ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Romans 3.23-26
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Passage

Romans 3.23-26

Book: Romans · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

21. 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;

23. for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; 24. being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25. whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God; 26. for the showing, I say, of his righteousness at this present season: that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus.

  1. Where then is the glorying? It is excluded. By what manner of law? of works? Nay: but by a law of faith. 28. We reckon therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. (Romans 3:21-28, ASV)
WEB

21. 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,

23. for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; 24. being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; 25. whom God sent to be an atoning sacrifice, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God’s forbearance; 26. to demonstrate his righteousness at this present time; that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus.

  1. Where then is the boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28. We maintain therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. (Romans 3:21-28, WEB)
KJV

21. 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:

23. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; set forth: or, foreordained remission: or, passing over 26. To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

  1. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. (Romans 3:21-28, KJV)
YLT

21. 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,

23. for all did sin, and are come short of the glory of God 24. being declared righteous freely by His grace through the redemption that [is] in Christ Jesus, 25. whom God did set forth a mercy seat, through the faith in his blood, for the shewing forth of His righteousness, because of the passing over of the bygone sins in the forbearance of God 26. for the shewing forth of His righteousness in the present time, for His being righteous, and declaring him righteous who [is] of the faith of Jesus.

  1. Where then [is] the boasting? it was excluded; by what law? of works? no, but by a law of faith: 28. therefore do we reckon a man to be declared righteous by faith, apart from works of law. (Romans 3:21-28, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul the apostle
  • Audience: The believers in Rome, a church Paul had long wanted to visit but had not yet seen (1:10-13)
  • Location: Most likely written from Corinth, home of Paul's host Gaius (16:23; compare 1 Corinthians 1:14), and commending Phoebe of nearby Cenchreae (16:1), who probably carried the letter
  • Time period: C. AD 56-57, near the end of Paul's third missionary journey, as he prepared to take the collection to Jerusalem (15:25-26)

Theological reading

"For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God; for the showing, I say, of his righteousness at this present season: that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus."

The diagnosis (verse 23). "All have sinned" (Strong's G264) looks back on a completed record, while "fall short" (G5302) is present: humanity goes on lacking "the glory (G1391) of God." The verse sums up the argument of 1:18-3:20, that Jew and Gentile alike stand guilty.

The remedy (verses 24-25). Justification is "freely," as a gift, "by his grace," and it comes "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Redemption is the language of release by payment, and propitiation is the language of turning away wrath. God himself "set forth" the propitiation; it is not humanity appeasing a reluctant God.

The problem of justice (verses 25-26). God had been "passing over" earlier sins. A judge who simply lets the guilty go is not just: "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to Jehovah" (Proverbs 17:15, ASV). The cross shows that God is "just, and the justifier." The single verse is treated in detail in Romans 3.26.

Mercy and justice in Islam and Christianity. The Islam vs the Christian God comparison cites this passage as the place where the two faiths part. The Quran says God "forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills" (3:129) and that no soul bears another's burden (6:164; 35:18). Muslims therefore see the idea of one person bearing another's penalty as unjust, and divine forgiveness as needing no payment. The Christian reply is that forgiveness without satisfaction leaves the problem of Proverbs 17:15 unsolved, and that the one who bears the penalty is not an unwilling third party: God "set forth" his own Son, and the Son "loved me, and gave himself up for me" (Galatians 2:20, ASV). See Penal Substitutionary Atonement, Justification by Faith and Atonement.

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

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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.