Holman Christian Standard Bible

New Living Translation

1So what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision?

1Then what’s the advantage of being a Jew? Is there any value in the ceremony of circumcision?

2Considerable in every way. First, they were entrusted with the spoken words of God.

2Yes, there are great benefits! First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God.

3What then? If some did not believe, will their unbelief cancel God's faithfulness?

3True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful?

4Absolutely not! God must be true, even if everyone is a liar, as it is written: That You may be justified in Your words and triumph when You judge.

4Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.”

5But if our unrighteousness highlights God's righteousness, what are we to say? I use a human argument: Is God unrighteous to inflict wrath?

5“But,” some might say, “our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for him to punish us?” (This is merely a human point of view.)

6Absolutely not! Otherwise, how will God judge the world?

6Of course not! If God were not entirely fair, how would he be qualified to judge the world?

7But if by my lie God's truth is amplified to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?

7“But,” someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights his truthfulness and brings him more glory?”

8And why not say, just as some people slanderously claim we say, "Let us do what is evil so that good may come"? Their condemnation is deserved!

8And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned. All People Are Sinners

9What then? Are we any better? Not at all! For we have previously charged that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin,

9Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin.

10as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.

10As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one.

11There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.

11No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.

12All have turned away; all alike have become useless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.

12All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”

13Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers' venom is under their lips.

13“Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.”

14Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.

14“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

15Their feet are swift to shed blood;

15“They rush to commit murder.

16ruin and wretchedness are in their paths,

16Destruction and misery always follow them.

17and the path of peace they have not known.

17They don’t know where to find peace.”

18There is no fear of God before their eyes.

18“They have no fear of God at all.”

19Now we know that whatever the law says speaks to those who are subject to the law, so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God's judgment.

19Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God.

20For no one will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.

20For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. Christ Took Our Punishment

21But now, apart from the law, God's righteousness has been revealed--attested by the Law and the Prophets

21But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.

22--that is, God's righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction.

22We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

23For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

23For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

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

24Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

25God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed.

25For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,

26God presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.

26for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

27Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith.

27Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.

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

28So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

29Or is God for Jews only? Is He not also for Gentiles? Yes, for Gentiles too,

29After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is.

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

30There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.

31Do we then cancel the law through faith? Absolutely not! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

31Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.