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Order of Contents
Brief
Intermediate
Advanced
Word Studies
Quote
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Simple, Brief, Practical and/or Devotional Commentaries
Compilation
Krey & Krey – Rom. 14 in Reformation Commentary on Scripture Pre (IVP, 2016)
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1500’s
Erasmus, Desiderius – Rom. 14 in Paraphrase on the New Testament (d. 1536), vol. 2, pp. 35-37
Erasmus was the Roman Catholic humanist Bible scholar that argued for free-will against Martin Luther. His writings typically exude piety and are very much worth reading. Erasmus was one of the preeminent Bible scholars of his day and compiled the Greek text that underlies the KJV Bible.
** ‘This paraphrase was appointed by public authority to be placed in all churches in England, and the clergy were also ordered to read it. The volumes are very rare, and expensive because of their rarity.’ – Spurgeon
Beza, Theodore – Rom. 14 in The New Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ, translated out of Greek by Beza, with Brief Summaries & Expositions… (1599), fol. 68a-b
The margin notes are very brief and sometimes sparse. Various Latin editions of this work have a much fuller commentary.
*** ‘The compact marginal notes are still most useful. The possessor of this old black letter Testament may think himself happy.’ – Spurgeon
Various – Rom. 14 in Romans in The Geneva Bible Annotations (1599) Authors include: John Calvin, John Knox, Theodore Beza, Miles Coverdale, William Whittingham, Anthony Gilby, Christoper Goodman, Thomas Sampson, William Cole, William Keithe, Laurance Tomson, Franciscus Junius, John Bale, Heinrich Bullinger et al.
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1600’s
Diodati, John – Rom. 14 in Pious Annotations, upon the Holy Bible… (1607; London: T.B., 1643), pp. 134-35
Diodati (1576–1649) was a Genevan-born Italian, reformed theologian and translator who was a pastor and professor in Geneva, following Theodore Beza. His translation of the Bible into Italian from Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Syriac sources became the reference version used by Italian Protestants. He was one of the six divines which drew up the Canons of Dort.
** “Bickersteth says: ‘The spiritual and evangelical remarks are of much value.’ Diodati’s notes are short and worth consulting.” – Spurgeon
Various – Rom. 14 in The King James Version’s Translator’s Notes (1611) meager notes
Wilson, Thomas – Rom. 14 in A Commentary upon the most Divine Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans… in Form of a Dialogue… (London: Jaggard, 1614)
Wilson (1563-1622) was a reformed Anglican.
** “Intended for the less-instructed among the preacher’s hearers, and put into the form of a dialogue. It is very solid, but does not contain much which is very striking or original.” – Spurgeon
Dutch Annotations – Rom. 14 in The Dutch Annotations upon the Whole Bible… tr. Theodore Haak Buy Reprint Buy Fascimile (1637/1657)
** ‘Haak’s Annotations come to us as the offspring of the famous Synod of Dort… but if, with my hat off, bowing profoundly to those august conclaves of master minds, I may venture to say so, I would observe that they furnish another instance that committees seldom equal the labors of individuals. The notes are too short and fragmentary to be of any great value. The volumes are a heavy investment.’ ‘Similar to the Westminster Assembly’s Annotations.’ – Spurgeon
English Annotations – Rom. 14 in Annotations upon All the Books of the Old & New Testament… 1st ed. (1645), vol. 2
Leigh, Edward – Rom. 14 in Annotations upon All the New Testament, Philological & Theological… (London: W.W., 1650), pp. 225-26
A major reformed commentary from the mid-1600’s.
*** ‘Good, brief notes. Antique, but still prized.’ – Spurgeon
Hall, Joseph – Rom. 14 in A Plain & Familiar Explication: by Way of Paraphrase, of All the Hard Texts of the Whole Divine Scriptures… (d. 1656), vol. 2, pp. 332-34
By hard texts, Hall means the hard parts in about every other verse of the Bible, as that is how much he comments on.
** ‘Not so pithy as the Contemplations; nor, indeed, could it be expected to be so. It is not necessary to the Student, but might be useful.’
Baxter, Richard – Rom. 14 in A Paraphrase on the New Testament with Notes, Doctrinal & Practical… (London: Simmons, 1685)
** ‘The notes are in Baxter’s intensely practical and personal style, and show the hortatory use of Scripture; but they are not very explanatory.’ – Spurgeon
“The paraphrase is inserted between the verses of the text, and in a smaller type. The annotations are at the end of the chapters. They are for the most part very short, and contain much sound sense and piety.” – Thomas Hartwell Horne
Clarke, Samuel – Rom. 14 in Annotations upon the Old & New Testaments (1690)
Clarke (d. 1701) was a late puritan. His comments are very brief and often sparse.
** ‘Notes very brief, but judicious. Author one of the ejected ministers, an exceedingly learned man. This work was highly commended by Owen, Baxter, Howe and others, but is now superseded.’ – Spurgeon
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Intermediate Commentaries
1500’s
Colet, John – Rom. 14 in An Exposition on Romans (d. 1519; London: Bell, 1874)
Colet (1467–1519) was a reforming, English, humanist, Romanist priest who was critical of the Church and a friend of Erasmus.
Luther, Martin
Rom. 14 in Luther: Lectures on Romans tr. William Pauck in The Library of Christian Classics (London: SCM Press, 1961)
Rom. 14 in Commentary on Romans tr: J. Theodore (Kregel, 1976)
This work is different than the above and follows Luther’s commentary on Romans in the Weimar edition of Luther’s Works, vol. 56.
Calvin, John – Rom. 14 in Commentary on Romans
Vermigli, Peter Martyr – Rom. 14 in A Most Learned & Fruitful Commentary upon the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans… (d. 1562; London: 1568)
** “Being in black letter, and very long, few will ever read it; but it contains much that will repay the laborious book-worm.” – Spurgeon
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1600’s
Willet, Andrew – Rom. 14 in A Six-fold Commentary upon Romans (Cambridge: Legge, 1611)
Willet (1562–1621)
** – ‘Willet is tedious reading; his method hampers him. In all his Commentaries he lumbers along in his six-wheeled wagon.’ – Spurgeon
Ferme, Charles – Rom. 14 in A Logical Analysis of Romans in A Logical Analysis of Romans by Charles Ferme… and a Commentary on the Same Epistle by Andrew Melville… ed. William L. Alexander (†1617; Edinburgh: Wodrow Society, 1850)
Ferme (1565-1617) was a reformed Scottish divine.
Parr, Elnathan – Rom. 14 in A Plain Exposition upon the Whole Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth & Sixteenth Chapters of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans... (1622), pp. 1-100
Parr (1577-1622) was reformed.
*** “The style is faulty, but the matter is rich and full of suggestions. We regret that the work is not complete, and is seldom to be met with except in fragments.” – Spurgeon
Thaddaeus, Johannes – Rom. 14 in Romans in The Reconciler of the Bible Enlarged: wherein Above Three Thousand Seeming Contradictions Throughout the Old & New Testament, are Fully & Plainly Reconciled (d. 1652)
Mayer, John – Rom. 14 in A Commentary upon All the Epistles of St. Paul… (London: Haviland, 1631)
** ‘A rare and valuable author… The six volumes, folio, are a most judicious and able digest of former commentators, enriched with the author’s own notes, forming altogether one of the fullest and best of learned English commentaries; not meant for popular use, but invaluable to the student. He is a link between the modern school, at the head of which I put Poole and Henry, and the older school who mostly wrote in Latin, and were tinctured with the conceits of those schoolmen who gathered like flies around the corpse of Aristotle. He appears to have written before Diodati and Trapp, but lacked opportunity to publish. I fear he will be forgotten, as there is but little prospect of the republication of so diffuse, and perhaps heavy, an author. He is a very Alp of learning, but cold and lacking in spirituality, hence his lack of popularity.’ – Spurgeon
Dickson, David – Rom. 14 in The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, Analytically Expounded in An Exposition of all St. Paul’s Epistles together… (London, 1659)
Dickson was a prominent Scottish covenanter.
*** – ‘Dickson is a writer after our own heart. For preachers he is a great ally. There is nothing brilliant or profound; but everything is clear and well arranged, and the unction runs down like the oil from Aaron’s head. In this volume the observations are brief.’
Hammond, Henry – Rom. 14 in A Paraphrase & Annotations upon All the Books of the New Testament, Briefly Explaining All the Difficult Places Thereof (1659), vol. 4
Hammond was an Arminian Anglican, though Matthew Henry found him profitable enough to refer to him 96 times in his commentary.
** ‘Though Hammond gives a great deal of dry criticism, and is Arminian, churchy, and peculiar, we greatly value his addition to our stores of biblical information. Use the sieve and reject the chaff.’ – Spurgeon
Day, William – Rom. 14 in A Paraphrase & Commentary upon the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans (London: 1666)
Day (d. 1684) was an Anglican.
Trapp, John – Rom. 14 in A Complete Commentary on the Bible (d. 1669)
Trapp was a reformed Anglican, though presbyterian in his leanings.
*** ‘Trapp excels in witty stories on the one hand, and learned allusions on the other. You will not thoroughly enjoy him unless you can turn to the original, and yet a mere dunce at classics will prize him. His writings remind me of himself: he was a pastor, hence his holy practical remarks; he was the head of a public school, and everywhere we see his profound scholarship; he was for some time amid the guns and drums of a parliamentary garrison, and he gossips and tells queer anecdotes like a man used to soldier-life; yet withal, he comments as if he had been nothing else but a commentator all his days.
Some of his remarks are far-fetched, and like the far-fetched rarities of Solomon’s Tarshish, there is much gold and silver, but there are also apes and peacocks. His criticisms would some of them be the cause of amusement in these days of greater scholarship; but for all that, he who shall excel Trapp had need rise very early in the morning…’ – Spurgeon
Brown of Wamphray, John – Rom. 14 in An Exposition of Romans with Large Practical Observations, Delivered in Several Lectures (†1679; Edinburgh: Paterson, 1766)
Brown (1610-1679) was a late Scottish covenanter, exiled in Holland.
** – ‘By a Calvinist of the old school. Heavy, perhaps; but precious.’ – Spurgeon
Mayo, Richard – Rom. 14 in Matthew Poole, English Annotations on the Holy Bible. Poole died after finishing Isa. 58; see the list of his continuators.
Poole (1624–1679) was an English puritan, as well as Mayo (1631?-1695).
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1700’s
Evans, John – Rom. 14 in Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry died after completing the commentary through Acts; see the list of his continuators.
Evans (c. 1680-1730)
Mather, Cotton – Rom. 14 in Biblia Americana: A Synoptic Commentary on the Old & New Testaments: Romans – Philemon (1693-1728; Mohr Siebeck, 2018)
This was part of the first whole Bible commentary to come from American soil. Cotton was a reformed, congregationalist puritan.
Locke, John – Rom. 14 in Paraphrase & Notes on the Epistles to the Galatians, Corinthians, Romans & Ephesians 6th ed. (London: Millar, 1733)
Locke (1632–1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers.
** “Anything from such a man is worthy of attention, and this place, as a protest against rending texts from their connection, is most judicious. The paraphrase, though open to criticism, is executed with great candor, and really illuminates the text. (See Benson)” – Spurgeon
Doddridge, Philip – Rom. 14 in The Family Expositor: or, a Paraphrase & Version of the New Testament with Critical Notes & a Practical Improvement… (d. 1751; London: 1825)
** ‘Upon the New Testament Doddridge’s Expositor is worthy of a far more extensive reading than is nowadays accorded to it. It is all in the form of a paraphrase, with the text in italics; a mode of treatment far from satisfactory as a rule, but exceedingly well carried out in this instance. The notes are very good, and reveal the thorough scholar. Our authorized version is placed in the margin, and a new translation in the paraphrase… The practical improvements at the end of each chapter generally consist of pressing exhortations and devout meditations, suggested by the matter under discussion…’ – Spurgeon
Gill, John – Rom. 14 in Exposition of the Bible (d. 1771)
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2000’s
Fentiman, Travis – “Editor’s Extended Introduction” in English Puritans, A Refutation of the Errors of Separatists (1604; 1644; RBO, 2025)
“Romans 14 & 1 Corinthians 8: Foods & Days” 34-38
“Close” 185-86
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Advanced
1800’s
ed. Meyer, Heinrich A. W. – Rom. 14 in Critical & Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (1832-1859)
Liberal, but an irreplaceable, nearly-exhaustive resource. Focused especially on the grammatical-historical method of interpretation.
** ‘A very learned Commentary, of which Bishop Ellicott speaks in the highest terms. Meyer must be placed in the first class of scholars, though somewhat lower down in the class than his admirers have held. Apart from scholarship we do not commend him. Alford was certainly no very rigid adherent of orthodoxy, yet he says of Meyer that he is not to be trusted where there is any room for the introduction of rationalistic opinions. Whatever credit may be due to him for accurate interpretation, this is a terribly serious drawback. It is well to be warned.’ – Spurgeon
“Marked by the finest scholarship. Close attention is paid to critical details, and theology is blended with exegesis in expounding the text.” – Cyril Barber
Godet, Frederic – Rom. 14 in Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans tr. A. Ousin (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1881), vol. 2
“This exhaustive and technical commentary provides an excellent treatment of the argument of the epistle. The author surveys the varying theories, refutes theological liberals who differ with him on important points of doctrine, and adequately defends his views. A valuable addition to a pastor’s library!” – Cyril J. Barber
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Word Studies on Rom. 14
1800’s
Vincent, Marvin – Rom. 14 in Word Studies, 4 vols. (1887)
A standard work respected by all evangelicals; it makes the Greek accessible to an English-only reader. Vincent (1834-1922) was a presbyterian minister (though he does not appear to be strongly reformed in some of his interpretations) and professor of New Testament exegesis and criticism at Union Theological Seminary in New York City.
“Vincent’s Word Studies falls half-way between an exegetical commentary and a Greek lexicon. It is actually a study, in commentary form, of the vocabulary of the New Testament. This format gives Vincent the opportunity to not only discuss the subtle distinctions in meaning between different Greek words, but also to comment on the history contained in a word that might get lost in a translation.” – StudyLight.org
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1900’s
Robertson, A.T. – Rom. 14 in Word Pictures of the New Testament
Robertson (1863-1934) was reformed baptist professor professor of New Testament at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Robertson comments on and fills out the word-pictures used in the N.T.
While he does not comment on all the verses of the N.T., he does comment on most of them and gives a lot of exegesis. The work is helpful on Greek grammar, but can be read by the English-only reader.
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Quote
1800’s
John ‘Rabbi’ Duncan
“It is a beautiful thing to see an assured and strong believer tender to weak faith, and a weak believer thanking God for his grace to the strong. It is a beautiful sight to look on Mr. Greatheart [in Pilgrim’s Progress] guiding Mr. Fearing.”
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