Chapter II.
(Vers. 1.)
(Verse 1.) Therefore, all humans who judge are without excuse. For in judging another, you condemn yourself; for you do the same things that you judge. Because by showing that those who do evil and those who agree with those who do evil are worthy of death, lest someone who does the same but does not agree with those who do it may think he can excuse himself, it teaches that such a person is without excuse. For it is not right that this person should be allowed to go unpunished; for by hypocrisy, he shows himself to be different from what he is found to be, and even worse. For indeed, he deceives, so that while he is deserving of punishment, he appears worthy of honor.
(Vers. 2.)
(Version 2.) But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth upon those who commit such things. This means, we do not ignore that God will judge them in truth, when we ourselves judge them. For if it displeases us, how much more God, who is more just and zealous for His own work! Therefore, when He says that God will judge them, He instills fear; so that the one whom these unfaithful ones call indifferent, will truly say that He will judge the wickedness according to truth, that is, to repay each one according to their measure, and not to spare anyone.
(Vers. 3.)
(Verse 3) But do you think, O man, who judges those who do such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? This is because, by judging others for their evil and immoral actions while committing the same yourself, you are avoiding God's judgment. Surely not! For if you have escaped the judgment of God in this world, since all authority and judgment comes from Him, you will not escape it in the future. For indeed God will judge, with whom flattery ceases and partiality toward persons is absent. Or certainly if it seems just to someone that such a person be immune from punishment, let them speak. But if it is just that they not escape, let them believe that God will judge; so that what they deem just may be true and fulfilled, and so that they may admit that God, the creator of the world, prudently and carefully seeks the merits of his own work. For if he has made something and neglects it, he is called a bad craftsman; for by neglecting it, he does not show that the things he has made are good. But because it cannot be denied that he has made good things (for it is unworthy and improbable that he made good things as bad), it must be said that he takes care of them; for it would be an insult and an accusation if he were considered negligent in regard to the good things he has made. Indeed, by his will and providence, life itself is sustained by the service of the elements, just as the Lord himself says: He makes his sun rise on the good and the evil, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). Who, therefore, is more worthy of care, does not strive to preserve what he has done, in order to reward himself and to condemn those who reject it?
(Vers. 4.)
(Verse 4.) Do you despise the riches of his goodness, and patience, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God brings you to repentance? He says this so that you do not think that you have escaped, if God's goodness allows you to continue sinning for a long time; nor should you think that his patience is to be disregarded, as if he does not care about human affairs. But understand that he is hiding himself from you for this reason, because the judgment of God has not been promised to happen in this life, so that in the future life you will regret not believing in him as judge. For when you are suffering punishment without the benefit of repentance, you will regret, because you did not believe in the judgment of God, which you now see is true. For it is necessary that he be corrected more sharply, nay, tormented by everlasting punishments, whom the patience and forbearance of a long-suffering spirit has not corrected. He speaks with the utmost severity, knowing that a wicked mind can only be easily brought back from vices through fear.
(Vers. 5, 6.)
(V. 5, 6.) According to your hardness and impenitent heart, you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds. Hoping for impunity in sins, not only does the stubborn and unrepentant person persist in his ways, but he even sins more gravely, secure in the belief that there will be no future vengeance, having an impenitent heart and unaware that he is accumulating wrath for himself in the day of wrath. For it is necessary for him to be punished with a more severe penalty, indeed to be tormented with everlasting flames, since he did not desire to amend his ways even in the face of God's long-suffering, but rather, adding to his contempt, he has magnified his sins. The day of wrath will come upon sinners, where they will be punished; therefore, they will have wrath because they will feel the punishment on the day of the revelation of God's just judgment. For it will be revealed, that is, it will be acknowledged, what is now denied as future; and therefore, when it is shown that it is not believed, it is revealed. For to them it is shown, who deny what is clear to believers; so that even unwillingly, they may confess the just judgment of God, when He will render to each according to their deeds. Will they not acknowledge that these things are justly done when they see the evils being reciprocally avenged?
(Vers. 7.)
(Verse 7) To those who, by patient endurance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life. For there will be wrath and fury upon those who do not obey the truth but instead follow wickedness. There will be affliction and distress for every human being who does evil, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. But glory, honor, and peace will be given to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. Therefore, He will give them glory and honor. And lest this not seem very great in comparison to the present life, because even here they seem glorious and honored, He added: And incorruption; so that from this another glory and another honor may be understood, when incorruption will accompany it. For in the present life, honor or glory is often lost; because the one who gives, and what he gives, and the one who receives, are corruptible; but on the day of God's judgment, honor and glory will be given in an incorruptible manner, so that they may be completely eternal: for the substance itself will be glorified by a certain transformation of merits. Therefore, they seek eternal life, who are not only of good profession, but also of good character.
(Vers. 8.)
(Verse 8) But to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek. But glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. Anger is indeed not in the one who judges; but in the one who is judged, while he is being made guilty. For it is said that God is angry, so that he may be believed to be avenging; for the nature of God is immune to these passions. And in order to be believed not only to be angry, but also to be avenging, he added: And indignation; indignation is what by adding it on top of anger signifies that God will avenge his injury. But difficulties are the ones by which, being bound by the sentence, he will be troubled in punishment.
(Vers. 9.)
(Verse 9) Above every human soul working evil. In this work, he signifies not only actions, but also the profession of perfidy. For he speaks of the unbeliever; and for this reason, he said above the soul, so that you may understand a spiritual punishment, not a bodily one; because the soul shall be bound by invisible torments.
The Jews first, and then the Greeks. The Jew is always preferred by the prerogative of the Fathers, to either be crowned first or to be condemned; because the believer is more honorable on account of Abraham, but the unbeliever is to be treated worse; because he rejected the promised gift to the Fathers.
(Vers. 10.)
(Verse 10) But glory, and honor, and peace to everyone who works good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Just as He has appointed three punishments for unbelievers, He has also appointed three great rewards for the faithful, that they may have a double honor, as children of God; let glory be for the transformation; but peace, because those who live a good life will be at rest in the future, undisturbed by any trouble; indeed, because every person who abstains from the opposite has peace before the judge.
(Vers. 11.)
(Verse 11) For there is no partiality with God. For he shows that a Jew or Greek is not despised by God, if indeed they believe in Christ, but that both are justified by faith. Likewise, those who do not believe are equally guilty, for circumcision without faith is of no advantage, and uncircumcision through faith is beneficial. And by this, he teaches that God is not a respecter of persons. For he does not follow the prerogative of race, to accept one who doubts because of the lineage of his ancestors, or to reject one who believes because of the unworthiness of his parents; but he rewards or condemns each person according to their own merit.
(Vers. 12.)
(Verse 12) For whoever has sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law. How can one sin without the law, when we are all subject to the natural law? But concerning the Law of Moses, it is said that the Jews are bound by it, as long as they do not believe; and also the Gentiles, but long ago, because they did not want to join. Therefore, unbelieving Gentiles become guilty in two ways; because they did not give assent to the law given through Moses, nor did they receive the grace of Christ; therefore, it is fitting that they perish. Therefore, just as the one who sins without the law will perish, so too the one who keeps the law without the law will be justified. For by naturally observing justice, one becomes the guardian of the law. For if the law is not given to the righteous, but to the unrighteous; the one who does not sin is a friend of the law. Only faith is lacking to him, through which he may be perfected; for it will profit him nothing before God to abstain from what is contrary, unless he receives faith in God, so that he may be righteous by both; for the former is the justice of time, the latter is the justice of eternity.
And whoever has sinned in the Law will be judged by the Law. Because the Jews have the law, in which salvation is promised to them; those who do not believe or receive the promise will be judged by the law under which they lived. For the law itself accuses, and they will pay the penalty, for the cause of the Jews is more serious among themselves than among the Gentiles. For as those who believe are preferred, so those who doubt are found worse: for it displeases more the one who has lost what he had than the one who could not obtain what he did not hope for. For he did not enter the palace, but was sent outside.
(Vers. 13.)
(Verse 13.) For it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. He says this because those who hear the Law are not the righteous ones, but those who believe in Christ, whom the same Law promised. And this is to fulfill the Law. But not everyone who hears the Law does it, because they do not believe in the Law; they do not receive the testimony that the Law gives. But the one who is not seen in the Law, because he is uncircumcised in the flesh, but believes in Christ, is said to have fulfilled the Law. And he who claims to be under the Law, that is, a Jew, becomes a hearer of the Law, not a doer; for he does not believe in Christ, who is written in the Law, as Philip said to Nathanael: We have found Jesus, whom Moses and the prophets wrote about in the Law (John 1:45).
(Vers. 14.)
(Verse 14) For when the Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (Colossians 2:16) Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. Therefore, nature itself recognizes its creator by its own judgment, not by law, but by the reason of nature; for it perceives the workman in his work.
(Vers. 15.)
(Verse 15) Those who do not have the law are a law unto themselves, demonstrating the work of the law written on their hearts. It is the same understanding; for while they believe under the guidance of nature, they show the work of the law not by letter, but by conscience. The work of the law, however, is faith, which, when exhibited to God with words, demonstrates by natural judgment that it is a law to themselves; for whatever the law commands, it voluntarily does, so that it may believe in Christ.
The testimony is rendered by their own conscience. They believe based on their inner conscience, because they are aware that what they believe coincides with their own conscience; for it is fitting for a creature to believe in and worship its creator: nor is it absurd for a servant to acknowledge his master.
(Vers. 16.)
(Verse 16) And on the day when God judges the secrets of men according to my gospel, through Jesus Christ our Lord, they will accuse or even defend themselves with their thoughts. For he said that the Jews, who do not believe, will be judged by the law (for the law accuses them of rejecting Christ, whom it promised to them but they did not receive), but the Gentiles, who do not have the law, will be judged by their conscience if they refuse to believe. First of all, the accusers will be Gentiles who believe not in the faith of the Gentiles; just as the Lord said to His disciples concerning the unbelieving Jews: 'They will be your judges' (Matthew 12:27), for the perfidy of the Jews will be judged by the faith of the apostles, who, though they were of them, believed when those others did not believe. Then the Gentiles will be accused by their own thoughts, if, having been touched in their hearts by the faith and power of the Creator, they refuse to believe; or if, through a certain stupor, they fail to consider that they should believe the words and actions of the Lord. They will defend themselves on the day of judgment, saying that they did not consider themselves obligated to believe. They will be judged not as evildoers, but as ignorant individuals; nevertheless, they will not be without punishment, because it is not permissible to be ignorant of this. For gens signifies a twofold kind, both believers and unbelievers; for he speaks earlier about believing nations, but he also includes those nations which do not believe; so that, just as believers are praised by their conscience, thus unbelievers are accused by their conscience. For although he seems least guilty to himself, who did not believe; because he could not handle this within himself, he is however convicted by reason; because he did not persuade himself that this was true, which he had seen confirmed by testimonies of virtues, and followed by many.
I think it can also be understood this way, if the whole question is believed to be about believing nations, because it says: What have I to do with judging those who are outside? (1 Corinthians 5:12) And, Whoever does not believe, he says, is already judged (John 3:18) . And, Because the wicked do not rise in judgment (Psalm 1:5) . For sinning without the law, they will perish without the law; and by this, they will not be able to stand before the judgment of Christ and give an account; because when they rise, they will be led to hell. For those whom he says are accused or defended by their own thoughts on the day of God's judgment, are Christians who deviate from the catholic truth, holding different opinions about Christ or the meaning of the law in the Church's tradition, whether they are Cataphrygians, Novatians, Donatists, or other heretics. The thoughts of these people will accuse each other on the day of judgment; if anyone understands the true catholic doctrine and chooses not to follow it, refusing to be corrected and ashamed to depart from what they have held for a long time, they will be accused by their own thoughts on the day of judgment. For two thoughts in a person will accuse each other, good and bad. Good accuses the bad, because it contradicted the truth: the bad accuses the good again, because it did not follow, as it perceived: and thus the defendant is established, who thought, feeling that the Catholic Church is good and true, and remained in heresy or schism. But the thoughts of that person will defend each other, who always thought this, considering what he followed to be beneficial. For he is about to say: I have always thought this, which I have followed, to be useful. This was my faith. He will have a lighter cause here, although it must be corrected; because he will not be accused by his conscience on the day of judgment. In this manner, the hidden things of men will be judged on the day of judgment by Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Vers. 17.)
(Verse 17) But if you are called a Jew. The name Jew is given because it is a prerogative of their ancestors to be called Israelites. And yet, if we want to fully comprehend everything that pertains to the matter, we must consider that the name Jew has a threefold meaning. First, because they are the sons of Abraham, for he is considered the father of all nations because of his faith. Secondly, because of Jacob, who was called Israel for the sake of increasing faith; for the dignity of the father is elevated in his children. Thirdly, not so much because of Judas, but because of Christ; because he was born of Judah according to the flesh, they are called Judahites; because in Judah this was signified, which was to come in Christ. For it has been said: Judah shall be your leader (Judges 20:18); and, Judah, your brothers shall praise you (Genesis 49:8). The praise given to Judah is not approved, but to Christ, whom all daily praise, those whom he has deigned to call his brothers. For he himself said to the women: Go, and tell my brothers, that I go before you into Galilee (Matthew 28:7). For who does not praise him, by whose benefit he lives? Therefore, the apostle, under this meaning, which is later in number, but higher in merit, wanted to encompass the whole: which the Jews, not understanding, defend the name of carnal Jew for themselves.
(Vers. 18.)
(Verse 18) And you rest in the Law, and you glory in God, and you know His will, and you approve of what is more useful, being instructed by the Law. It does not want to appear very great if a Jew believes; indeed, since he is instructed by the Law, it is very dangerous if he does not believe; for he has the Law as his guide. But if a believer is preferred, he makes the merit of the Fathers; because even though someone may flourish on their own, they still falter in their own things.
(Vers. 19, 20.)
(Verse 19, 20.) And you trust yourself to be a leader of the blind, a light for those in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, having the form of knowledge and truth in the Law. These things are true; for this is a testament of the Law, to instruct the ignorant and subject the profane to God: or to provoke the impious, who are devoted to idolatry, with the promise made through the Law, to a hope of something better. Therefore, the doctor of the Law rightly boasts in these things, because he imparts the form of truth. But if it does not receive the one whom the Law promised, it boasts in vain about the Law, which it dishonors, while rejecting Christ, the promised one in the Law; and it will no longer be a teacher of the foolish, nor a master of infants, nor a guide for the blind, who are in darkness; but rather the leader of all of them to destruction.
(Vers. 21.)
(Verse 21.) Therefore, if you teach someone else, you do not teach yourself. This means that you who accuse the Gentiles of being without the Law and God, do not accuse yourself: for by doubting Christ, promised in the Law, you are found in the same things that you accuse.
(Vers. 22.)
(Verse 22) You preach against stealing, yet you steal; for you do what you preach should not be done. For while you deceive the faith of Christ through bad interpretation, you deny our Christ promised in the Law.
You say not to commit adultery, yet you yourself commit adultery (2 Corinthians 2:17). But you, by disregarding the truth of Christ and embracing falsehood, are adulterating the Law. This is why it is said elsewhere: 'You adulterers of the word of God.'
When you curse idols, you commit sacrilege: you are sacrilegious, when you deny Christ, whom both the Law and the prophetic word designate as God; for Isaiah says: 'There is no God besides you; there is no other god.' You are indeed God, and we did not know it: God the Savior of Israel (Isaiah 45:14). Did the Jews not say of the Father: 'You are indeed God, and we did not know it,' when the whole Law of the Father proclaims His authority, from whom all things come? But because the Son of God always indeed appeared, yet He was hidden who He was; when He is recognized after the resurrection, it is said in confession: For You are God, and we did not know. And He who was thought to be only an Angel in the Law, and the leader of the army of the Lord: but when it is understood that He is the Son of God, it is said to Him with thanksgiving: For You are God, and we did not know. Therefore, by this He signifies that He Himself was the one who indeed appeared to the patriarchs as God, and He was incarnate afterwards, but had not been understood by all.
(Vers. 23.)
(Verse 23) You who boast in the Law, dishonor God by transgressing the Law. You transgress the Law when you ignore its meaning, which pertains to the incarnation and divinity of Christ. And you dishonor God by not accepting His testimony about His Son. For He Himself said, 'This is my beloved Son' (Matthew 3:17).
(Vers. 24.)
(Verse 24) For the name of God is blasphemed among the gentiles because of you, as it is written (Isaiah 52:5). This was said by the prophet Isaiah because the name of God was blasphemed among the gentiles when the Jews, who were handed over for their offenses, did not pay attention to themselves but gave glory to their idols as if they had conquered the God of the Jews in the Jews. Likewise, in the time of the apostles, the name of God was blasphemed in Christ because the Jews, by denying Christ as God, were blaspheming both Him and the Father, as the Lord says: "Whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me" (Luke 9:48). And therefore among the nations he was blasphemed, because the Jews endeavored to persuade the believing nations not to believe in Christ as God; so that the blasphemy of the nations originated from the Jews or the authors of Photinus.
(Vers. 25.)
(Verse 25.) Circumcision indeed benefits if you observe the Law. It can be said on the other hand: If circumcision benefits, why is it disregarded? But then it benefits if you observe the Law. Therefore circumcision must be observed; and in order for it to benefit, the Law must be kept. So what did it prohibit that it shows would benefit if the Law is kept? Therefore, it seems to be wrongly prohibited, which is not displeasing in itself, but is said to be frustrated through the negligence of another.
But if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. This is what he says, that if the Law is not kept, a Jew becomes a Gentile. But circumcision was established for the sake of Abraham; because circumcision is from Abraham: for he could not build what he had destroyed. For he says this, to teach that it is then beneficial to be from the lineage of Abraham if the Law is kept, that is, if one believes in Christ, who was promised to Abraham; for those who are justified by faith have their merit and are elevated with the honor of the Fathers. For all salvation is in the Law of Christ. Therefore, he who believes in Christ keeps the Law; but if he does not believe, he is a transgressor of the Law. For he does not receive Christ, whom the Law prophesied would come for justification, which it itself could not give. And it will be of no benefit to him to be called a son of Abraham; for this one, who follows faith, is the true son of Abraham, by which he became worthy before God. Hence it is said: Your circumcision has become uncircumcision, that is, you have become like a Gentile, not believing in Him who was promised as the son through the sign of circumcision to Abraham.
(Vers. 26.)
(Verse 26.) Therefore, if the foreskin keeps the commandments of the Law, will it not be counted as circumcision for them? The righteousness of the Law is Christian faith, as it is said elsewhere: Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Rom. X, 4). Therefore, it is clear that if a Gentile believes in Christ, he becomes a son of Abraham, who is the father of faith.
(Vers. 27.)
(Verse 27.) And it will judge that which is from nature, perfecting the Law, you, who are a transgressor of the Law by letter and circumcision. The believing Gentile, led by nature, condemns the Jew, to whom the Law promised Christ, but he did not want to believe in Him when He came. Therefore, how worthy of glory is the Gentile, who understood the author solely by nature, as the apostle Peter says: But you killed the author of life (Acts 3:15); all the more, the Jew is to be punished, who did not acknowledge Christ as the author either by nature or by the Law.
(Vers. 28, 29.)
(Vers. 28, 29.) For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. It is not obscure that the circumcision of the flesh does not have praise from God (for Abraham was not justified by circumcision, but by faith; later he was circumcised), but the circumcision of the heart is praiseworthy before God. For to circumcise the heart, cutting off error, is to recognize the Creator. And because the circumcision of the heart was to come, the first Moses said: Circumcise the hardness of your heart (Deut. X, 16). And Jeremiah likewise: Circumcise the foreskin of your heart (Jerem. IV, 4). This he said to the Jews who were following idols; for it is a veil around the heart, which, turned towards God, it circumcises: because faith removes the mist of error, and gives perfect knowledge of God in the mystery of the Trinity, which was unknown for ages. Therefore, the praise of this circumcision is from God, hidden from men; for it is the merit of the heart that God sees, not of the flesh. For the praise of the Jews is from men; for they boast in the circumcision of the flesh, because it is from the Fathers. Therefore, among other things, he says: 'And glory in their shame, those who are earthly-minded' (Philippians 3:19); that is, those who consider the circumcision of the flesh to be glory. For he is earthly-minded who boasts in the flesh; but he who boasts in the spirit, his praise is from God; for he is believed in by the spirit, not by the flesh.