Romans 3
1 What is then the preferment of the Iewe? or what is the profite of circumcision?
What is the advantage, then, of being a Jew? Or what is the good of circumcision?
2 Much euery maner of way: for chiefly, because vnto them were of credite committed the oracles of God.
Great in every way. First of all, because the Jews were entrusted with God’s utterances.
3 For what, though some did not beleeue? shall their vnbeliefe make the faith of God without effect?
What follows then? Some, no doubt, showed a want of faith; but will their want of faith make God break faith? Heaven forbid!
4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, and euery man a lyar, as it is written, That thou mightest be iustified in thy words, and ouercome, when thou art iudged.
God must prove true, though everyone prove a liar! As scripture says of God – “That you may be pronounced righteous in what you say, and gain your cause when people would judge you.”
5 Now if our vnrighteousnes comend the righteousnes of God, what shall we say? Is God vnrighteous which punisheth? (I speake as a man.)
But what if our wrongdoing makes God’s righteousness all the clearer? Will God be wrong in inflicting punishment? (I can but speak as a person.) Heaven forbid!
6 God forbid: els how shall God iudge ye world?
Otherwise how can God judge the world?
7 For if the veritie of God hath more abounded through my lye vnto his glorie, why am I yet condemned as a sinner?
But, if my falsehood redounds to the glory of God, by making his truthfulness more apparent, why am I like others, still condemned as a sinner?
8 And (as we are blamed, and as some affirme, that we say) why doe we not euil, that good may come thereof? whose damnation is iust.
Why should we not say – as some people slanderously assert that we do say – “Let us do evil that good may come”? The condemnation of such people is indeed just!
9 What then? are we more excellent? No, in no wise: for we haue alreadie prooued, that all, both Iewes and Gentiles are vnder sinne,
What follows, then? Are we Jews in any way superior to others? Not at all. Our indictment against both Jews and Greeks was that all alike were in subjection to sin.
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no not one.
As scripture says – “There is not even one who is righteous,
11 There is none that vnderstandeth: there is none that seeketh God.
not one who understands, not one who is searching for God!
12 They haue all gone out of the way: they haue bene made altogether vnprofitable: there is none that doeth good, no not one.
They have all gone astray; they have one and all become depraved; there is no one who is doing good – no, not one!”
13 Their throte is an open sepulchre: they haue vsed their tongues to deceit: the poyson of aspes is vnder their lippes.
“Their throats are like opened graves; they deceive with their tongues.” “The venom of snakes lies behind their lips,”
14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitternesse.
“And their mouths are full of bitter curses.”
15 Their feete are swift to shead blood.
“Swift are their feet to shed blood.
16 Destruction and calamity are in their waies,
Distress and trouble dog their steps,
17 And ye way of peace they haue not knowen.
and the path of peace they do not know.”
18 The feare of God is not before their eies.
“The fear of God is not before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatsoeuer ye Lawe saieth, it saieth it to them which are vnder ye Law, that euery mouth may bee stopped, and all the world be subiect to the iudgement of God.
Now we know that everything said in the Law is addressed to those who are under its authority, in order that every mouth may be closed, and to bring the whole world under God’s judgment.
20 Therefore by the woorkes of the Lawe shall no flesh be iustified in his sight: for by the Lawe commeth the knowledge of sinne.
For no human being will be pronounced righteous before God as the result of obedience to Law; for it is Law that shows what sin is.
21 But nowe is the righteousnesse, of God made manifest without the Lawe, hauing witnes of the Lawe and of the Prophets,
But now, quite apart from Law, the divine righteousness stands revealed, and to it the Law and the prophets bear witness –
22 To wit, the righteousnesse of God by the faith of Iesus Christ, vnto all, and vpon all that beleeue.
the divine righteousness which is bestowed, through faith in Jesus Christ, on all, without distinction, who believe in him.
23 For there is no difference: for all haue sinned, and are depriued of the glorie of God,
For all have sinned, and all fall short of God’s glorious ideal,
24 And are iustified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Iesus,
but, in his loving kindness, are being freely pronounced righteous through the deliverance found in Christ Jesus.
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a reconciliation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousnes, by the forgiuenesse of the sinnes that are passed,
For God set him before the world, to be, by the shedding of his blood, a means of reconciliation through faith. And this God did to prove his righteousness, and because, in his forbearance, he had passed over the sins that people had previously committed;
26 Through the patience of God, to shewe at this time his righteousnesse, that hee might be iust, and a iustifier of him which is of the faith of Iesus.
as a proof, I repeat, at the present time, of his own righteousness, that he might be righteous in our eyes, and might pronounce righteous the person who takes their stand on faith in Jesus.
27 Where is then the reioycing? It is excluded. By what Lawe? of woorkes? Nay: but by the Lawe of faith.
What, then, becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what sort of Law? A Law requiring obedience? No, a Law requiring faith.
28 Therefore we conclude, that a man is iustified by faith, without the workes of the Lawe.
For we conclude that a person is pronounced righteous on the ground of faith, quite apart from obedience to Law.
29 God, is he the God of the Iewes onely, and not of the Gentiles also? Yes, euen of the Gentiles also.
Or can it be that God is the God only of the Jews? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles?
30 For it is one God, who shall iustifie circumcision of faith, and vncircumcision through faith.
Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is only one God, and he will pronounce those who are circumcised righteous as the result of faith, and also those who are uncircumcised on their showing the same faith.
31 Doe we then make the Lawe of none effect through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the Lawe.
Do we, then, use this faith to abolish Law? Heaven forbid! No, we establish Law.
