Romans 4:7 BSB — MannaFest

Romans 4:7

“Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered.

KJV

Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

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Commentary

3 voices

Origen of Alexandria

COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS (253)

Whence I think that David too, in the thirty-first psalm, which he entitled "Of the understanding of David," gave this beginning, admonishing by the very superscription that a deeper understanding must be sought in the things he was about to say, namely that "blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven": concerning which we have spoken, as far as we were able, when we dictated on the Psalms in order.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

Blessed - Happy are they: they are highly favored; see the note at Mat 5:3. Whose sins are covered - Are concealed; or hidden from the view. On which God will no more look, and which he will no more remember. “By these words,” says Calvin (in loco), “we are taught that justification with Paul is nothing else but pardon of sin.” The word “cover” here has no reference to the atonement, but is expressive of hiding, or concealing that is, of forgiving sin.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Saying, Blessed, &c.-- (Ps 32:1, 2). David here sings in express terms only of "transgression forgiven, sin covered, iniquity not imputed"; but as the negative blessing necessarily includes the positive, the passage is strictly in point.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

10 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
μακάριοι	makarioi	Blessed [are]	G3107 →
ὧν	hōn	they of whom	G3739 →
ἀφέθησαν	aphethēsan	are forgiven	G863 →
αἱ	hai	the	G3588 →
ἀνομίαι	anomiai	lawless deeds	G458 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ὧν	hōn	of whom	G3739 →
ἐπεκαλύφθησαν	epekaluphthēsan	are covered	G1943 →
αἱ	hai	the	G3588 →
ἁμαρτίαι·	hamartiai	sins;	G266 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk5

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Psalms 85:2
You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah
leads to
- Micah 7:18
  Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
- Psalms 32:1
  Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
- Colossians 2:13
  When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses,
- Jeremiah 50:20
  In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, a search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for Judah’s sins, but they will not be found; for…
- Numbers 14:19
  Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your loving devotion, just as You have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”

Featured studies on this passage

On Romans 4:7

Justification by Faith: the Verdict of the Cross | MannaFest

The second witness states the same bookkeeping from the other side. Abraham shows righteousness credited that was never earned; David shows sin uncharged that certainly was. Positive and negative entries in one ledger, and David's psalm is written after his worst chapter, not before it.

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On Romans 4:7

The Jerusalem Council — Acts 15

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Walks through Romans 4

The Abrahamic Covenant: Genesis 12 · 15 · 17, MannaFest

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Walks through Romans 4

The Covenants

Six covenants in succession, cumulative rather than replacing. Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, New. Each narrowing the line of promise while widening the scope of fulfillment.

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Walks through Romans 4

Put That on Mine Account: Imputation

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Walks through Romans 4

The New Perspective on Paul

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About Romans

The Crucifixion — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Romans: the study guide →Read chapter 4 →The featured study →

Forgiveness
Paul reads David's forgiveness in Psalm 32 as the pattern for justification apart from works

Continue: Romans 4 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Romans

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Romans