No One Is Righteous

What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage?(A) Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.(B) 10 As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11     there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
    not even one.”[a](C)
13 “Their throats are open graves;
    their tongues practice deceit.”[b](D)
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”[c](E)
14     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[d](F)
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16     ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.”[e](G)
18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[f](H)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 3:12 Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20
  2. Romans 3:13 Psalm 5:9
  3. Romans 3:13 Psalm 140:3
  4. Romans 3:14 Psalm 10:7 (see Septuagint)
  5. Romans 3:17 Isaiah 59:7,8
  6. Romans 3:18 Psalm 36:1

The Condemnation of the World

What then? Are we better off? Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin, 10 just as it is written:

There is no one righteous, not even one,
11 there is no one who understands,
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
together they have become worthless;
there is no one who shows kindness, not even one.[a]
13 Their throats are open graves,[b]
they deceive with their tongues,
the poison of asps is under their lips.”[c]
14 Their mouths are[d] full of cursing and bitterness.”[e]
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 ruin and misery are in their paths,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”[f]
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[g]

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 3:12 sn Verses 10-12 are a quotation from Ps 14:1-3.
  2. Romans 3:13 tn Grk “their throat is an opened grave.”
  3. Romans 3:13 sn A quotation from Pss 5:9; 140:3.
  4. Romans 3:14 tn Grk “whose mouth is.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  5. Romans 3:14 sn A quotation from Ps 10:7.
  6. Romans 3:17 sn Rom 3:15-17 is a quotation from Isa 59:7-8.
  7. Romans 3:18 sn A quotation from Ps 36:1.