Romans 3:4-14

4 Certainly not! God must be true, even though all human beings are liars. As the scripture says, 1 "You must be shown to be right when you speak; you must win your case when you are being tried."
5 But what if our doing wrong serves to show up more clearly God's doing right? Can we say that God does wrong when he punishes us? (This would be the natural question to ask.)
6 By no means! If God is not just, how can he judge the world?
7 But what if my untruth serves God's glory by making his truth stand out more clearly? Why should I still be condemned as a sinner?
8 Why not say, then, "Let us do evil so that good may come"? Some people, indeed, have insulted me by accusing me of saying this very thing! They will be condemned, as they should be.
9 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.
10 As the Scriptures say: 2 "There is no one who is righteous,
11 no one who is wise or who worships God.
12 All have turned away from God; they have all gone wrong; no one does what is right, not even one.
13 Their words are full of deadly deceit; 3 wicked lies roll off their tongues, and dangerous threats, like snake's poison, from their lips;
14 their speech is filled with bitter curses. 4

Cross References 4

  • 1. 3.4Psalms 51.4 (LXX).
  • 2. 3.10-12Psalms 14.1-3 (LXX);Psalms 53.1-3 (LXX).
  • 3. 3.13 aPsalms 5.9 (LXX); bPsalms 140.3.
  • 4. 3.14Psalms 10.7 (LXX).

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. any better condition than the Gentiles? Not at all!; [or] any worse condition than the Gentiles? Not altogether.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.