Romans 3
1 What is the advantage, then, of being a Jew? or what is the good of circumcision?
Then what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the profit of circumcision?
2 Great in every way. First of all, because the Jews were entrusted with God’s utterances.
Much in every way! Because first of all, they were entrusted with the revelations of God.
3 What follows then? Some, no doubt, showed a want of faith; but will their want of faith make God break faith? Heaven forbid!
For what if some were without faith? Will their lack of faith nullify the faithfulness of God?
4 God must prove true, though every man prove a liar! As Scripture says of God — ‘That thou mayest be pronounced righteous in what thou sayest, and gain thy cause when men would judge thee.’
May it never be! Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar. As it is written, “that you might be justified in your words, and might prevail when you come into judgment.”
5 But what if our wrong-doing makes God’s righteousness all the clearer? Will God be wrong in inflicting punishment? (I can but speak as a man.) Heaven forbid!
But if our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God, what will we say? Is God unrighteous who inflicts wrath? I speak like men do.
6 Otherwise how can God judge the world?
May it never be! For then how will God judge the world?
7 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?
For if the truth of God through my lie abounded to his glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?
8 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 men is indeed just!
Why not (as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say), “Let’s do evil, that good may come?” Those who say so are justly condemned.
9 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.
What then? Are we better than they? No, in no way. For we previously warned both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
10 As Scripture says — ‘There is not even one who is righteous,
As it is written, “There is no one righteous; no, not one.
11 not one who understands, not one who is searching for God!
There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks after God.
12 They have all gone astray; they have one and all become depraved; there is no one who is doing good — no, not one!’
They have all turned away. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not so much as one.”
13 ‘Their throats are like opened graves; they deceive with their tongues.’ ‘The venom of serpents lies behind their lips,’
“Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit.” “The poison of vipers is under their lips.”
14 ‘And their mouths are full of bitter curses.’
“Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 ‘Swift are their feet to shed blood.
“Their feet are swift to shed blood.
16 Distress and trouble dog their steps,
Destruction and misery are in their ways.
17 and the path of peace they do not know.’
The way of peace, they have not known.”
18 ‘The fear of God is not before their eyes.’
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 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 the whole world become liable to the judgment of God.
Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God.
20 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.
Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight; for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
21 But now, quite apart from Law, the Divine Righteousness stands revealed, and to it the Law and the Prophets bear witness —
But now apart from the law, a righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified by the law and the prophets;
22 the Divine Righteousness which is bestowed, through faith in Jesus Christ, upon all, without distinction, who believe in him.
even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all those who believe. For there is no distinction,
23 For all have sinned, and all fall short of God’s glorious ideal,
for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;
24 but, in his loving-kindness, are being freely pronounced righteous through the deliverance found in Christ Jesus.
being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 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 men had previously committed;
whom God sent to be an atoning sacrifice through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God’s forbearance;
26 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 man who takes his stand on faith in Jesus.
to demonstrate his righteousness at this present time, that he might himself be just and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus.
27 What, then, becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what sort of Law? A Law requiring obedience? No, a Law requiring faith.
Where then is the boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.
28 For we conclude that a man is pronounced righteous on the ground of faith, quite apart from obedience to Law.
We maintain therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
29 Or can it be that God is the God only of the Jews? Is not he also the God of the Gentiles?
Or is God the God of Jews only? Is not he the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,
30 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.
since indeed there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
31 Do we, then, use this faith to abolish Law? Heaven forbid! No, we establish Law.
Do we then nullify the law through faith? May it never be! No, we establish the law.
