Rom 1:16 prw/ton — The diagramming presents this word as an adverb modifying

VIoudai,w|, which does not really make good sense. I would say that prw/ton is
technically adverbial to an elliptical verb repeating the main clause: “it is the power of
God unto salvation to every one who believes, both [it is the power of God...] first to the
Jew and [it is the power of God...] to the Greek. To diagram it this way, however, would
both introduce considerable complexity and obscure the appositional relationship
between the participle phrase “every one who believes” and the coordinate pair of nouns,
“both Jew and Greek.” I have opted for the simpler and clearer presentation, admittedly at
the expense of technical accuracy.
Rom 1:17 evk pi,stewj eivj pi,stin — It was very difficult for me to decide whether
to construe this pair of phrases with “righteousness” or with “is revealed.” There is a
difference in meaning, and both meanings seem attractive. The versions are divided on
the matter. The factor slightly favoring the adverbial connection in my opinion is the
order of the words.
Rom 1:17 evk pi,stewj (2nd occurrence) — Same difficulty as with the first
occurrence: does it modify the subject or the verb? My (slight) personal preference is to
take it with the subject, but I have diagrammed it adverbially in deference to the majority
of versions (RSV and NET see it my way). I must admit wondering how many of the
other versions were swayed by a desire to avoid censure for altering the time-honored
Reformation battle cry. (In this respect it is interesting to observe the Catholic versions:
DRA has “the just man liveth by faith”; the much later NAB and NJB have, respectively,
“the one who is righteous by faith will live” and “anyone who is upright by faith will
live.”) The difference in meaning is real but slight; either rendering certainly reflects the
Reformation’s sola fide.
Rom 1:19 — The diagramming of the explanatory clause introduced by dio,ti seems at
first to suggest that I think it explains why these people suppress the truth in
unrighteousness, which of course makes no sense. The thought connection I believe I see
is that the clause provides, not the reason why they suppress the truth, but the reason why
Paul speaks in terms of suppressing truth (when we might have expected him to speak of
ignorance). I have diagrammed in the only way I can see to show this connection without
introducing a large elliptical section.
Rom 1:16 prw/ton — The diagramming presents this word as an adverb modifying
VIoudai,w|, which does not really make good sense. I would say that prw/ton is
technically adverbial to an elliptical verb repeating the main clause: “it is the power of
God unto salvation to every one who believes, both [it is the power of God...] first to the
Jew and [it is the power of God...] to the Greek. To diagram it this way, however, would
both introduce considerable complexity and obscure the appositional relationship
between the participle phrase “every one who believes” and the coordinate pair of nouns,
“both Jew and Greek.” I have opted for the simpler and clearer presentation, admittedly at
the expense of technical accuracy.
Rom 1:17 evk pi,stewj eivj pi,stin — It was very difficult for me to decide whether
to construe this pair of phrases with “righteousness” or with “is revealed.” There is a
difference in meaning, and both meanings seem attractive. The versions are divided on
the matter. The factor slightly favoring the adverbial connection in my opinion is the
order of the words.
Rom 1:17 evk pi,stewj (2nd occurrence) — Same difficulty as with the first
occurrence: does it modify the subject or the verb? My (slight) personal preference is to
take it with the subject, but I have diagrammed it adverbially in deference to the majority
of versions (RSV and NET see it my way). I must admit wondering how many of the
other versions were swayed by a desire to avoid censure for altering the time-honored
Reformation battle cry. (In this respect it is interesting to observe the Catholic versions:
DRA has “the just man liveth by faith”; the much later NAB and NJB have, respectively,
“the one who is righteous by faith will live” and “anyone who is upright by faith will
live.”) The difference in meaning is real but slight; either rendering certainly reflects the
Reformation’s sola fide.
Rom 1:19 — The diagramming of the explanatory clause introduced by dio,ti seems at
first to suggest that I think it explains why these people suppress the truth in
unrighteousness, which of course makes no sense. The thought connection I believe I see
is that the clause provides, not the reason why they suppress the truth, but the reason why
Paul speaks in terms of suppressing truth (when we might have expected him to speak of
ignorance). I have diagrammed in the only way I can see to show this connection without
introducing a large elliptical section.