World English Bible · Under Rome
Romans 4
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What then will we say that , our forefather, has found according to ? For if was by works, he has something to boast about, but not toward . For what does the say? " , and it was accounted to him for ." Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as , but as something owed. But to him who doesn't work, but believes in him who the ungodly, his is accounted for . Even as also pronounces on the man to whom counts apart from works: " are they whose are forgiven, whose are covered. is the man whom will by no means charge with ." Is this then pronounced only on the , or on the also? For we say that was accounted to for . How then was it counted? When he was in , or in uncircumcision? Not in , but in uncircumcision. He received the sign of , a seal of the of the which he had while he was in uncircumcision, that he might be of all those who , though they might be in uncircumcision, that might also be accounted to them. He is of to those who not only are of the , but who also walk in the steps of that of , which he had in uncircumcision. For the promise to and to his that he would be of the world wasn't through , but through the of . For if those who are of are , is made void, and the promise is made of no effect. For produces ; for where there is no law, neither is there . For this cause it is of , that it may be according to , to the end that the promise may be sure to all the , not to that only which is of , but to that also which is of the of , who is of us all. As , "I have made you a of many nations." This is in the of him whom he : , who gives life to , and calls the things that are not, as though they were. Against , in , to the end that he might become a of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, "So will be." Without being weakened in , he didn't consider his own body, already having been worn out, (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of . Yet, looking to the promise of , he didn't waver through unbelief, but grew strong through , giving to , and being fully assured that what he had promised, he was also able to perform. Therefore it also was "credited to him for ." Now it was not written that it was accounted to him for his sake alone, but for our sake also, to whom it will be accounted, who in him who our from , who was up for our trespasses, and was for our .
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The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.