Rom 13:1-14 KJV
1 Let every soul* be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God:
the powers that be are ordained of God.
(Epitasis 462; Synecdoche* 640)
2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God:
and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
3 For rulers are not a terror* to good worksGc, but to the evil.
Wilt thou^ then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good,
and thou shalt have praise of the same:
(Metonymy* 562; Apostrophe^ 904; Genitive caseGc 999)
4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good.
But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain:
for he is the minister of God, a revenger to [execute] wrath upon him that doeth evil.
(Metonymy 604)
5 Wherefore [ye] must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
(Metonymy 550)
6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
7 Render therefore to all their dues*: tribute to whom tribute [is due]*; custom to whom custom*;
fear to whom fear*; honour to whom honour*.
(Ellipsis 58*)
8* Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
(Parechesis 322)
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal,
Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if [there be] any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
(Idiom 832)
10 Love* worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love [is] the fulfilling of the law.
(Tapeinosis 163; Metonymy*)
11 And that, knowing the time, that now [it is] high time to awake out of sleep: for now [is] our salvation nearer than when we believed.
(Ellipsis 30; Allegory 750)
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness,
and let us put on the armour of light.
(Allegory 750)
13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof].
Italicized words in [brackets] were added by the King James Version translators.
Notes:
Verse 1 Epitasis: this is when something extra is said after a thought in order to emphasize that thought. “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. FOR THERE IS NO POWER BUT OF GOD!” It is an augmentation at the end of a thought to bring added attention to that thought. Although it is placed at the conclusion of the thought, it does not conclude or exclude that thought from the continuing context. This can be seen in the conjunction “therefore” in verse 2, which joins it to verse 1.
Synecdoche: the word “soul” is used meaning the entire individual, not just their soul. I believe this figure is used here to contrast the physical with the spiritual. The soul gives life to the body, and the body without the soul is a corpse. When a person believes that God raised His son Jesus from the dead, and accepts the lordship of Jesus Christ in their life, that person is born again from above.
They receive holy spirit, the gift from God.
(see Acts 2:36 and Romans 10:9)
Verse 3 Metonymy: “…rulers are not a terror…” meaning a source of terror.
Apostrophe: see page 904.
Genitive case: “…not a terror in respect to good works”.
Compare Bible Hub interlinear of Romans 13:3 which does not show the Genitive case in verse 3,
to Blue Letter Bible which does. This is because the Textus Receptus from which the KJV came varies from the Alexandrian texts.
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for archōn (Strong’s 758)”.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2019. 6 Mar 2019.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G758&
amp;t=KJV >
http://www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=G758&t=KJV&page=1
http://www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=G758&t=KJV&page=2
Verse 4 Metonymy: sword used for the authority to use it and the actual use of it.
(see also )
Verse 8 Parechesis: a Paranomasia of words not in the same language. The words owe and love have similar sounds in Hebrew, therefore Dr. Bullinger mentions the figure, as he understood it.
Love is the word אָהַב, ‘ahab, and owe is חוֹב, chowb. (see also חוּב , chuwb)
Verse 10 Tapeinosis: this is the lessening or diminishing of something in order to increase it.
Here, the thing diminished is “worketh no ill”. Although it is literally true that “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour ”, the essence of the figure is in the contrast of what isn’t done with what should be done, that being “love DOES work good” toward its neighbor. Works no ill requires no action,
whereas working good does.
Metonymy: “love” is put for the person(s) performing the action. A person acting by the love of God does good, in addition to not doing ill (evil).
Verse 11 Ellipsis:
“And that, knowing the time, that now [it is] high time to awake out of sleep: for now [is] our salvation nearer than when we believed”.
“And this [I add or I exhort] knowing the reason, that [it is] already the hour [for us] to awake out of sleep”.
In light of Dr. Bullinger’s rendering the word “time” or “season” as “reason”, I will mention a currently popular saying among certain groups that is used during the time leading up to and including the holiday of Christmas. As the saying goes “Jesus is the Reason for the Season”. The reason for Paul’s strong exhortation is the remaining part of the verse which is “…for now [is] our salvation nearer than when we believed”. I would add that the word “first” is implied before the word “believed”.
Verses 11 & 12 Allegory: an Allegory is a continued comparison by representation or implication,
i.e., a continued Metaphor, Hypocatastasis, or both.
Simile is comparison by resemblance;
Metaphor is comparison by representation;
Hypocatastasis is comparison by implication.
(See page 748 of “Figures Of Speech Used In The Bible”)
In Metaphor both elements are mentioned, that is, the thing being compared as well the thing it is being compared to. With Hypocatastasis, only one thing is mentioned, that being what the implied thing is being compared to. The thing being compared is not mentioned, but merely implied.
The implied comparison in these two verses is between physical light and spiritual light.
The implied comparison then follows in physical night and spiritual darkness as well.
~
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for touto (Strong’s 5124)”.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2019. 24 Feb 2019.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G5124&
amp;t=KJV >
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for kairos (Strong’s 2540)”.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2019. 24 Feb 2019.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G2540&
amp;t=KJV >
Thanks go to Blue Letter Bible and Internet Archive and The Cornell University Library for providing public domain material.
Thanks also to E. W. Bullinger for his work
“Figures Of Speech Used In The Bible”, and thanks to you for taking the time here.
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