Romans 3:9-26
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
None Is Righteous
9 What then? Are we any better off?[a] No, not at all, for we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin,(A) 10 as it is written:
“There is no one who is righteous, not even one;(B)
11 there is no one who has understanding;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
there is no one who shows kindness;
there is not even one.”
13 “Their throats are opened graves;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of vipers is under their lips.”(C)
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;(D)
16 ruin and misery are in their paths,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that, whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God.(E) 20 For no human will be justified before him by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.(F)
Righteousness through Faith
21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed and is attested by the Law and the Prophets,(G) 22 the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ[b] for all who believe.[c] For there is no distinction,(H) 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;(I) 24 they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,(J) 25 whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement[d] by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed;(K) 26 it was to demonstrate at the present time his own righteousness, so that he is righteous and he justifies the one who has the faith of Jesus.[e]
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