if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;
Parallel translations
- WEB and know his will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,
- KJV And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of 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 5:21but test all things. Hold fast to what is good.
- Jas 4:17Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.
- Deut 4:8And what nation is great enough to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?
- Phil 1:10so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
- John 13:17If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
- Prov 6:23For this commandment is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way to life,
- Rom 15:4For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.
- 1 Cor 8:1–2Now about food 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 they are always with me.
- Ps 147:19–20He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and judgments 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 in Christ Jesus.
- Ps 119:104–105I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.
- Ps 19:8The precepts of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart; the commandments of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
- Neh 9:13–14You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them just ordinances, true laws, and good statutes and commandments.
- Ps 119:130The unfolding of Your words gives light; it informs the simple.
- Luke 12:47That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows.
- Heb 5:14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.
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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
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