ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Romans 3.19-20

Book: Romans · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

17. And the way of peace have they not known: 18. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

19. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it speaketh to them that are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God: 20. because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for through the law cometh the knowledge of sin.

  1. But now apart from the law a righteousness of God hath been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22. even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ unto all them that believe; for there is no distinction; (Romans 3:17-22, ASV)
WEB

17. The way of peace, they haven’t known.” 18. “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19. Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God. 20. Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

  1. But now apart from the law, a righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified by the law and the prophets; 22. even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all those who believe. For there is no distinction, (Romans 3:17-22, WEB)
KJV

17. And the way of peace have they not known: 18. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

19. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. guilty: or, subject to the judgment of God 20. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

  1. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22. Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: (Romans 3:17-22, KJV)
YLT

17. And a way of peace they did not know. 18. There is no fear of God before their eyes.'

19. And we have known that as many things as the law saith, to those in the law it doth speak, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may come under judgment to God; 20. wherefore by works of law shall no flesh be declared righteous before Him, for through law is a knowledge of sin.

  1. And now apart from law hath the righteousness of God been manifested, testified to by the law and the prophets, 22. and the righteousness of God [is] through the faith of Jesus Christ to all, and upon all those believing,, for there is no difference, (Romans 3:17-22, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul the Apostle
  • Audience: the mixed Jewish and Gentile house churches at Rome, a congregation Paul had neither founded nor yet visited
  • Location: composed at Corinth, addressed to Rome
  • Time period: c. AD 57

Theological reading

Two verses that state what the law is for, and the answer is not what most readers expect.

Verse 19 gives the immediate purpose: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God. The image is forensic. The defendant has run out of things to say. Paul has just finished a chain of Old Testament citations, and he heads off the obvious escape by noting that what the law says, it says to them that are under the law, so his Jewish readers cannot treat the indictment as a description of Gentiles.

Verse 20 then draws the conclusion: by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for through the law cometh the knowledge of sin. The law functions diagnostically. It is an instrument that reveals a condition rather than a therapy that cures one, and expecting justification from it is a category error, like expecting a thermometer to reduce a fever.

The phrase works of the law (erga nomou) is the flashpoint of the New Perspective debate. E.P. Sanders, James Dunn and N.T. Wright have argued it refers specifically to boundary markers, circumcision, food laws and calendar, that identified covenant membership, so that Paul is opposing Jewish ethnic exclusivism rather than works-righteousness in general. The traditional reading takes it as law-keeping as such. The verse itself supplies an argument for the traditional side that does not depend on the wider debate: Paul's stated ground is knowledge of sin, which is what a moral standard produces, not what a membership badge produces. See Mosaic Law and N.T. Wright.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.