The Good News Translation uses the statement he deals with men’s sins as a transitional device to make explicit the relation between the last part of verse 25 and the first part of verse 26: in the past, he … overlooked men’s sins; but now in the present time he deals with men’s sins.

God deals with men’s sins may be translated as “God is concerned with men’s sins” or “God does something about men’s sins.” Actually, in selecting a term for “is concerned with” it is important not to suggest that God was in the past in no way concerned with sin. It is only that he chose to overlook sin. It may, therefore, be necessary to point up the difference between the past and present by saying: “but now in the present time God does not overlook men’s sins; instead he shows that he puts men right with himself.”

To demonstrate renders essentially the same noun phrase in Greek that was used in the previous verse.

Paul’s literal expression “so that he himself might be righteous” means, as the Good News Translation indicates, in this way God shows that he himself is righteous (see New English Bible “showing that he is himself just”; Jerusalem Bible “by showing positively that he is just”). He is righteous is perhaps best understood in the sense of “he does what is right.”

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 .