and know his will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,
Parallel translations
- KJV And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;
- BSB if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;
- NKJV and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,
- NASB and know His will and distinguish the things that matter, being instructed from the Law,
- NLT You know what he wants; you know what is right because you have been taught his law.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Such a person knows God's will and approves what is excellent, being instructed from the law. Knowledge of God's will brings greater responsibility.
Overview
Paul acknowledges the Jew's genuine advantages: knowing God's will and discerning what truly matters through instruction in the law. These are real blessings. But greater knowledge brings greater accountability, and Paul will soon show that knowing the right is no substitute for doing it. Privilege without practice condemns rather than commends.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- 1 Th 5:21Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good.
- Jas 4:17To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.
- Deut 4:8What great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you today?
- Phil 1:10so that you may approve the things that are excellent; that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ;
- John 13:17If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
- Prov 6:23For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light. Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
- Rom 15:4For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through perseverance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
- 1 Cor 8:1–2Now concerning things sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
- Ps 119:98–100Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for your commandments are always with me.
- Ps 147:19–20He shows his word to Jacob; his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
- 2 Tim 3:15–17From infancy, you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.
- Ps 119:104–105Through your precepts, I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. NUN
- Ps 19:8Yahweh’s precepts are right, rejoicing the heart. Yahweh’s commandment is pure, enlightening the eyes.
- Neh 9:13–14“You also came down on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments,
- Ps 119:130The entrance of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.
- Luke 12:47That servant, who knew his lord’s will, and didn’t prepare, nor do what he wanted, will be beaten with many stripes,
- Heb 5:14But solid food is for those who are full grown, who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 2:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.