in accordance with the conception of a judicial act, expresses the Divine purpose —that their bodies might be dishonoured among them. For gen. of purpose, see Winer, 408 ff. (where, however, a different construction is given for this passage, τοῦ ἀτιμάζεσθαι being made to depend immediately on ἀκαθαρσίαγν). Ver. 25. οἵτινες µετήλλαξαν κ.τ.λ. : being as they were persons who ex- changed the truth of God for the lie. ‘* The truth of God” (cf. ver. 23, ‘* the glory of God’’) is the same thing as God in His truth, or the true God as He had actually revealed Himself to man. τὸ ψεῦδος, abstract for concrete, is the idol or false God. The ἐν (cf. ver. 23)
answers to Hebrew 3, παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα: to the passing by, i.e., disregard or contempt of the Creator. For this use of παρὰ, see Winer, 503 f. ὅς ἐστιν εὐλογητός: the doxology re- lieves the writer’s feelings as he contem- plates such horrors.
Ver. 26f. With the second παρέδωκεν the Apostle proceeds to a further stage in this judicial abandonment of men, which is at the same time a revelation of the wrath of God from heaven against them. It issues not merely like the first in sensuality, but in sensuality which perverts nature as well as disregards God. The πλάνη, error or going astray (ver. 27), is probably still the original one of idolatry ; the ignoring or degrad- ing of God is the first fatal step out of the way, which ends in this slough,
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