Romans 8:18-39: General Procedure

Here’s the general procedure I’ll be using for doing an interpretive paraphrase of this passage.

• Step 1 is to place the passage in context; first, within the book of Romans, and then within the particular section of text surrounding it.
• Step 2 is to divide the passage in paragraphs.
  
• Step 3 is to copy the first verse from the four translations I’m using comparing them and using that comparison to help me decide which words and phrases might be key to understanding the meaning of the verse.
  
• Step 4 is to underline the key words and phrases in the verse. The general guideline I use is to underline all the nouns and verbs and any connecting words for which I see the possibility of different meanings reflected in the translations I’ve used.
  
• Step 5 is to consider the meaning each underlined word or phrase, using a comparison of the different translations, information on the meaning of the word gathered using my Strong’s concordance, and finally (and optionally), what I glean from the commentary.
  
• Step 6 is to write a paraphrase of this verse from what I’ve learned.

I’ll keep doing steps 3-6 until I’ve finished paraphrasing the entire passage.  Yes, it’s a lot of work, but it gets to be less work as time goes on, for at least two reasons. First, like anything, it gets easier with practice; and secondly, a word may only need to be studied thoroughly once and then that information simply reviewed every time the word is repeated in the text.