Romans 2-3

New American Standard Bible

The Impartiality of God

2 Therefore you have ^(A)no excuse, ^[a]you foolish person, ^(B)everyone of you who passes judgment; for ^[b]in that matter in which ^(C)you judge someone else, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. ² And we know that the judgment of God ^[c]rightly falls upon those who practice such things. ³ But do you suppose this, ^[d](D)you foolish person who passes judgment on those who practice such things, and yet does them as well, that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you think lightly of ^(E)the riches of His ^(F)kindness and ^[e](G)restraint and ^(H)patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? ⁵ But ^[f]because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart ^(I)you are storing up wrath for yourself ^(J)on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, ^6 (K)who will repay each person according to his deeds: ⁷ to those who by ^(L)perseverance in doing good seek ^(M)glory, honor, and ^(N)immortality, He will give ^(O)eternal life; ⁸ but to those who are ^(P)self-serving and ^(Q)do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, He will give wrath and indignation. ⁹ There will be ^(R)tribulation and distress ^[g]for every soul of mankind who does evil, ^[h]for the Jew ^(S)first and also ^[i]for the Greek, ¹⁰ but ^(T)glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does what is good, to the Jew ^(U)first and also to the Greek. ¹¹ For ^(V)there is no partiality with God.

¹² For all who have sinned ^[j](W)without the Law will also perish ^[k]without the Law, and all who have sinned ^[l]under the Law will be judged ^[m]by the Law; ¹³ for it is ^(X)not the hearers ^[n]of the Law who are ^[o]righteous before God, but the doers ^[p]of the Law who will be justified. ¹⁴ For when Gentiles who do not have ^[q]the Law ^[r](Y)instinctively perform the requirements of the Law, these, though not having ^[s]the Law, are a law to themselves, ¹⁵ in that they show ^(Z)the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience testifying and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, ¹⁶ on the day when, ^(AA)according to my gospel, ^(AB)God will judge the secrets of mankind through Christ Jesus.

The Jews under the Law

¹⁷ But if you call yourself a ^[t]Jew and ^(AC)rely ^[u]upon the Law and boast in God, ¹⁸ and know His will and ^[v](AD)distinguish the things that matter, being instructed from the Law, ¹⁹ and are confident that you yourself are a guide to people who are blind, a light to those in darkness, ²⁰ a ^[w]corrector of the foolish, a teacher of ^[x]the immature, possessing in the Law ^(AE)the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth— ²¹ you, therefore, ^(AF)who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who ^[y]preach that one is not to steal, do you steal? ²² You who say that one is not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who loathe idols, do you ^(AG)rob temples? ²³ You who ^(AH)boast ^[z]in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? ²⁴ For “^(AI)the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles ^(AJ)because of you,” just as it is written.

²⁵ For indeed circumcision is of value if you ^(AK)practice ^[aa]the Law; but if you are a violator ^[ab]of the Law, ^(AL)your circumcision has turned into uncircumcision. ^26 (AM)So if ^(AN)the ^[ac]uncircumcised man ^(AO)keeps the requirements of the Law, will his uncircumcision not be regarded as circumcision? ²⁷ And ^(AP)he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not ^(AQ)judge you who ^[ad]though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a violator ^[ae]of the Law? ²⁸ For ^(AR)he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. ²⁹ But ^(AS)he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and ^(AT)circumcision is of the heart, by the ^(AU)Spirit, not by the letter; ^(AV)and his praise is not from people, but from God.

All the World Guilty

3 Then what ^[af]advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? ² Great in every respect. First, that ^(AW)they were entrusted with the ^(AX)actual words of God. ³ What then? If ^(AY)some ^[ag]did not believe, their ^[ah]unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? ^4 [ai](AZ)Far from it! Rather, God must prove to be true, though every person be found ^(BA)a liar, as it is written:

⁵ But if our unrighteousness ^[ak](BC)demonstrates the righteousness of God, ^(BD)what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (^(BE)I am speaking from a human viewpoint.) ^6 (BF)Far from it! For otherwise, how will ^(BG)God judge the world? ⁷ But if through my lie ^(BH)the truth of God abounded to His glory, ^(BI)why am I also still being judged as a sinner? ⁸ And why not say (just as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “^(BJ)Let’s do evil that good may come of it”? ^[al]Their condemnation is deserved.

⁹ What then? ^[am](BK)Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both ^(BL)Jews and ^(BM)Greeks are ^(BN)all under sin; ¹⁰ as it is written:

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the ^(BU)Law says, it speaks to ^(BV)those who are ^[ap]under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and ^(BW)all the world may become accountable to God; ²⁰ because ^(BX)by the works ^[aq]of the Law ^[ar]none of mankind will be justified in His sight; for ^[as](BY)through the Law comes ^[at]knowledge of sin.

Justification by Faith

²¹ But now apart ^[au]from the Law ^(BZ)the righteousness of God has been revealed, being ^(CA)witnessed by the ^[av]Law and the Prophets, ²² but it is the ^(CB)righteousness of God through ^(CC)faith ^(CD)in Jesus Christ for ^(CE)all those ^[aw]who believe; for ^(CF)there is no distinction, ²³ for all ^[ax](CG)have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified as a gift ^(CH)by His grace through ^(CI)the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God displayed publicly as ^(CJ)a ^[ay]propitiation ^[az](CK)in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, ^[ba]because in God’s merciful ^(CL)restraint He ^(CM)let the sins previously committed go unpunished; ²⁶ for the demonstration, that is, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who ^[bb]has faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where then is ^(CN)boasting? It has been excluded. By ^(CO)what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. ^28 [bc]For ^(CP)we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from works ^[bd]of the Law. ²⁹ Or ^(CQ)is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰ since indeed ^(CR)God ^(CS)who will justify the ^[be]circumcised ^[bf]by faith and the ^[bg]uncircumcised through faith ^(CT)is one.

³¹ Do we then nullify ^[bh]the Law through faith? ^(CU)Far from it! On the contrary, we ^(CV)establish the Law.