Romans 3

²⁵Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

²⁶If a man who is not circumcised keeps the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?

³²“Look,” said Esau, “I am about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?”

⁸What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others?

¹¹For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone?

⁹Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by foods of no value to those devoted to them.

¹¹“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

¹²When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you—this trampling of My courts?

⁴the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.

³⁸He was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. And he received living words to pass on to us.

¹⁹He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and judgments to Israel.

²⁰He has done this for no other nation; they do not know His judgments. Hallelujah!

¹³You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them just ordinances, true laws, and good statutes and commandments.

¹⁴You revealed to them Your holy Sabbath and gave them commandments and statutes and laws through Your servant Moses.

¹⁷If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility.

¹²Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food!

¹³if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

²For we also received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it.

⁶It is not as though God’s word has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

¹Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,

²in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.

¹¹so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.

³We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.

⁴Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge.

¹¹In my alarm I said, “All men are liars!”

¹⁷But if, while we seek to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, does that make Christ a minister of sin? Certainly not!

¹⁸Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.

²in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.

⁴He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.

¹⁹I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.

¹⁵Brothers, let me put this in human terms. Even a human covenant, once it is ratified, cannot be canceled or amended.

⁸Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing?

⁵But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

¹⁸Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.

¹⁹One of you will say to me, “Then why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?”

¹What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has discovered?

²⁵Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”

³¹For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”

³Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

⁹before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.

⁶And the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge. Selah

⁸He judges the world with justice; He governs the people with equity.

⁴Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that You may be proved right when You speak and victorious when You judge.”

¹⁹One of you will say to me, “Then why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?”

²⁰But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”

²⁷The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.

²⁸And though they found no ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have Him executed.

¹⁰Elisha answered, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.’ But the Lord has shown me that in fact he will die.”

¹¹Elisha fixed his gaze steadily on him until Hazael became uncomfortable. Then the man of God began to weep.

⁶I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets.

⁷But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.

³⁴“Truly I tell you,” Jesus declared, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

¹What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase?

¹⁵What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not!

²⁰The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,

⁷What then shall we say? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have been mindful of sin if not for the law. For I would not have been aware of coveting if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”

¹⁶keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ.

¹⁷For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

⁴For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

²²But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.

¹⁵What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not!

⁵They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ Such people are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.

³²For God has consigned everyone to disobedience so that He may have mercy on everyone.

²²And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction,

²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

¹For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath. A Maskil of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their ways are vile. There is no one who does good.

²God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.

¹For the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good.

²The Lord looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.

²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

⁸If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

⁹If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

¹⁴What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

⁴How then can a man be just before God? How can one born of woman be pure?

²The Lord looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.

³All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

²God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.

³For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

⁶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

⁷because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

¹⁰Israel’s arrogance testifies against them, yet they do not return to the Lord their God; despite all this, they do not seek Him.

³All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

²⁰Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

⁸The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their tracks. They have turned them into crooked paths; no one who treads on them will know peace.

⁶Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

⁶We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.

²⁹Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made mankind upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”

⁹For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.

³They sharpen their tongues like snakes; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah

²⁷Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.

²⁸In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

³“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the Lord.

⁴“Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander.

⁴My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts—with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.

³For your hands are stained with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters injustice.

⁷His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence; trouble and malice are under his tongue.

¹⁷The cursing that he loved, may it fall on him; the blessing in which he refused to delight, may it be far from him.

¹⁸The cursing that he wore like a coat, may it soak into his body like water, and into his bones like oil.

¹²By the sins of their mouths and the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride, in the curses and lies they utter.

¹⁰Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be!

⁷Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.

⁸The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their tracks. They have turned them into crooked paths; no one who treads on them will know peace.

¹⁶For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.

¹⁸a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to evil,

⁸The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their tracks. They have turned them into crooked paths; no one who treads on them will know peace.

¹Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁷⁹to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

¹⁴But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.

²¹“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord. An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man: There is no fear of God before his eyes.

¹⁷Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the Lord.

⁶By loving devotion and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns aside from evil.

¹³To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.

⁵Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you who serve Him, and those who fear Him, small and great alike!”

⁴⁰But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same judgment?

¹⁰All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”

²²But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.

²³Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.

¹²All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.

¹³For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous.

⁹What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.

¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

⁶³so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, declares the Lord God.”

¹⁶know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

³⁹Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

²⁸For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

¹⁹For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God.

¹⁵because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression.

¹³For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁴³All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”

¹⁶In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely, and this is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.

⁹and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.

⁵Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.

⁶In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.

⁸The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”

¹⁰I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

¹²For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him,

²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

¹Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

¹Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.

²⁰Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

⁸If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

⁹If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

⁹What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.

²²But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.

³²For God has consigned everyone to disobedience so that He may have mercy on everyone.

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

¹⁸For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,

¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.

⁵He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

⁶This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

⁶to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.

⁷In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

⁹Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!

¹⁴He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

²⁴and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁸For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,

¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.

¹⁰And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

²He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

²⁰and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.

²¹Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds.

⁹Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!

⁴He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.

⁵However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.

³⁸Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.

³⁹Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

³⁰since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

⁵The Lord within her is righteous; He does no wrong. He applies His justice morning by morning; He does not fail at dawn, yet the unjust know no shame.

¹⁰Loving devotion and faithfulness have joined together; righteousness and peace have kissed.

¹¹Faithfulness sprouts from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.

²If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.

²³You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?

²⁹so that no one may boast in His presence.

³⁰It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

²²But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.

¹⁷Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,

⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.

⁷so that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life.

¹⁶know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

²⁴So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

⁸The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”

²⁶He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

³For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh,

¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.

¹¹“On that day many nations will join themselves to the Lord, and they will become My people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent Me to you.

⁶This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

²⁵Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

²⁶You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁴including us, whom He has called not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles?

²⁵As He says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people, and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,”

⁸The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”

²⁰A mediator is unnecessary, however, for only one party; but God is one.

³For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—

¹⁰And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

¹¹In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands.

⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. What matters is faith expressing itself through love.

¹¹And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.

¹²And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

²¹I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

¹⁷Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.

⁸Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

⁹The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

⁴For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.

⁴so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

²¹To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law.