“Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;”
King James Version (KJV)
2:9 Of the Jew first - Here we have the first express mention of the Jews in this chapter. And it is introduced with great propriety. Their having been trained up in the true religion, and having had Christ and his apostles first sent to them, will place them in the foremost rank of the criminals that obey not the truth.
Ro 2:9 Tribulation and anguish. God, the righteous ruler, is displeased and indignant, and hence sends the sore punishment of "tribulation and anguish". "One refers to the external weight of affliction; the other to the inward sense of that weight". Upon every soul. Upon every evil doer, whether Jew or Gentile. Of the Jew first. The Jew stood first in opportunity (Ro 1:16), hence is first in responsibility. And of the Greek. The whole Gentile world is meant, as in Ro 1:16, the great race whose culture had spread over the world being taken as the representative of all but the Jews. The emphatic thought is that the "Jew", as well as the Gentile, shall be rendered unto according to his works.