Letter 147

Isidore of PelusiumUnknown|isidore pelusium
From: Isidore of Pelusium, monk at Pelusium
To: An inquirer
Date: ~410 AD
Context: A brief note responding to a question about a passage from the Epistle to the Romans.

Since you have written asking for an explanation of the passage, I will answer briefly. The text you are asking about has a straightforward meaning once you read what comes before and after it. The Apostle's argument is a continuous whole; extracting a single verse from it produces exactly the confusion you are experiencing. Read the full context, and the difficulty resolves itself.

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.