Romans 9:5
Byzantine / Majority Text
ων οι πατερες και εξ ων ο χριστος το κατα σαρκα ο ων (5723) επι παντων θεος ευλογητοςεις τους αιωνας αμην
Tichendorf 8th Edition
ὧν οἱ πατέρες, καὶ ἐξ ὧν ὁ Χριστὸς τὸ κατὰ σάρκα• ὁ ὢν ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸς εὐλογητὸς εἰςτοὺς αἰῶνας, ἀμήν.
Textus Receptus
ων οι πατερες και εξ ων ο χριστος το κατα σαρκα ο ων (5723) επι παντων θεος ευλογητοςεις τους αιωνας αμην
Neste-Aland 26
ωJν (5752) οἱ πατέρες, καὶ εχ ωJν (5752) ὁ χριστὸς τὸ κατὰ σάρκα· ὁ ωJν (5752) ἐπὶ πάντωνθεὸς εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, ἀμήν.
Westcott / Hort, UBS4
ων οι πατερες και εξ ων ο χριστος το κατα σαρκα ο ων (5723) επι παντων θεος ευλογητοςεις τους αιωνας αμην
whose are the patriarchs and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh who is over all God blessed forever Amen
NWT Interlinear
ὧν(of whom) οἱ(the), πατέρες,(fathers) καὶ(and) ἐξ(out of) ὧν(whom) ὁ(the) χριστὸς(Christ) τὸ(the (thing) κατὰ(according to), σάρκα,(flesh) ὁ(the (one) ὢν(being) ἐπὶ(upon),(all (things) θεὸς(God) εὐλογητὸς(blessed (one) εἰς(into) τοὺς(the) αἰῶνας·(ages ἀμήν)
Of whom (εξ ων). Fourth relative clause and here with εξ and the ablative. Christ (ο χριστος). The Messiah. As concerning the flesh (τὸ κατὰ σάρκα). Accusative of general reference, "as to the according to the flesh." Paul limits the descent of Jesus from the Jews to his human side as he did in
Acts 1:3 . Who is over all, God blessed for ever (ὁ oν ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸς εὐλογητὸς ). A clear statement of the deity of Christ following the remark about his humanity. This is the natural and the obvious way of punctuating the sentence. To make a full stop after σαρκα (or colon) and start a new sentence for the doxology is very abrupt and awkward. See
Acts 20:28 ;
Titus 2:13 for Paul's use of θεὸς applied to Jesus Christ. A. T. Robertson
Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament Bible Commentary
Bruce Metzger says: "The interpretation that refers the passage to Christ suits the structure of the sentence, whereas the interpretation that takes the words as an asyndetic doxology to God the Father is awkward and unnatural." (p. 521) Bruce Metzger also refers to Nigel Turner as declaring it to be grammatically unnatural that a participle agreeing with CHRISTOS "should first be divorced from it and then given the force of a wish, receiving a different person as its subject." (Metzger gives Grammatical Insights into the New Testament Edinburgh, 1965), page 15 by Nigel Turner.
“Second, both in the Holy Bible and also in Semitic inscriptions doxologies are differently constructed from what we find in Romans 9:5. The verb or verbal adjective (i.e. the word “blessed”) always precedes the name of God and never follows it, as with the example of Romans 9:5. In other words, in cases of doxologies Paul (as well as the other Bible writers) places the word for blessed (eulogetos) in the first position, before the word God, not after it, just as we find in the following verses:
“Blessed be the God and Father (eulogetos ho theos kai pater) of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,” 2 Corinthians 1:3
“Blessed be the God and Father (eulogetos ho theos kai pater) of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,” Ephesians 1:3
This seems to further support the view that Romans 9:5 does not contain an independent doxology to God the Father, but rather to Christ, being a descriptive doxology, i.e. a declaration of who Christ is, namely “God, who is blessed forever.”
Moreover, every time Paul gives a doxology (and this is true for the others as well), it’s tied to the immediate context (cf. Romans 1:25, 11:36; Galatians 1:4-5; 2 Corinthians 11:31; 2 Timothy 4:18). In fact, one does not find Paul diverting from the topic by introducing an independent praise to God (unless we assume that Romans 9:5 is the exception). Yet the doxology in Romans 9:5 is found in the middle of a lament for Paul’s nation. In the context Paul has been speaking of his heart’s desire to see his countrymen come to saving faith in Christ, yet they refused to do so despite all that God has blessed them with. In light of this, an outburst of praise to God makes little sense.
However, since Paul has been discussing the privileges that God has granted to Israel it makes more sense that the inspired Apostle would speak of the eternal praise that Jesus deserves and receives when he happens to be the greatest blessing that Israel has ever been given. After all, what greater honor and blessing could be shown to Israel than to have the eternal Son of God who is praised forever become an Israelite? Thus, the context fits a doxology to Christ much better.
Fourth, there are two other places where Paul uses the expression “blessed forever.” In these particular passages the subject of the doxologies precedes, not follows, the ascription of praise:
“For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever (hos estin eulogetos eis tous aionas). Amen.” Romans 1:25
Clearly, the One who is blessed forever is the Creator God. And:
“The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever (ho on eulogetos eis tous aionas), knows that I am not lying.” 2 Corinthians 11:31
Again, contextually the One who is blessed forever must be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, consistency would suggest that we understand that Jesus Christ is being referred to as “God, who is blessed forever,” i.e. the eternally blessed God, since we find the same word order in Romans 9:5 that we do in the above examples.
