Commentarii in epistulam ad Romanos (I.1-XII.21) (in catenis) i 1 set apart for the gospel of God. Thirdly, one must see set apart for the gospel of

 he should object to these things, whether it is possible for things not to happen which God foreknew would happen in such a way we will say that it i

 to God, so that he might not be under the 'woe,' he was not silent but preached the gospel. And these things he saw who set him apart from his mother'

 commanded Joab to number the people the second is represented by he sent upon them the fierceness of anger, wrath and indignation, a sending of evil

 similar to that and have made themselves worthy of nothing gloomy but of that in which one ought to rejoice. Therefore the gospel is theirs, along wit

 of God is not characterized by entrusting books and letters, but by knowing the mind within them and the mysteries stored therein. For according to so

 His mouth is full of bitterness and deceit. Then what follows is this: Their feet are swift to shed blood and you will seek this in Isaiah, or in the

 secondly to the spiritual. But if the same law is received according to some, if it is manifested without law it is not testified by the law, but if i

 to be justified or through faith, just as from a man is better understood insofar as it is from a man, <or> through a woman insofar as it is th

 owed by God eternal life, but His gift for he says, the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, it should not be thought tha

 heirs of the law, faith is made void. In the list of the gifts given according to the proportion of faith, faith is also included for Paul says after

 kingdom of the heavens or kingdom of God. For these things, insofar as human nature is concerned, are beyond hope, but insofar as the power of God and

 belonging to God himself. (Of Origen) [For not only do we await immortal life, but also in the present life, having been reconciled to God, we glory,

 to death. As if someone for the sake of an example, being free, gives himself as a slave to the general of the enemies, so that by being with him he m

 to sin, just as apart from the law sin was dead, not coming from ever having been alive to the state of being dead. But the divine apostle also shows

 the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The distinction is good, 'wages' being applied to sin, but 'g

 of the epistle it is possible to take from the [phrase] Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it is written that A

 of truth by the spirit in the prophets and by the word of Christ in the apostles, is in many places confused also by its phrasing and is not spoken as

 on the earth by the Word, but before the law and the coming of the commandment it lived, being dead. <And here someone has rendered the natural law, s

 of the law of sin and of death, he speaks thus: for just as virtue by its own nature is strong, so also is evil and the things from it weak and powerl

 I will pray with the spirit, he says, and I will pray with the mind also. 49 viii 31, 32 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us,

 in which one dies to sin, and in some way by our life which is hidden with Christ in God. And angels too wish to separate us from the love of God whic

to God, so that he might not be under the 'woe,' he was not silent but preached the gospel. And these things he saw who set him apart from his mother's womb and who set him apart for his own gospel, that he would be in labors more abundant, in prisons more frequent, in beatings beyond measure, in deaths often; from the Jews five times he will receive forty lashes less one, three times he will be beaten with rods, once he will be stoned; and he will suffer certain things like these, boasting in his afflictions and knowing that affliction produces endurance and persevering. For these reasons it was fitting for him to be set apart for the gospel of God, being foreknown to be so, and to be set apart from his mother's womb. And he was set apart for the gospel of God not because of a nature having something exceptional, and in its constitution above the natures of those who are not so, but because of the actions foreknown beforehand but later coming to be, each from the preparation and the apostolic choice. But now to apply the saying from the psalm was not opportune, for it was a digression; therefore, God willing, it will be applied in its proper order, when we expound the psalm. But these things, though more than enough, will suffice for 'set apart'. 2 i 9-11 For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, asking that somehow now at last I may be prospered by the will of God to come to you; for I long to see you. But it is possible to come to someone even without the will of God, just as Balaam went to Balak to curse Israel for a reward; And I think that also every Gentile, or one in any way alien to piety, not serving the saints in anything beneficial to them, is not prospered in the will of God to be with those to whom he goes, even if he is sometimes prospered; for scripture says, 'in evil things is the prosperity of a man'. 3 11, 12 that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you; that is, to be mutually encouraged among you through each other's faith, both yours and mine. But since there is a gift that is not spiritual, I think that it is necessarily added; for there are some gifts that are not spiritual, such as marriage; for that which is spiritual would never hinder prayer; but the coming together of a man and a woman hinders it. But that marriage is a gift the apostle declares when he says, I wish that all men were as I myself am, but each has his own gift from God; one in this way, and another in that. 4 i 13-15 Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you and was hindered until now, so that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles, both to Greeks and to barbarians; both to wise and to unwise I am a debtor, so, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. [But there is here a hyperbaton, which if not observed, conflicts with the sequence; for who would say that Paul was hindered from coming to the Romans for this reason, so that you might have fruit? For on the contrary, if he had not been hindered he would have had fruit, but being hindered he was deprived of the fruit; how then should it be read? I often planned to come to you, so that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles, both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise, and I was hindered until now; why then was he forced to use the hyperbaton? Because to the 'so that I might have some fruit' he was about to connect many things (such as 'among you also, just as among the other Gentiles, both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise I am a debtor' and what follows) so that he would not interrupt the continuity, by inserting 'and I was hindered until now' he connected 'so that I might have some fruit' with the preceding 'I planned to come to you,' and so restored the order to the sequence of the discourse.] 5 i 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. And wrath seems to be called both the minister of the punishments for sins and his subordinates, the servants and functionaries of the same, as when the wrath of God was proposed to be kindled in Israel, when David was kindled by it

πρὸς τὸν θεὸν πρὸς τὸ μὴ γενέσθαι ἐν τῷ οὐαὶ οὐκ ἐσιώπα ἀλλ' εὐηγγελίζετο. καὶ ταῦτα δὲ ἑώρα ὁ ἀφορίζων αὐτὸν ἐκ κοι λίας μητρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ ἀφορίζων αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ ἑαυτοῦ εὐαγγέλιον, ὅτι ἐν κόποι ἔσται περιοτέρω, ἐν φυλακαῖ περιευόντω, ἐν πληγαῖ ὑπερβαλλόντω, ἐν θανάτοι πολλάκι· ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων πεντάκι τεαράκοντα παρὰ μίαν λήψεται, τρὶ ῥαβδιθήεται, ἅπαξ λιθαθήεται· καὶ τάδε τινὰ πείσεται καυχώμενο ἐν ταῖ θλίψει καὶ εἰδὼ ὅτι ἡ θλίψι ὑπομονὴν κατεργάζεται καὶ ὑπομένων. διὰ ταῦτα δὲ ἄξιον ἦν αὐτὸν ἀφορισθῆναι εἰς εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ προγινωσκόμενον ἔσεσθαι, καὶ ἀφορισθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἀφωρίζετο εἰς εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ οὐ διὰ τὴν φύσιν ἔχουσάν τι ἐξαίρετον καὶ ὅσον ἐπὶ τῇ κατασκευῇ ὑπὲρ τὰς τῶν μὴ τοιούτων φύσεις, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὰς προεγνωσμένας μὲν πρότερον πράξεις ὕστερον δὲ γενομένας ἑκάστην ἐκ τῆς παρασκευῆς καὶ τῆς προαιρέσεως τῆς ἀποστολικῆς. νῦν δὲ ἀποδιδόναι εἰς τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ ψαλμοῦ ῥητὸν οὐκ ἦν εὔκαιρον, παρεκβατικὸν γὰρ ἦν· διὸ εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν τάξιν θεοῦ διδόντος ἀποδοθήσεται, ὅταν τὸν ψαλμὸν διηγώμεθα. ἀρκέσει δὲ καὶ ταῦτα πεπλεονασμένα εἰς τὸ ἀφωρισμένος. 2 i 9-11 μάρτυς γάρ μου ἐστὶν ὁ θεὸς ᾧ λατρεύω ἐν τῷ πνεύματί μου ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, ὡς ἀδιαλείπτως μνείαν ὑμῶν ποιοῦμαι πάντοτε ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν μου δεόμενος εἴπως ἤδη ποτὲ εὐοδωθήσομαι ἐν τῷ θελήματι τοῦ θεοῦ ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς· ἐπιποθῶ γὰρ ἰδεῖν ὑμᾶς. ἔστι δὲ καὶ χωρὶς θελήματος θεοῦ ἥκειν πρός τινα, ὥσπερ ὁ Βαλαὰμ ἀπῄει πρὸς τὸν Βαλὰκ καταρασόμενος μισθοῦ τὸν Ἰσραήλ· οἶμαι δὲ ὅτι καὶ πᾶς ἐθνικός, ἢ ὁπώσποτε τῆς θεοσεβείας ἀλλότριος, μὴ διακονούμενος ἁγίοις τῶν λυσιτελῶν τι αὐτοῖς, οὐ καὶ ἐν θελήματι θεοῦ εὐοδοῦται γίνεσθαι πρὸς οὓς γίνεται, εἰ καὶ εὐοδοῦταί ποτε· ἐτὶ γὰρ φησὶν ἡ γραφὴ ἐν κακοῖ εὐοδία ἀνδρό. 3 11, 12 ἵνα τι μεταδῶ χάρισμα ὑμῖν πνευματικὸν εἰς τὸ στηριχθῆναι ὑμᾶς· τοῦτο δέ ἐστι συμπαρακληθῆναι ἐν ὑμῖν διὰ τῆς ἐν ἀλλήλοις πίστεως ὑμῶν τε καὶ ἐμοῦ. ὡς ὄντος δὲ χαρίσματος μὴ πνευματικοῦ ἡγοῦμαι ὅτι ἀναγκαίως πρόσκειται· ἔστι γάρ τινα χαρίσματα, οὐ πνευματικά, ὡς καὶ ὁ γάμος· τὸ γὰρ πνευματικὸν οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἐμποδίσαι προευχῇ· ἡ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ σύνοδος ἀνδρὸς καὶ γυναικὸς κωλύει. ὅτι δὲ χάρισμα ὁ γάμος δηλοῖ ὁ ἀπόστολος φήσας θέλω πάντα ἀνθρώπου εἶναι ὡ καὶ ἐμαυτόν, ἀλλ' ἕκατο ἴδιον ἔχει χάριμα ἐκ θεοῦ· ὃ μὲν οὕτω, ὃ δὲ οὕτω. 4 i 13-15 οὐ θέλω δὲ ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ἀδελφοί, ὅτι πολλάκις προεθέμην ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ ἐκωλύθην ἄχρι τοῦ δεῦρο, ἵνα τινὰ καρπὸν σχῶ καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν καθὼς καὶ ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἔθνεσιν, Ἕλλησί τε καὶ βαρβάροις· σοφοῖς τε καὶ ἀνοήτοις ὀφειλέτης εἰμί, οὕτως τὸ κατ' ἐμὲ πρόθυμον καὶ ὑμῖν τοῖς ἐν Ῥώμῃ εὐαγγελίσασθαι. [ἔστιν δὲ ἐνταῦθα καθ' ὑπερβατόν, ὃ ἐὰν μὴ τηρηθῇ μάχεται τῇ ἀκολουθίᾳ· τίς γὰρ ἂν εἴποι διὰ τοῦτο κεκωλύσθαι ἐλθεῖν πρὸς τοὺς Ῥωμαίους τὸν Παῦλον ἵνα καρπὸν ἔχῃς; τοὐναντίον γάρ, εἰ μὴ ἐκωλύθη καρπὸν εἶχεν, κωλυόμενος δὲ ἀπεστερεῖτο τοῦ καρποῦ· πῶς οὖν ἀναγνωστέον; πολλάκις προεθέμην ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἵνα τινὰ καρπὸν σχῶ καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν καθὼς καὶ ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἔθνεσιν, Ἕλλησί τε καὶ βαρβάροις, σοφοῖς τε καὶ ἀνοήτοις, καὶ ἐκωλύθην ἄχρι τοῦ δεῦρο· διὰ τί οὖν ἠναγκάσθη τὸ ὑπερβατὸν θεῖναι; ἐπειδὴ τῷ ἵνα καρπόν τινα ἔχω ἔμελλε συνάπτειν πολλά (οἷον τὸ καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν καθὼς καὶ ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἔθνεσιν, Ἕλλησί τε καὶ βαρβάροις, σοφοῖς τε καὶ ἀνοήτοις ὀφειλέτης εἰμὶ καὶ τὰ ἀκόλουθα) ἵνα μὴ διακόψῃ τῇ συνεχείᾳ, παρενθεὶς τὸ ἐκωλύθην ἄχρι τοῦ δεῦρο συνῆψε τῷ προτέρῳ τῷ προεθέμην ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς τὸ ἵνα τινὰ καρπὸν ἔχω, καὶ οὕτως ἀπέδωκε τῇ τοῦ λόγου ἀκολουθίᾳ τὴν τάξιν.] 5 i 18 ἀποκαλύπτεται γὰρ ὀργὴ θεοῦ ἀπ' οὐρανοῦ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ἀσέβειαν καὶ ἀδικίαν ἀνθρώπων τῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ κατεχόντων. ἔοικε δὲ λέγεσθαι ὀργὴ καὶ ὁ διάκονος τῶν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἡμαρτημένοις πόνων καὶ οἱ ὑπ' αὐτὸν τῶν αὐτῶν ὑπηρέται καὶ λειτουργοί, ὡς ὅτε προετέθη ἐκκαῆναι ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τῷ Ἰραήλ, ὅτε ἀναειθεὶ ὑπ' αὐτῆς ∆αυεὶδ