God's Righteousness Upheld

¹Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ²Much in every way. To begin with, xthe Jews were entrusted with ythe oracles of God. ³zWhat if some were unfaithful? aDoes their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? ⁴By no means! bLet God be true though cevery one were a liar, as it is written,

d“That you may be justified in your words,

and prevail when you eare judged.”

⁵But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict fwrath on us? (gI speak in a human way.) ⁶By no means! For then how could hGod judge the world? ⁷But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, iwhy am I still being condemned as a sinner? ⁸And why not jdo evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

No One Is Righteous

⁹What then? Are we Jews1 any better off?2 No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both kJews and lGreeks, are munder sin, ¹⁰as it is written:

n“None is righteous, no, not one;

¹¹no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

¹²All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good,

not even one.”

¹³o“Their throat is pan open grave;

they use their tongues to deceive.”

q“The venom of asps is under their lips.”

¹⁴r“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”

¹⁵s“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

¹⁶in their paths are ruin and misery,

¹⁷and tthe way of peace they have not known.”

¹⁸u“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

¹⁹Now we know that whatever vthe law says it speaks to those who are under the law, wso that every mouth may be stopped, and xthe whole world may be held accountable to God. ²⁰For yby works of the law no human being3 will be justified in his sight, since zthrough the law comes knowledge of sin.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith

²¹But now athe righteousness of God bhas been manifested apart from the law, although cthe Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²²the righteousness of God dthrough faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. eFor there is no distinction: ²³for fall have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴gand are justified hby his grace as a gift, ithrough the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God jput forward as ka propitiation lby his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in mhis divine forbearance he had passed over nformer sins. ²⁶It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

²⁷oThen what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸For we hold that one is justified by faith papart from works of the law. ²⁹Or qis God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰since rGod is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and sthe uncircumcised through faith. ³¹Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Expand Chapter