Romans 2:8-9

⁸ but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath,

⁹ tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;

self-seeking= those who create rivalry or factions, those who resist the will and way of God.

Obey = habitual course of conduct, yielding to and cooperating with unrighteousness, by impulse

Wrath = the feeling of God’s anger.

Indignation = the manifestation of the feeling.

Tribulation = suffering

Anguish = shut up without the possibility of escape, distress.

So, wrath is God’s attitude toward sin, indignation is His expression of that wrath. Tribulation is the result of His expression and anguish is the realization of what is taking place.

Soul = person

Because the gospel was to the Jew first, so are the consequences of unrighteousness. With greater privilege comes greater responsibility.

First = especially

What Paul is doing in these verses is establishing that God rewards the good. Soon he will show that there are no good to reward.