| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? | 1So what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? |
| 2Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. | 2Considerable in every way. First, they were entrusted with the spoken words of God. |
| 3For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? | 3What then? If some did not believe, will their unbelief cancel God's faithfulness? |
| 4Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: “That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged.” | 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. |
| 5But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) | 5But if our unrighteousness highlights God's righteousness, what are we to say? I use a human argument: Is God unrighteous to inflict wrath? |
| 6Certainly not! For then how will God judge the world? | 6Absolutely not! Otherwise, how will God judge the world? |
| 7For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? | 7But if by my lie God's truth is amplified to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? |
| 8And why not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just. | 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! |
| 9What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. | 9What then? Are we any better? Not at all! For we have previously charged that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, |
| 10As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; | 10as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. |
| 11There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. | 11There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. |
| 12They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” | 12All have turned away; all alike have become useless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. |
| 13“Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; | 13Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers' venom is under their lips. |
| 14“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” | 14Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. |
| 15“Their feet are swift to shed blood; | 15Their feet are swift to shed blood; |
| 16Destruction and misery are in their ways; | 16ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, |
| 17And the way of peace they have not known.” | 17and the path of peace they have not known. |
| 18“There is no fear of God before their eyes.” | 18There is no fear of God before their eyes. |
| 19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. | 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. |
| 20Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. | 20For no one will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law. |
| 21But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, | 21But now, apart from the law, God's righteousness has been revealed--attested by the Law and the Prophets |
| 22even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; | 22--that is, God's righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction. |
| 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, | 23For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. |
| 24being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, | 24They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. |
| 25whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, | 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. |
| 26to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. | 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. |
| 27Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. | 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. |
| 28Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. | 28For we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. |
| 29Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, | 29Or is God for Jews only? Is He not also for Gentiles? Yes, for Gentiles too, |
| 30since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. | 30since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. |
| 31Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law. | 31Do we then cancel the law through faith? Absolutely not! On the contrary, we uphold the law. |
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