Romans 3
1 What preferment then hath the Iewe? other what a vauntageth circumcision?
What is the advantage, then, of being a Jew? Or what is the good of circumcision?
2 Surely very moche. Fyrst vnto them was committed the worde of God
Great in every way. First of all, because the Jews were entrusted with God’s utterances.
3 What then though some of them did not beleve? shall their vnbeleve make the promes of god with out effecte?
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. Let god be true and all men lyars as it is written: That thou myghtest be iustifyed in thy sayinge and shuldest overcome when thou arte 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 Yf oure vnrightewesnes make the rightewesnes of God more excellent: what shall we saye? Is God vnrighteous which taketh vengeauce? I speake after the maner of me.
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. For how then shall God iudge the worlde?
Otherwise how can God judge the world?
7 Yf the veritie of God appere moare excellent thorow my lye vnto his prayse why am I hence forth iudged as a synner?
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 saye not rather (as men evyll speake of vs and as some affirme that we saye) let vs do evyll that good maye come therof. Whose damnacion is iuste.
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 saye we then? Are we better then they? No in no wyse. For we have all ready proved how that both Iewes and Gentils are all vnder synne
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 writte: There is none righteous no not one:
As scripture says – ‘There is not even one who is righteous,
11 There is none that vnderstondith there is none yt seketh after God
not one who understands, not one who is searching for God!
12 they are all gone out of ye waye they are all made vnprofytable ther 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 with their tounges they have disceaved: 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 mouthes are full of coursynge and bitternes.
‘And their mouths are full of bitter curses.’
15 Their fete are swyfte to sheed bloud.
‘Swift are their feet to shed blood.
16 Destruccion and wretchednes are in their wayes.
Distress and trouble dog their steps,
17 And the waye of peace they have not knowen.
and the path of peace they do not know.’
18 There is no feare of God before their eyes.
‘The fear of God is not before their eyes.’
19 Ye and we knowe that whatsoever ye lawe sayth he sayth it to them which are vnder the lawe. That all mouthes maye be stopped and all the worlde be subdued to 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 because that by ye dedes of the lawe shall no flesshe be iustified in the sight of God. For by the lawe commeth the knowledge of synne.
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 Now verely is ye rigtewesnes that cometh of God declared without the fulfillinge of ye lawe havinge witnes yet of ye lawe and of the Prophetes.
But now, quite apart from Law, the divine righteousness stands revealed, and to it the Law and the prophets bear witness –
22 The rightewesnes no dout which is good before God cometh by ye fayth of Iesus Christ vnto all and vpon all that beleve. Ther is no differece:
the divine righteousness which is bestowed, through faith in Jesus Christ, on all, without distinction, who believe in him.
23 for all have synned and lacke the prayse yt is of valoure before God:
For all have sinned, and all fall short of God’s glorious ideal,
24 but are iustified frely by his grace through the redemcion that is in Christ Iesu
but, in his loving kindness, are being freely pronounced righteous through the deliverance found in Christ Jesus.
25 whom God hath made a seate of mercy thorow faith in his bloud to shewe ye rightewesnes which before him is of valoure in yt he forgeveth ye synnes yt are passed which God dyd suffre
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 to shewe at this tyme ye rightewesnes yt is alowed of him yt he myght be couted iuste and a iustifiar of him which belevith on 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 thy reioysinge? It is excluded. By what lawe? by ye lawe of workes? Naye: but by the lawe of fayth.
What, then, becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what sort of Law? A Law requiring obedience? No, a Law requiring faith.
28 For we suppose that a man is iustified by fayth without the dedes of ye lawe.
For we conclude that a person is pronounced righteous on the ground of faith, quite apart from obedience to Law.
29 Is he the God of the Iewes only? Is he not also the God of the Gentyls? Yes eve of the Gentyles 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 God only which iustifieth circumcision which is of fayth and vncircumcision thorow fayth.
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 Do we then destroye the lawe thorow fayth? God forbid. But we rather mayntayne the lawe.
Do we, then, use this faith to abolish Law? Heaven forbid! No, we establish Law.
