Romans 5:18

Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Therefore, [ ara (G686) oun (G3767)] - or, 'Now then;' the matter standing as we have thus at length shown [rebus ita comparatis: ara (G686) has respect rather to the internal, oun (G3767) more to the external cause (says Klotz ad Devar, quoted by Meyer)]. Thus the apostle explicitly resumes the unfinished comparison of Romans 5:12, in order to give formally the concluding member of it, which had been done once and again substantially in the intermediate verses.

As by the offence (or 'trespass') of one [judgment came] - or rather, 'it came,'

Upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness, [ dikaioomatos (G1345)]

Of one [the free gift came] - rather, 'it came,' Upon all men unto justification [ dikaioosin (G1347)] of life or, 'it resulted in' this.

But the marginal rendering of this verse is equally admissible: 'as by one trespass ... so by one righteousness' [ di' (G1223) henos (G1520) paraptoomatos (G3900) ... di' (G1223) henos (G1520) dikaioomatos (G1345)]. The argument in favour of this sense is the absence of the article in both clauses before "one," and the similar expression in Romans 5:16, "the judgment was of one [offence] to condemnation" - as we have explained that clause. Accordingly many interpreters pronounce for it (as Beza, Grotius, Ferme, Locke, DeWette, Meyer, Conybeare, Alford, Mehring, Webster and Wilkinson, the Revised Version, Jowett, Wordsworth, Green). But the objections to it are:

(1) That the comparison here is between the persons, not the acts-between the many's condemnation for the one's offence and the many's justification through the one's righteousness;

(2) That though "one righteousness" may fitly enough-perhaps even sublimely-express the oneness of Christ's whole work, or the divine acceptance of it [ dikaiooma (G1345)] as the meritorious ground of justification, it is an expression nowhere else used, and scarcely in conformity with the strain of the reasoning in this section;

(3) That after the abundant recurrence of the word "one" in a masculine sense, to denote the persons respectively of Adam and Christ, the absence of the article in this case need not require us to take the word in a neuter sense, if otherwise times is ground to think that the reference is to Adam and Christ

In view of all this, though formerly inclined to the sense of 'one offence' and 'one righteousness,' we now rather prefer the sense of one own version (in favour of which are the Vulgate, Erasmus, Luther, Calvin, Bengel, Fritzsche, Tholuck, Philippi, Hodge, Lange). It may be added that some (as Alford, and the authors of the Revised Version) take the form here translated "righteousness" [ dikaiooma (G1345) - here apparently suggested by the previous paraptooma (G3900)] to mean 'one righteous act;' and Green renders it 'one achievement of righteousness.' But the idea of a 'decree' or 'sentence'-which this form certainly conveys-is sufficiently preserved if we understand "the righteousness of one" here to mean the whole work of Christ considered as judicially pronounced upon and divinely accepted.

Finally, the lofty expression "justification of life" is just a vivid combination of two distinct ideas already expatiated upon, and means 'justification entitling to, and issuing in, the rightful possession and enjoyment of life' [ eis (G1519) dikaioosin (G1347) zooees (G2222) - the 'genitive of destination:' dikaioosis (G1347) is here distinguished from dikaiooma (G1345), as the act of justifying is from the result].