Romans 3

New American Standard Bible

All the World Guilty

3 Then what ^[a]advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? ²Great in every respect. First, that ^(A)they were entrusted with the ^(B)actual words of God. ³What then? If ^(C)some ^[b]did not believe, their ^[c]unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? ⁴^[d]^(D)Far from it! Rather, God must prove to be true, though every person be found ^(E)a liar, as it is written:

“^(F)So that You are justified in Your words,
And prevail ^[e]when You are judged.”

⁵But if our unrighteousness ^[f]^(G)demonstrates the righteousness of God, ^(H)what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (^(I)I am speaking from a human viewpoint.) ⁶^(J)Far from it! For otherwise, how will ^(K)God judge the world? ⁷But if through my lie ^(L)the truth of God abounded to His glory, ^(M)why am I also still being judged as a sinner? ⁸And why not say (just as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “^(N)Let’s do evil that good may come of it”? ^[g]Their condemnation is deserved.

⁹What then? ^[h]^(O)Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both ^(P)Jews and ^(Q)Greeks are ^(R)all under sin; ¹⁰as it is written:

“^(S)There is no righteous person, not even one;
¹¹There is no one who understands,
There is no one who seeks out God;
¹²They have all turned aside, together they have become ^[i]corrupt;
There is no one who does good,
There is not even one.”
¹³“^(T)Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“^(U)The venom of ^[j]asps is under their lips”;
¹⁴“^(V)Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
¹⁵“^(W)Their feet are swift to shed blood,
¹⁶Destruction and misery are in their paths,
¹⁷And they have not known the way of peace.”
¹⁸“^(X)There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the ^(Y)Law says, it speaks to ^(Z)those who are ^[k]under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and ^(AA)all the world may become accountable to God; ²⁰because ^(AB)by the works ^[l]of the Law ^[m]none of mankind will be justified in His sight; for ^[n]^(AC)through the Law comes ^[o]knowledge of sin.

Justification by Faith

²¹But now apart ^[p]from the Law ^(AD)the righteousness of God has been revealed, being ^(AE)witnessed by the ^[q]Law and the Prophets, ²²but it is the ^(AF)righteousness of God through ^(AG)faith ^(AH)in Jesus Christ for ^(AI)all those ^[r]who believe; for ^(AJ)there is no distinction, ²³for all ^[s]^(AK)have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴being justified as a gift ^(AL)by His grace through ^(AM)the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God displayed publicly as ^(AN)a ^[t]propitiation ^[u]^(AO)in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, ^[v]because in God’s merciful ^(AP)restraint He ^(AQ)let the sins previously committed go unpunished; ²⁶for the demonstration, that is, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who ^[w]has faith in Jesus.

²⁷Where then is ^(AR)boasting? It has been excluded. By ^(AS)what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. ²⁸^[x]For ^(AT)we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from works ^[y]of the Law. ²⁹Or ^(AU)is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰since indeed ^(AV)God ^(AW)who will justify the ^[z]circumcised ^[aa]by faith and the ^[ab]uncircumcised through faith ^(AX)is one.

³¹Do we then nullify ^[ac]the Law through faith? ^(AY)Far from it! On the contrary, we ^(AZ)establish the Law.

Footnotes

Romans 3:1 Lit is the advantage of the Jew
Romans 3:3 Or were unfaithful
Romans 3:3 Or unfaithfulness
Romans 3:4 Lit May it never happen! And so throughout the ch
Romans 3:4 Or in Your judging
Romans 3:5 I.e., by requiring His judgment
Romans 3:8 Lit Whose
Romans 3:9 Or Are we worse
Romans 3:12 Or depraved
Romans 3:13 I.e., venomous snakes
Romans 3:19 Lit in
Romans 3:20 Or of law
Romans 3:20 Lit no flesh
Romans 3:20 Or through law
Romans 3:20 Or recognition
Romans 3:21 Or from law
Romans 3:21 I.e., the Old Testament
Romans 3:22 Or who believe. For there is
Romans 3:23 Or sinned
Romans 3:25 I.e., a means of reconciliation between God and mankind by paying the penalty for sin
Romans 3:25 Or by
Romans 3:25 Lit because of the passing over of the sins previously committed, in the restraint of God
Romans 3:26 Lit is of the faith of Jesus
Romans 3:28 One early ms Therefore
Romans 3:28 Or of law
Romans 3:30 Lit circumcision
Romans 3:30 Lit out of
Romans 3:30 Lit uncircumcision
Romans 3:31 Or law