is possible to understand these as contrasting phrases, this is contrary to Paul’s usage of “spirit” throughout this entire passage. Throughout this chapter the focus of reference is God’s Spirit, and it is unlikely that Paul would change in this one instance. Moreover, it is better to see these two halves of the verse as a contrast between what God’s Spirit does and does not do, rather than a contrast between the activity of the human spirit and God’s Spirit.

In this verse Paul uses two different words for Father, the one Aramaic and the other Greek. Most translators transliterate the former of these terms “Abba,” and translate the latter “Father.” It is doubtful that the average reader can fully appreciate what Paul has done, and so it seems best to translate both of these words as Father. The Good News Translation qualifies the second term as my Father, which is supported by the observation that in Greek the word meaning “Father” is preceded by the article and so may be rendered as my Father or “our Father,” depending on the context. In some languages there may be a distinct problem of number in using an equivalent of my Father. For example, if one uses a second person plural “you” throughout this verse or shifts to “we” in the last clause, it may be necessary then to say “you are our Father.” However, one can introduce a singular by employing a preceding expression “each one of you” or “each one of us.” As is already implied, it may be difficult to employ a double expression of “Father” as in Father! my Father! The more common equivalents involve several formal adjustments—for example, “each one of us may address God and say, My Father” or “we may all speak to God as our Father.”

The phrase by the Spirit’s power is best taken as causative—for example, “the Spirit causes us to say to God.”

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 .