ἔχοντα τὴν μόρφωσιν τῆς γνώσεως καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐν τῷ νόμῳ

Says The Jew is confident that he is four things (2:19–20): ὁδηγὸν … τυφλῶν, "a guide for the blind"; φῶς τῶν ἐν σκότει, "a light for those in darkness"; παιδευτὴν ἀφρόνων, "an instructor of the foolish"; διδάσκαλον νηπίων, "a teacher of infants" (BSB). Abbott-Smith treats ὁδηγὸς τυφλῶν as figurative and lists Rom 2:20 for νήπιος in the metaphorical sense "unskilled, simple."

Says The ground is the participle ἔχοντα, "because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth" (BSB). μόρφωσις (morphōsis; Abbott-Smith: "form, outline, semblance") is a word he marks as not found in classical writers. It occurs in the NT only here and in 2 Tim 3:5 (ἔχοντες μόρφωσιν εὐσεβείας, "a form of godliness"), where Abbott-Smith notes it is set against δύναμις.

Implies In 2:20 the word is positive: the law truly gives shape to knowledge and truth, and Paul does not dispute the Jew's possession of it (compare 3:2; 7:12). The sense differs from 2 Tim 3:5, where the outward form lacks the power. The irony of 2:21–23 lies not in the word but in the gap between having the law's form and doing it.

Uncertain Whether the four titles echo Isa 42:6–7 (a light to the nations, eyes for the blind) or simply describe the proselytizing teacher. The vocabulary overlaps only in part.