Romans 3:9
New International Version
What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.

New Living Translation
Well 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.

English Standard Version
What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,

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

Berean Literal Bible
What then? Are we better? Not at all. For we have already charged both Jews and Greeks all to be under sin.

King James Bible
What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

New King James Version
What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.

New American Standard Bible
What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;

NASB 1995
What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;

NASB 1977
What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;

Legacy Standard Bible
What then? Are we better? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;

Amplified Bible
Well then, are we [Jews] better off than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles) are under the control of sin and subject to its power.

Christian Standard Bible
What then? Are we any better off? Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin,

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

American Standard Version
What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
What, then? Are we held to be greater because we have precedence? We have determined about the Jews and about the Aramaeans that they are all under sin,

Contemporary English Version
What does all this mean? Does it mean that we Jews are better off than the Gentiles? No, it doesn't! Jews, as well as Gentiles, are ruled by sin, just as I have said.

Douay-Rheims Bible
What then? Do we excel them? No, not so. For we have charged both Jews, and Greeks, that they are all under sin.

English Revised Version
What then? are we in worse case than they? No, in no wise: for we before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
What, then, is the situation? Do we have any advantage? Not at all. We have already accused everyone (both Jews and Greeks) of being under the power of sin,

Good News Translation
Well then, are we Jews in any better condition than the Gentiles? Not at all! I have already shown that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.

International Standard Version
What, then, does this mean? Are we Jews any better off? Not at all! For we have already accused everyone, both Jews and Greeks, of being under the power of sin.

Literal Standard Version
What, then? Are we better? Not at all! For we charged before both Jews and Greeks with being all under sin,

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

New American Bible
Well, then, are we better off? Not entirely, for we have already brought the charge against Jews and Greeks alike that they are all under the domination of sin,

NET Bible
What then? Are we better off? Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin,

New Revised Standard Version
What then? Are we any better off? No, not at all; for we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin,

New Heart English Bible
What then? Are we better than they? No, in no way. For we previously warned both Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin.

Webster's Bible Translation
What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

Weymouth New Testament
What then? Are we Jews more highly estimated than they? Not in the least; for we have already charged all Jews and Gentiles alike with being in thraldom to sin.

World English Bible
What then? Are we better than they? No, in no way. For we previously warned both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.

Young's Literal Translation
What, then? are we better? not at all! for we did before charge both Jews and Greeks with being all under sin,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
There is No One Righteous
8Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved! 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. 10As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one.…

Cross References
Proverbs 20:9
Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am cleansed from my sin"?

Romans 1:18
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

Romans 2:1
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Romans 3:1
What, then, is the advantage of being a Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision?

Romans 3:19
Now 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.

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 7:14
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.


Treasury of Scripture

What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

what then.

Romans 3:5
But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)

Romans 6:15
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Romans 11:7
What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded

are we.

Romans 3:22,23
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: …

Isaiah 65:5
Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

Luke 7:39
Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

proved.

Romans 1:28
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Romans 2:1
Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

that they.

Galatians 3:10,22
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them…

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Alike Already Better Charge Charged Clear Conclude Estimated Gentiles Greeks Highly Jews Least Power Previously Proved Sin Thraldom Warned Way Wise Worse
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Alike Already Better Charge Charged Clear Conclude Estimated Gentiles Greeks Highly Jews Least Power Previously Proved Sin Thraldom Warned Way Wise Worse
Romans 3
1. The Jews prerogative;
3. which they have not lost;
9. howbeit the law convinces them also of sin;
20. therefore no one is justified by the law;
28. but all, without difference, by faith, only;
31. and yet the law is not abolished.














(9-20) Once more the argument returns to the main track, and at last the Apostle asserts distinctly and categorically what he had already proved indirectly, that the Jew is every whit as bad as the Gentile.

(9) Are we better than they?--"Can we claim a preference?" The form of the Greek verb is peculiar. It seems upon the whole best to take it as middle for active, which would be apparently unexampled, but is tenable as a question of language, and seems to be compelled by the context. There is no real opposition between the "by no means" of the reply and the "much every way" of Romans 3:2. There the reference was to external advantages, here it is to real and essential worth in the sight of God; as much as to say, "For all our advantages are we really better?"

Proved.--Adopt rather the marginal rendering, For we before charged both Jews and Gentiles with being all under sin.

The verses are a striking instance of the way in which the Apostle weaves together passages taken from different sources. It also affords an example of the corruptions in the text of the Old Testament to which this practice gave rise. The whole passage as it stands here is found in some manuscripts of the LXX. as part of Psalms 14, whence it has been copied not only into the Vulgate but also our own Prayer Book, which will be seen to differ from the Bible version.

The quotations have different degrees of appositeness, so far as they may be considered in the modern sense as probative rather than illustrative. The first, from Psalms 14, is couched in such general terms as to be directly in point; the second and third, from Psalms 5, 140, are aimed specially against the oppressors of the Psalmist; and so, too, the fourth, from Psalms 10, but in a more general and abstract form; that from Isaiah indicates the moral degradation among the prophet's contemporaries that had led to the Captivity; while the last, from Psalms 36, is an expression applied, not to all men, but particularly to the wicked.

Verses 9-20. - (3) The testimony of the Old Testament to human sinfulness. Objections having been thus raised and met, the apostle now confirms his position, that all mankind, Jew as well as Gentile, are under sin, by adducing the Scriptures of the Jews themselves. Verse 9. - What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved (or, charged, as in the Vulgate, causati sumus) both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin. The meaning of the first part of this verse has been much discussed. We may observe:

(1) Τί οῦν seems to be rightly separated (as in Authorized Version) from προεχόμεθα because of the form of the answer to the question, οὐ πάντως: after τί προεχόμεθα; we should expect οὐδέν.

(2) The Jews, with whom St. Paul identifies himself, must be supposed to put the question; not the Gentiles, as some have supposed. For there is nothing in the context to suggest the Gentiles as the speakers, nor does what follow suit the supposition.

(3) The main question is as to the sense of προεχόμεθα, which occurs here only in the New Testament, and has, therefore, to be interpreted from consideration of the sense of which the verb is capable, and the probable drift of the argument. Some have taken it as a passive verb, with the meaning, "Are we surpassed?" i.e. are we Jews in worse case than the Gentiles on account of our greater privileges? The active verb, προέχειν, in the sense of "to excel," being both transitive and intransitive, its passive may be used in the same sense. An instance quoted in commentaries is καπ οὐδὲν εχομένοις ὑπὸ τοῦ Διός (Plut., 'Mor.,'), "cum Jove minores non sint." So the recent Revisers, though dissented from by the American Committee. The strong objection to this interpretation is that there has been nothing so far even to suggest any superiority of the Gentile to the Jew, and that what follows does not bear upon any such idea. Thus to interpret would be to sacrifice the sense to supposed grammatical exigence, which, after all, is uncertain. Taking, then, προεχόμεθα as the middle voice, we have two interpretations before us; either, with Meyer, to render, Do we put forward (anything) in our defence? - which he maintains (though not conclusively) to be the only proper sense of the middle verb - or (as in the Authorized Version), Are we better (i.e. in better ease) than they? This rendering, though it gives essentially the same sense as if προέχομεν (intransitive) had been written, is commended by its suitableness to the course of argument, and the middle voice may, perhaps, he accounted for as denoting the Jews' supposed claim of superiority for themselves. Thus the connection of thought is plain. The conclusion of ch. 2. had left the Jews on the same footing with the Gentiles before God in respect of sinfulness. But then objections had been raised on the ground of the acknowledged privileges of the chosen people; and such objections have been met. The apostle now sums up the result: What, then, is the state of the case? Have we any advantage to allege? No, not at all in the sense intended; the previous argument stands; and he proceeds to confine his position from the testimony of the Old Testament itself.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
What
Τί (Ti)
Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 5101: Who, which, what, why. Probably emphatic of tis; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what.

then?
οὖν (oun)
Conjunction
Strong's 3767: Therefore, then. Apparently a primary word; certainly, or accordingly.

Are we any better?
προεχόμεθα (proechometha)
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 1st Person Plural
Strong's 4284: Trans: To hold before; mid: To excuse myself; intrans: To project, excel, surpass, have preeminence.

Not
οὐ (ou)
Adverb
Strong's 3756: No, not. Also ouk, and ouch a primary word; the absolute negative adverb; no or not.

at all.
πάντως (pantōs)
Adverb
Strong's 3843: Wholly, entirely, in every way, by all means, certainly. Adverb from pas; entirely; specially, at all events, in no event.

For
γὰρ (gar)
Conjunction
Strong's 1063: For. A primary particle; properly, assigning a reason.

we have already made the charge
προῃτιασάμεθα (proētiasametha)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 1st Person Plural
Strong's 4256: To make a prior accusation. From pro and a derivative of aitia; to accuse already, i.e. Previously charge.

[that] Jews
Ἰουδαίους (Ioudaious)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 2453: Jewish. From Iouda; Judaean, i.e. Belonging to Jehudah.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

Greeks
Ἕλληνας (Hellēnas)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 1672: From Hellas; a Hellen or inhabitant of Hellas; by extension a Greek-speaking person, especially a non-Jew.

alike
τε (te)
Conjunction
Strong's 5037: And, both. A primary particle of connection or addition; both or also.

are
εἶναι (einai)
Verb - Present Infinitive Active
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

all
πάντας (pantas)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3956: All, the whole, every kind of. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole.

under
ὑφ’ (hyph’)
Preposition
Strong's 5259: A primary preposition; under, i.e. of place, or with verbs; of place (underneath) or where (below) or time (when).

sin.
ἁμαρτίαν (hamartian)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 266: From hamartano; a sin.


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NT Letters: Romans 3:9 What then? Are we better than they? (Rom. Ro)
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