| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1What, then, is the advantage of being a Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? | 1Then what’s the advantage of being a Jew? Is there any value in the ceremony of circumcision? |
| 2Much in every way. First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God. | 2Yes, there are great benefits! First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God. |
| 3What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? | 3True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful? |
| 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.” | 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 the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unjust to inflict His wrath on us? I am speaking in human terms. | 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.) |
| 6Certainly not! In that case, how could God judge the world? | 6Of course not! If God were not entirely fair, how would he be qualified to judge the world? |
| 7However, if my falsehood accentuates God’s truthfulness, to the increase of His glory, why am I still condemned 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?” |
| 8Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? 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 already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike 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, no one who seeks God. | 11No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. |
| 12All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” | 12All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” |
| 13“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on 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.” |
| 14“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” | 14“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” |
| 15“Their feet are swift to shed blood; | 15“They rush to commit murder. |
| 16ruin and misery lie in their wake, | 16Destruction and misery always follow them. |
| 17and the way of peace they have not known.” | 17They don’t know where to find peace.” |
| 18“There 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, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. | 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. |
| 20Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin. | 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, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as 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. |
| 22And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. 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. |
| 24and 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 the atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand. | 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, |
| 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. | 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. On what principle? On that of works? No, but on that 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 maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law. | 28So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. |
| 29Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of 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 only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same 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, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, 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. |
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