Paul uses this question to teach that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. AT: "No one will ever separate us from the love of Christ!" or "Nothing will ever separate us from the love of Christ!" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion]])
The words "shall separate us from the love of Christ" are understood from the previous question. AT: "Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or danger, or sword separate us from the love of Christ?"(See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-ellipsis]])
# Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
Paul uses this question to emphasize that even these things cannot separate us from the love of Christ. AT: "Even tribulation, distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, and sword cannot separate us from the love of Christ." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion]])
# Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
The abstract nouns can be expressed with verb phrases. Here "sword" is a metonym that represents being killed violently. AT: "Even if people cause us trouble, hurt us, take away our clothes and food, or kill us, they cannot separate us from the love of Christ." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])
# Tribulation, or distress
These words both mean the same thing. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-doublet]])
Here "we" refers to the one who wrote this part of Scripture, but not his audience, who was God. The phrase "all day long" is an exaggeration to emphasize how much danger they are in. Paul uses this part of Scripture to show that all who belong to God should expect difficult times. This can be translated in an active form. AT: "our enemies continually seek to kill us" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-inclusive]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-hyperbole]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive]])
Here Paul compares to livestock those whom people kill because they are loyal to God. You can translate this in an active form. AT: "Our lives have no more value to them than the sheep they kill" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive]])
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