In this verse Paul adds the testimony of the believer to that of the created order. The verse begins with three words (“but not only”), which, as the commentators point out, mean but not just creation alone (Revised Standard Version “and not only the creation”; Jerusalem Bible “and not only creation”). In many languages one must, of course, fill out the ellipsis: “but it is not just the creation which is in pain and groans.”

We (An American Translation*; New American Bible “we ourselves”) is very emphatic in the sentence order, though it is difficult to retain the emphasis in translation (Moffatt has tried to reproduce the full emphatic force with “but even we ourselves … even we”).

A literal translation of the phrase the Spirit as the first of God’s gifts (in many translations “first fruits of the Spirit”) is not easy, because it introduces a technical term from Jewish thought. First, it should be pointed out that the word “first fruits” is in apposition with “Spirit” (see New English Bible “the Spirit is given as firstfruits”). Second, “first fruits” is a technical term taken from the Jewish sacrificial system; it describes the first yield of the harvest or the first offspring of animals which had to be dedicated to God before the rest could be used. In the present context the word is used of that which God gives to man rather than that which man offers to God, and so the imagery has changed somewhat. Not only has the imagery changed, but in some places in the New Testament this word is used simply with the meaning of “first” (11.16; 1 Corinthians 15.23; 16.15).

There are passages also where this term appears to be the equivalent of another Greek word arrabōn, with the meaning of “guarantee” or “promise” (of something to come, so 1 Corinthians 15.20). Evidently the New English Bible here follows the latter interpretation, while at the same time attempting to maintain the imagery of harvest: “as firstfruits of the harvest to come.” Moffatt and An American Translation* follow the same interpretation and also retain something of the imagery: “a foretaste of the future.” The Good News Translation accepts the meaning of “first” and somewhat demetaphorizes the imagery: the first of God’s gifts.

It is difficult in some languages to speak of “having the Spirit.” Rather, one has to say “we in whom the Spirit dwells” or “we in whom the Spirit lives.” The qualifying phrase as the first of God’s gifts may be restructured so that gifts becomes a verb—for example, “as the first thing which God gives us.”

The clause structure of the second part of verse 23 is relatively complex, for not only is there a relative clause which modifies we, but there is an additional phrase which modifies Spirit, and this phrase must in some languages be changed to a clause. It may be important, therefore, to break the sentence after the expression we also groan within ourselves. A new sentence may then begin with as we wait.

God to make us his sons (so also New English Bible; An American Translation* “to be declared God’s sons”) is literally “adoption,” which the Revised Standard Version renders “adoption as sons.” Though in Greek the word “adoption” is a noun, Paul’s meaning usually comes across much more clearly when this noun is rendered as a verb phrase. The word “adoption” is the same word which Paul used in verse 15, but with a somewhat different emphasis. Verse 15 has reference to the present life of the believer, while the reference in verse 23 is eschatological, looking forward to our final acceptance into God’s family. Some ancient manuscripts do not include the word “adoption,” and it is omitted from the Jerusalem Bible and the New American Bible. The evidence for its inclusion is not conclusive, but most modern translations do include it as part of the text.

In practically all languages there is some more or less formal way of expressing “adoption.” It may be spoken of as “take us up as his sons,” “consider us his sons,” or “call us his sons.” Where adoption is not a regular cultural practice, one may employ a descriptive equivalent such as “regard us as his sons.”

And set our whole being free is literally “the setting free of our body” (on the word “setting free” see 3.24) and is actually in apposition with the clause that precedes it (“adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies”; Moffatt “the redemption of the body that means our full sonship”). Both the Good News Translation and the New English Bible make it coordinate with the preceding clause, while An American Translation* connects it in another way (“as we wait to be declared God’s sons, through the redemption of our bodies”). Paul uses the word “body,” either because he is thinking specifically of the final resurrection, or because he is using the word as the equivalent to “one’s whole being.” The Good News Translation follows the latter of these alternatives. The expression our whole being may be quite difficult to render because it is so completely abstract. A language may have some such expression as “the whole of us” or “us in all of our parts,” but a more common expression would be “every part of us” or “all of the different parts of us.”

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 .