SIL Translator’s Notes on Romans 9:15

9:15a

For: Here this word introduces a quote from the Old Testament that supports what Paul said in 9:14b.

He says to Moses: The Greek and the Berean Standard Bible use the present tense here. Greek scholars call it the historical present. In many languages the normal way of referring to a past event must be used. In English, this is the past tense. For example:

he said to Moses (Good News Translation)

This clause introduces a quote from Scripture. Some language translations always note that in their translations. For example:

⌊In Scripture⌋ he said to Moses

9:15b–c

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion”: The Hebrew language repeats a similar meaning for emphasis. It is a poetic form in Hebrew.

The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as have mercy refers to being concerned for someone in a bad situation and helping him in some way. This includes even forgiving him for something bad he did. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as have compassion refers to being concerned or sad for someone in a bad situation. It may or may not imply helping the person.

Some languages will have two words, one for have mercy and one for have compassion. For example:

“I will show mercy to whom I will, I will take pity on whom I will.” (New American Bible, Revised Edition)
-or-
“I am the one who rules/governs whom I will pity/have mercy on. I am the one who rules as to whom I will have compassion for (lit. emotionally-stirred liver).”

But it will be difficult in some languages to find two words that have such similar meanings. If that is true in your language, you may want to use just one word and use some other way than repetition to emphasize the words here. For example:

I will have mercy/pity on whom I ⌊chose to⌋ have mercy/pity on. Very true!

I will have mercy on whom I have mercy: This clause indicates that God chooses whom he will have mercy on. For example:

I will show mercy to anyone I choose (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
I will be merciful to anyone I want to (God’s Word)

mercy: This word refers to being concerned for someone in a bad situation and helping him in some way, including even forgiving him for something bad he did.

General Comment on 9:15b–c

This quote is from Exodus 33:19. If you indicate the location of quotes from the Old Testament with cross-references, you may want to do so here.

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Commentaire sur la traduction de la lettre aux Romains 9.15

Ce verset renforce l’idée que Dieu est libre de faire ce qu’il veut. Le texte cité dans ce verset est emprunté à Ex 33.19. C’est une citation marquée par la répétition.

Il dit en effet à Moïse : l’antécédent du pronom Il est « Dieu », voir Rom 9.14.

Je ferai miséricorde à qui je veux faire miséricorde… : en grec il n’y a que quatre mots, et avec ce qui suit, il s’agit de lignes poétiques et rythmiques qui démontrent un parallélisme synonymique. Je renvoie à Dieu. Je ferai miséricorde rend un seul mot en grec. miséricorde : c’est la première fois que le mot apparaît dans ce livre, ici sous forme verbale. Mais la même racine figurera souvent dans cette section et ailleurs ( Rom 9.16, Rom 9.18, Rom 9.23 ; Rom 11.30, Rom 11.31, Rom 11.32 ; Rom 12.1, Rom 12.8 ; Rom 15.9). Il s’agit de la compassion ou de la pitié, un mot qui apparaît dans la ligne qui suit. Les traducteurs pourraient utiliser des expressions idiomatiques pour parler de cette notion, par exemple, « la pitié me frappe ». Pour ce verset, dans certaines langues, il faudra parler plutôt d’un choix : « c’est moi qui choisirai de qui j’aurai pitié » ou « je déciderai à qui je monterai compassion et à qui je ne la montrerai pas ».

et je prendrai pitié de qui je veux prendre pitié : cette ligne est synonyme de la précédente. Dans certaines langues, il n’y a pas plusieurs mots, auquel cas, on pourra dire, « je serai bon avec qui je veux être bon » (Parole de Vie). Si le discours direct doit être remplacé par le discours indirect, on pourra traduire par « Le Seigneur dit à Moïse qu’il a pitié et compassion de qui il veut » (Contemporary English Version), mais ceci ne relève pas le ton solennel du passage dans l’AT.

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