In this verse Paul appeals to the example of Christ and to the words of the Old Testament as the basis for the conduct that he hopes to inspire in the persons to whom he is writing. The scripture quotation comes from Psalm 69.9. For the early church the example of Christ and the words of the Old Testament were two authorities which they could not deny.

Christ did not please himself can be translated “Christ did not do what he did just to make himself happy,” “Christ did not live just to please himself,” or “Christ did not live just for his own benefit.”

The scripture quotation presents a number of difficulties in translation. For one thing, some languages do not possess a noun for insult. Also, it is unlikely that languages would speak of “insults by those who insulted.” Again, it is rare to talk of “insults falling on someone.” Accordingly, this quotation may be restructured in some languages as “what people said when they insulted you has now come upon me” or “people insulted you, but what they said has really insulted me.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .