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Romans · Literal Standard Version

Romans 3 Literal Standard Version

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About LSV
  • Protestant
  • OT: Masoretic Hebrew
  • NT: Majority (Byzantine) text
  • Protestant (66 books)
  • Very literal
  • 2020
  • CC BY-SA 4.0

Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings

1 What, then, [is] the superiority of the Jew? Or what the profit of the circumcision? 2 Much in every way; for first, indeed, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God; 3 for what, if certain were faithless? Will their faithlessness make the faithfulness of God useless? 4 Let it not be! And let God become true, and every man false, according as it has been written: “That You may be declared righteous in Your words, and may overcome in Your being judged.” 5 And if our unrighteousness establishes God’s righteousness, what will we say? Is God unrighteous who is inflicting the wrath? (I speak after the manner of a man.) 6 Let it not be! Since how will God judge the world? 7 For if the truth of God in my falsehood abounded more to His glory, why am I also yet judged as a sinner? 8 And not, as we are spoken evil of, and as certain affirm us to say, “We may do the evil things, that the good ones may come?” Whose judgment is righteous. 9 What, then? Are we better? Not at all! For we charged before both Jews and Greeks with being all under sin, 10 according as it has been written: “There is none righteous, not even one; 11 there is none who is understanding, there is none who is seeking after God. 12 All went out of the way, together they became unprofitable, there is none doing good, there is not even one. 13 Their throat [is] an opened grave; with their tongues they used deceit; poison of cobras [is] under their lips— 14 whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. 15 Their feet [are] swift to shed blood. 16 Ruin and misery [are] in their ways. 17 And a way of peace they did not know. 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19 And we have known that as many things as the Law says, to those in the Law it speaks, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may come under judgment to God; 20 for this reason by works of law will no flesh be declared righteous before Him, for through law is a knowledge of sin. 21 And now apart from law the righteousness of God has been revealed, testified to by the Law and the Prophets, 22 and the righteousness of God [is] through the faith of Jesus Christ to all, and on all those believing—for there is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God— 24 being declared righteous freely by His grace through the redemption that [is] in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth [as] a propitiatory covering, through faith in His blood, for the showing forth of His righteousness, because of the passing over of the former sins in the forbearance of God— 26 for the showing forth of His righteousness in the present time, for His being righteous, and declaring him righteous who [is] of the faith of Jesus. 27 Where then [is] the boasting? It was excluded; by what law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith: 28 therefore we reckon a man to be declared righteous by faith, apart from works of law. 29 [Is He] only the God of Jews, and not also of nations? 30 Yes, also of nations; since [there is] one God who will declare righteous circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. 31 Do we then make law useless through faith? Let it not be! Indeed, we establish law.

Cross references (30)

Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.

  1. 1 Romans 2:25–29; Genesis 25:32; Ecclesiastes 6:8; Ecclesiastes 6:11; Hebrews 13:9
  2. 2 Romans 9:4; Acts 7:38; Psalm 147:19–20; Nehemiah 9:13–14; 1 Corinthians 9:17
  3. 3 2 Timothy 2:13; Hebrews 4:2; Romans 9:6; Titus 1:1–2; Isaiah 55:11
  4. 4 Psalm 51:4; Psalm 116:11; Galatians 2:17; Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2
  5. 5 Romans 6:19; Galatians 3:15; 1 Corinthians 9:8; Romans 2:5; Romans 9:18–20
  6. 6 Genesis 18:25; Acts 17:31; Job 8:3; Psalm 98:9; Psalm 50:6
  7. 7 Romans 3:4; Romans 9:19–20; Acts 13:27–29; 2 Kings 8:10–15; Isaiah 10:6–7
  8. 8 Romans 6:1; Romans 6:15; Romans 5:20; Romans 7:7; 1 Peter 3:16–17
  9. 9 Galatians 3:22; Romans 6:15; Isaiah 65:5; Romans 11:32; Romans 3:22–23
  10. 10 Psalm 53:1–3; Psalm 14:1–3; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8–10; Job 15:14
  11. 11 Psalm 14:2–4; Psalm 53:2; Titus 3:3; Hosea 4:6; Romans 8:7
  12. 12 Psalm 14:3; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 59:8; Isaiah 64:6; Isaiah 53:6
  13. 13 Psalm 5:9; Psalm 140:3; Matthew 23:27–28; Jeremiah 9:3–5; Psalm 57:4
  14. 14 Psalm 10:7; Psalm 109:17–18; Psalm 59:12; James 3:10
  15. 15 Isaiah 59:7–8; Proverbs 1:16; Proverbs 6:18
  16. 17 Isaiah 59:8; Romans 5:1; Luke 1:79; Matthew 7:14; Isaiah 57:21
  17. 18 Psalm 36:1; Proverbs 23:17; Proverbs 16:6; Proverbs 8:13; Revelation 19:5
  18. 19 Galatians 3:10; Galatians 3:22–23; Romans 2:12–18; Romans 3:9; Galatians 5:18
  19. 20 Galatians 2:16; Acts 13:39; Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:19; Romans 4:15
  20. 21 Acts 10:43; Jeremiah 33:16; Philippians 3:9; Jeremiah 23:5–6; Galatians 3:8
  21. 22 Romans 10:12; Galatians 3:28; Romans 8:1; Galatians 2:16; Romans 5:1–11
  22. 23 Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 John 1:8–10; Romans 3:9; Galatians 3:22; Romans 11:32
  23. 24 1 Peter 1:18–19; Titus 3:5–7; Colossians 1:14; Ephesians 1:6–7; Romans 5:9
  24. 25 Romans 3:23–24; 1 Peter 1:18–20; 1 John 4:10; 1 John 2:2; Colossians 1:20–23
  25. 26 Deuteronomy 32:4; Romans 4:5; Acts 13:38–39; Romans 3:30; Zephaniah 3:5
  26. 27 Romans 4:2; Romans 2:23; 1 Corinthians 1:29–31; Galatians 3:22; Romans 2:17
  27. 28 Titus 3:7; Galatians 2:16; Galatians 3:24; Galatians 3:8; Romans 3:26
  28. 29 Colossians 3:11; Zechariah 2:11; Ephesians 3:6; Galatians 3:14; Galatians 3:25–29
  29. 30 Galatians 3:8; Galatians 3:20; Philippians 3:3; Colossians 2:10–11; Galatians 5:6
  30. 31 Galatians 2:21; Matthew 5:17; Romans 13:8–10; Romans 10:4; Romans 8:4

Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences

What the Fathers said

Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).

How these were chosen

“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).

  1. Commentary 3:9 John Chrysostom, Homilies on Romans (Homily VII)

    He had accused the Gentiles, he had accused the Jews; it came next in order to mention the righteousness which is by faith.

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 11 (1889)

  2. Quotes verse 3:11 Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies (Book I, Chapters XVIII–XIX)

    And, "There is none that understandeth, or that seeketh after God: they have all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable," they maintain to be said concerning ignorance of Bythus.

    Read in context · Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (1885)

  3. Quotes verse 3:20 Augustine of Hippo, The City of God (Book XIV)

    … in many other significations; and among these various usages, a frequent one is to use flesh for man himself, the nature of man taking the part for the whole, as in the words, "By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified;" for what does he mean here by "no flesh" but "no man?" And this, indeed, …

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)

  4. Quotes verse 3:31 John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew (Homily XVI)

    God forbid! yea, we establish the law." For since the law was laboring at this, to make man righteous, but had not power, He came and brought in the way of righteousness by faith, and so established that which the law desired: and what the law could not by letters, this He accomplished by faith.

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)

  5. Quotes verse 3:12 Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures (Lecture XII)

    for the godly man is perished out of the earth, and there is none that doeth right among men: and again, They are all gone out of the way, they are together became unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one: and again, Cursing and stealing, and adultery, and murder are poured out upon the land.

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)