Chapter 5

1 Because
therfore that we are iustified by fayth we are at peace with god thorow oure
Lorde Iesue Christ:

2 by who we have
awaye in thorow fayth vnto this grace wherin we stonde aud reioyce in hope of
the prayse that shalbe geven of God.

3 Nether do we
so only: but also we reioyce in tribulacion. For we know that tribulacion
bringeth pacience

4 pacience
bringeth experience experience bringeth hope.

5 And hope
maketh not ashamed for the love of God is sheed abrod in oure hertes by the
holy goost which is geven vnto vs.

6 For when we
were yet weake accordynge to ye tyme: Christ dyed for vs which were vngodly.

7 Yet scace will
eny man dye for a rightewes man. Paraventure for a good ma durst a man dye.

8 But God
setteth out his love that he hath to vs seinge that whyll we were yet synners
Christ dyed for vs.

9 Moche more
then now (seynge we are iustifyed in his bloud) shall we be saved from wrath
thorow him.

10 For yf when
we were enemyes we were reconciled to God by the deeth of his sonne: moche more
seinge we are reconciled we shal be preservid by his lyfe.

11 Not only so
but we also ioye in God by the meanes of oure Lorde Iesus Christ by whom we
have receavyd the attonment.

 

Mine:

Chapter 5

1 Therefore,
since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, (NRSV)

2  through whom we have gained access by faith
into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the
glorification of our God. (NIV/me)

3 Not only so,
but we also boast in our sufferings,

4 because we
know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and
character produces hope. (NIV/NRSV/ESV)

5 And this hope
does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (TYND/NRSV/NLT/me)

 

6 At just the
right time, when we were helpless, Christ died for the ungodly. (NLT/NRSV/me)

7 Very rarely
will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might
possibly dare to die. (NIV)

8 But God demonstrates
his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(NIV)

 

9 Because we
have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from
the wrath of God. (ESV/NIV/me)

10 While we were
enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son. Having been
reconciled, how much more surely will we be saved by his life! (NRSV/me)

11  More than that, we also rejoice in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received
reconciliation. (ESV)

 

 

 

Rationale:

            When reading scripture, it is
enjoyable to me to see ideas flow from verse to verse, and for it not to seem
choppy or obscure. I kept this in mind when writing my translation. The changes
that I made almost always had to do with making sure that the verses tied
together well, and made sense when read all the way through. This is observed
as I reintroduced the hope mention in verse 4 into verse 5. Mostly, this was
done by pairing different parts of existing translations together. Following
verse 5, I observed a shift in the scripture, and appropriately responded with
the forming of a new paragraph. This occurs again after verse 8. Luther
Northwestern Theological Seminary professor Roy Harrisville states that the
scriptures are already arranged "in the jargon of the expert, in
chiasm". To alter them significantly obviously poses a threat to the
intent of the author.

            Typically, when translating the
Bible, I find that people try to alter as little as possible. This holds for
both "word-by-word" and "sense-by-sense" translating. It
doesn't matter if the end goal is to find the perfect synonym(s) or replicate
the feeling invoked in the reader, the smallest amount of change needed to
achieve that end goal is ideal. I felt that this held true for my translation.
This is shown through my inserts of "glorification" and
"our" in verse 2. Also, "this" in verse 5. The
aforementioned Professor Harrisville stresses the significance that the
misinterpretation of one single word can have on the meaning of a chapter,
passage, book, etc. For this reason, it is wise to avoid changing if possible.

            It was important to me that I
attempt to make the scripture personal to the reader, as I believe it should
be. To accomplish this, I inserted "our" into verse 2, chose a
translation with "helpless" in verse 6, and used words which I
thought would be common in the vocabulary of the people around me. With this in
mind, when I pulled from existing translations, they were translations focused
on contemporary language and a modern audience. I relied upon the ESV and NIT
translations the most. These translations used modern language, without swaying
too far from the core, old school language.

            In verse 5, I had to make an
important choice regarding the pronoun to use for the Holy Spirit. The NLT,
ESV, and NIV translations use the pronouns "he","his" or
"who" when referring to the Holy Spirit, while the Tyndale, NRSV, and
Wycliffe Bibles use "that" or "which". I ultimately chose
to side with the latter for my translation, deciding that to refer to the Holy
Spirit as a person in this context my lessen the significance of what is
happening in these verses.

  

Citations:

Harrisville, Roy
A. "Romans 5:1-5. (expository Articles)." Interpretation. 45.2
(1991). Print.

Bammel, C.P.
"Patristic Exegesis of Romans 5:7. (jerome, Rufinus and Origen)." The
Journal of Theological Studies. 47.2 (1996). Print.

Perf. Matt
Chandler. Goodness vs. the Cross. YouTube, 11 Apr. 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

Romans. NLT.
N.p.: n.p., 2013. Bible Gateway. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

Romans. ESV.
N.p.: n.p., 2001. Bible Gateway. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

Romans. NIV.
N.p.: n.p., 2011. Bible Gateway. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

Romans. NRSV.
N.p.: n.p., 1989. Bible Gateway. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

Romans. The NIV
Study Bible. 2011th Vers. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011. Print.