Romans 3 is the third chapter of the Epistle to the Romans in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It was composed by Paul the Apostle, while he was in Corinth in the mid-50s AD,Dunn, J. D. G. (1993). "Romans, Letter to the". In Hawthorne, Gerald F. and Martin, Ralph P. (eds.) Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. InterVarsity Press. p. 838. with the help of an amanuensis (secretary), Tertius, who added his own greeting in Romans 16:22.

In this chapter, Paul asks a series of rhetorical questions in order to develop his theological message, and quotes extensively from the Hebrew Bible. Theologian Albert Barnes suggests that "the design of the first part of this chapter is to answer some of the objections which might be offered by a Jew to the statements in the last chapter."Barnes, A. (1834), Barnes' Notes on Romans 3, accessed 7 September 2016

Text The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 31 verses.

Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: Papyrus 40 (~AD 250; extant verses 21–31) Codex Vaticanus (325–350) Codex Sinaiticus (330–360) Codex Alexandrinus (400–440) Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450; extant verses 22–31)

Old Testament references Romans 3:4 references Psalm 51:4 Romans 3:10–12 references Psalm 14:1–3, Psalm 53:1–3 and Ecclesiastes 7:20 Romans 3:13 references Psalm 5:9 and Psalm 140:3 Romans 3:14 references Psalm 10:7 Romans 3:17 references Isaiah 59:7–8 Romans 3:18 references Psalm 36:1 Romans 3:20 references Psalm 143:2b

God's righteousness upheld (verses 1–7) In verse 2, the chief advantage, or benefit, or responsibility, or superiorityInterlinear Bible of the Jewish people is their possession of the Hebrew Bible ( New International Version). Traditional translations (the Geneva Bible, King James Version, American Standard Version and Revised Standard Version) refer to the "oracles of God".

Verse 1

The first of a Jew's objections is stated here. "A Jew would naturally ask, if the view which the apostle had given were correct, what special benefit could the Jew derive from his religion?" The objection follows from Romans 2:26: if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the requirements of the Law, his uncircumcision will be regarded as circumcision.: International Standard Version (ISV)

Verse 2

The Jewish "advantage" () is really an act of entrustment. Nonconformist theologian Matthew Poole stated that "to the Jews were credited, or given in custody, the Holy Scriptures". Stephen, whose martyrdom Paul had witnessed before his conversion, called the scriptures the 'living oracles' ().: KJV Handley Moule, in the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, notes that this verse anticipates a more complete summary of the Jewish "advantage" in Romans 9:4, where "the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises" are listed as the inheritance of the Jewish people.: NKJV

Slanderous criticisms In verse 8, Paul refers to slanderous accusations made by "some people",: ISV that believers say "Let's do evil that good may result".

Bishop Charles Ellicott suggests that these accusers might have been the Jews or "the Judaizing party";Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers on Romans 3, accessed 17 September 2016 Barnes says it is "doubtless" that they were Jews; Moule argues that they were Paul's "inveterate adversaries in the Church".H. C. G. Moule, Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Romans 3, accessed on 17 September 2016

No one is righteous (verses 9–20) Paul's statement that "both Jews and Greeks are under the power of sin" (verse 9) exposes the impossibility of either Gentile or Jew, unaided by God, being able to become righteous (contra Romans 2:7,13, etc.; consistent with Romans 7:7–24), as supported by a compilation of citations from the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament texts) in verses 10–18 describing humanity's utter depravity or incapability of not sinning (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Psalm 5:10; 10:7; 14:1—3; 53:2—4; 36:2; 140:4; Isaiah 59:7—8; Proverbs 1:16). Only Christ can break sin's power for Jews as well as for Gentiles.

The revelation of God's righteousness (verses 21–26) This section (extending to verse 31) revisits 'the grand theme', "the righteousness of God", which is introduced in the Thanksgiving part of chapter 1. Comprising one paragraph, verses 21–26 is called by Stuhlmacher as "the heart of the letter to the Romans",Stuhlmacher, P. (1994), Paul's Letter to the Romans: A Commentary, trans. S. J. Hafemann. Louisville, Ky: Westminster/John Knox. p. 57; apud Hill 2007, p. 1092 stating that "the divine character—faithful, gracious, forgiving, and merciful—has been revealed in Jesus Christ, specifically in his death as "a sacrifice for sin effective through faith"." With that actions, "altogether apart from human initiative", God has fulfilled "what God always intended to do" ("attested by the law and the prophets") "and so is proved righteous".

Verse 23

"Come short" (RSV, NKJV: "fall short) is translated from ,Greek Text Analysis: Romans 3:23. Biblehub also rendered as 'to be in want/impoverished' (Luke 15:14); 'to suffer need" (Philippians 4:12); 'to be destitute' (Hebrews 11:37), and here in the sense of 'to suffer from defect, to fail to attain'.Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors). On "Romans 3". In: The Pulpit Commentary. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019.

Verse 25

"Propitiation" (RSV, NAB: "expiation") is translated from the Greek word , which specifically means the lid of the Ark of the Covenant.Strong's Greek Dictionary G2435 The only other occurrence of in the New Testament is in Hebrews 9:5, where the KJV, NKJV, RSV, and NASB all translate it as 'mercy seat'.

Justification by faith – a conclusion (verses 27–31) Verse 28

"We conclude" is translated from . The verb is plural:Englishman's Concordance - λογιζόμεθα "we conclude" in the King James Version and New King James Version, "we hold" in the Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version, "we consider" in the New American Bible, "as we see it" in the Jerusalem Bible and New Jerusalem Bible, "we maintain" in the New American Standard Version, "we reason" or "we maintain" in the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, in the Vulgate. Anglican bishop Charles Ellicott considers that we conclude "conveys too much the idea of an inference; the statement is rather made in the form of an assertion, we consider or we hold",Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers on Romans 3, accessed 8 September 2016 whereas the 18th-century English Baptist theologian John Gill treats the phrase as a "conclusion from the premises".Gill's Exposition on Romans 3, accessed 8 September 2016

Verse 29

Romans 3:29 has been interpreted as Paul saying that "God's perfect, ultimate, righteous judgment would carry the same standards for all people".BibleRef.com, What does Romans 3:29 mean?, accessed on 28 September 2024

See also Torah Related Bible parts: Psalm 5, Psalm 10, Psalm 14, Psalm 36, Psalm 51, Psalm 53, Psalm 140, Ecclesiastes 7, Isaiah 59

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links King James Bible - Wikisource English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English) Multiple bible versions at Bible Gateway (NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.)