Romanos 3
1 Quid ergo amplius Judæo est? aut quæ utilitas circumcisionis?
So does a Jew have any advantage? Does circumcision have any benefits?
2 Multum per omnem modum. Primum quidem quia credita sunt illis eloquia Dei.
Yes, there are many benefits! First of all, God's message was entrusted to them.
3 Quid enim si quidam illorum non crediderunt? numquid incredulitas illorum fidem Dei evacuabit? Absit.
What if some of them didn't trust in God? Does their lack of trust in God obliterate the trustworthiness of God?
4 Est autem Deus verax: omnis autem homo mendax, sicut scriptum est: Ut justificeris in sermonibus tuis: et vincas cum judicaris.
Of course not! Even if everyone else is proved to be lying, God always tells the truth. As Scripture says, “What you say will be proved right, and you will win your case when you are judged.”
5 Si autem iniquitas nostra justitiam Dei commendat, quid dicemus? Numquid iniquus est Deus, qui infert iram?
But if the fact that we're wrong helps to show that God is right, what should we conclude? That God is wrong to pronounce judgment on us? (I'm talking from a human perspective here.)
6 secundum hominem dico. Absit. Alioquin quomodo judicabit Deus hunc mundum?
Of course not! How else could God judge the world?
7 Si enim veritas Dei in meo mendacio abundavit in gloriam ipsius: quid adhuc et ego tamquam peccator judicor?
Someone could say, “Why am I still condemned as a sinner if my lies make the truth of God and his glory more obvious in contrast?”
8 et non (sicut blasphemamur, et sicut aiunt quidam nos dicere) faciamus mala ut veniant bona: quorum damnatio justa est.
Is it a case of, “Let's sin to bring about good”? That's what some people have slanderously accused us of saying. They should be rightly condemned!
9 Quid ergo? præcellimus eos? Nequaquam. Causati enim sumus Judæos et Græcos omnes sub peccato esse,
So then, are we Jews better than others? Definitely not! Remember that we've already argued that both Jews and foreigners are under the control of sin.
10 sicut scriptum est: Quia non est justus quisquam:
As Scripture says, “No one does what is right, not even one.
11 non est intelligens, non est requirens Deum.
No one understands; no one seeks God.
12 Omnes declinaverunt, simul inutiles facti sunt: non est qui faciat bonum, non est usque ad unum.
Everyone has turned their backs on him; everyone does what is totally wrong. No one does what is good, not a single one.
13 Sepulchrum patens est guttur eorum, linguis suis dolose agebant: venenum aspidum sub labiis eorum:
Their throats are like an open grave; their tongues spread deceit; their lips ooze with the venom of snakes.
14 quorum os maledictione, et amaritudine plenum est:
Their mouths are full of bitterness and curses,
15 veloces pedes eorum ad effundendum sanguinem:
and they are quick to cause pain and death.
16 contritio et infelicitas in viis eorum:
Their way leads to disaster and misery;
17 et viam pacis non cognoverunt:
they don't know how to live in peace.
18 non est timor Dei ante oculos eorum.
They don't care about respecting God at all.”
19 Scimus autem quoniam quæcumque lex loquitur, iis, qui in lege sunt, loquitur: ut omne os obstruatur, et subditus fiat omnis mundus Deo:
It's clear that everything in the law applies to those who live under the law so that no one could have any excuses, and to make sure everyone in the whole world is answerable to God.
20 quia ex operibus legis non justificabitur omnis caro coram illo. Per legem enim cognitio peccati.
For no one is made right before God by doing what the law requires. The law only helps us recognize what sin really is.
21 Nunc autem sine lege justitia Dei manifestata est: testificata a lege et prophetis.
But now God's character of goodness and right has been demonstrated. It has nothing to do with law-keeping, even though it was spoken of by the law and the prophets.
22 Justitia autem Dei per fidem Jesu Christi in omnes et super omnes qui credunt in eum: non enim est distinctio:
This character of God that is good and right comes to everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ, those who place their confidence in him. It doesn't matter who we are:
23 omnes enim peccaverunt, et egent gloria Dei.
We have all sinned, and we fall far short of God's glorious ideal.
24 Justificati gratis per gratiam ipsius, per redemptionem quæ est in Christo Jesu,
Yet through the free gift of his grace God makes us right through Christ Jesus who sets us free.
25 quem proposuit Deus propitiationem per fidem in sanguine ipsius, ad ostensionem justitiæ suæ propter remissionem præcedentium delictorum
God openly presented Jesus as the gift that brings peace to those trusting in him, the one who shed his blood. God did this to demonstrate he is truly good and right, for previously he would hold back and pass over sins,
26 in sustentatione Dei, ad ostensionem justitiæ ejus in hoc tempore: ut sit ipse justus, et justificans eum, qui est ex fide Jesu Christi.
but now at this present time God proves he is fair and does what is right, and that he makes right those who trust in Jesus.
27 Ubi est ergo gloriatio tua? Exclusa est. Per quam legem? Factorum? Non: sed per legem fidei.
So do we have anything to boast about then? Absolutely not, there's no place for that! And why's that? Is it because we follow the law of observing requirements? No, we follow the law of trusting in God.
28 Arbitramur enim justificari hominem per fidem sine operibus legis.
We conclude that people are made right with God through their trust in him, and not from legal observance.
29 An Judæorum Deus tantum? nonne et gentium? Immo et gentium:
Is God only the God of the Jews? Isn't he the God of other people as well? Of course he is!
30 quoniam quidem unus est Deus, qui justificat circumcisionem ex fide, et præputium per fidem.
There is only one God, and he makes us morally right through our trust in him, whoever we are, Jew or foreigner.
31 Legem ergo destruimus per fidem? Absit: sed legem statuimus.
Does that mean that by trusting in God we do away with the law? Of course not! In fact we affirm the importance of the law.
