The ungodly A ^ ;te of wh re_ ( Good men.
f\r\ nr\ /l/v» O V. ' ) ' / ^ A «
Sinners , Enemies ,
spectively, are
■l The righteous.
I The reconciled.
See on the powerlessness and on the strength of glorying [i.e., the powerlessness of the ungodly, and the strength of glorying of the righteous] Ps. lxviii. 2, and the following verses ; [lxxi. 16, civ. 35] Is. xxxiii. 24, ch. xlv. 24 ; 1 Cor. i. 31 ; Heb. ii. 15. Add the verbal parallelism, 2 Cor. xi. 21. — zard zaipbv dnzQave, in due time died ) nnjn, zard zaipbv, Is. lx. 22. When our powerlessness had reached its highest point, then Christ died, at the time which God had previously determined, and in such a manner, that He died neither too soon nor too late (comp, the expression in the time that now is [at this time ] ch. vii. 26), and was not held too long [longer than was needful] under the power of death. Paul fixes the limits [of the due time\ and he cannot speak in this passage of the death of Christ, without, at the same time, thinking of the counsel of God, and of the resurrection of Christ, ver. 10, ch. iv. 25, viii. 34. The question, why Christ did not come sooner, is not an idle question; see Heb. ix. 26; Gal., iv. 4 ; Eph. i. 10 ; Mark i. 15, xii. 6, just as also the question, why the law was not given sooner, is no idle question, ver. 14.
7. A ixa/ov. rov dya Gov) Masculines ; with which comp. ver. 6, 8, as Th. Gataker rightly shows, Book 2, Misc. c. 9, but in such a way, that he thinks them to be merely synonymous. When there is any doubt respecting the peculiar force of an ex- pression, and a difference between words, it will be of much advantage if you either suppose something in the meanwhile, or transpose the words. Accordingly, by transposing the words in this passage, we shall read : /ao'X/s yap bmp dyaQou ng drto&a- vsirai, vtf'sp ydp Sizalou rdyri rig zal roX/ia d-roQaveiv , for scarcely for a good man will one die , for peradventure for a righteous man , some one would even dare to die) suppose, to wdt, also, that dyaQov is put without the article. You will immediately per- ceive the disadvantage to the sense, with which this change would be attended, and it will appear evident, that there is both some difference between dlzaiov and dyuOov , and a great one between dlzaiov and rbv ayaOov , wheresoever that difference in the consecutive words may be found hereafter. In fact, the