Passage

Romans 4.3

Book: Romans · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, hath found according to the flesh? 2. For if Abraham was justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not toward God.

3. For what saith the scripture? And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.

Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt. 5. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness. (Romans 4:1-5, ASV)

WEB

What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather, has found according to the flesh? 2. For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not toward God.

3. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as grace, but as something owed. 5. But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. (Romans 4:1-5, WEB)

KJV

What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? 2. For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

3. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. (Romans 4:1-5, KJV)

YLT

What, then, shall we say Abraham our father, to have found, according to flesh? 2. for if Abraham by works was declared righteous, he hath to boast, but not before God;

3. for what doth the writing say? 'And Abraham did believe God, and it was reckoned to him, to righteousness;'

and to him who is working, the reward is not reckoned of grace, but of debt; 5. and to him who is not working, and is believing upon Him who is declaring righteous the impious, his faith is reckoned, to righteousness: (Romans 4:1-5, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Paul the Apostle, citing Genesis 15:6
Audience: the Roman house churches (mixed Jewish-Gentile), whom Paul had not yet met
Location: Corinth, near the close of the third missionary journey
Time period: c. AD 56-57

Theological reading

Paul's proof text, and the verse the whole chapter is built to expound. "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness."

The load-bearing word is elogisthē, from logizomai, an accounting term for entering an item in a ledger. It is passive: the reckoning is done to Abraham, not by him. Paul exploits the commercial sense in the next two verses, where a worker's wage is reckoned kata opheilēma, as a debt owed, while Abraham's righteousness is reckoned kata charin, according to grace. Same verb, opposite basis, and the contrast is the argument.

The rhetorical strategy is worth noticing. Paul opens with "what does the scripture say?" and stakes his case on a single sentence from Genesis rather than on his own apostolic authority, which is the right move when addressing a congregation that does not know him and includes Jewish believers. He also chooses the one figure whose standing is beyond dispute, so that if justification by faith holds for Abraham it holds generally.

James 2:23 cites the same verse to a different end, and the two uses are the classic test case in the faith-and-works question. The usual resolution notes that the two writers use dikaioō in different senses, Paul of the declaration that establishes standing before God, James of the demonstration that vindicates a claim before observers. See Justification by Faith.

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.

G3049 - logizomai, logizomai, Strong's G3049
G1343 - dikaiosyne, dikaiosyne, Strong's G1343
G4100 - pisteuo, pisteuo, Strong's G4100
G2316 - theos, theos, Strong's G2316
G3004 - lego, lego, Strong's G3004

Quoted in

Concepts:

100 Common Questions, via Romans 4.1-5
Faith
Imputation Doctrine
Justification by Faith, via Romans 4.1-5, Romans 4.1-8, Romans 4.3-8

Lexicon:

Passages:

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.