Romans 3:12–21
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
13 o“Their throat is pan open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
q“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 r“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 s“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and tthe way of peace they have not known.”
18 u“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever vthe law says it speaks to those who are under the law, wso that every mouth may be stopped, and xthe whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For yby works of the law no human being3 will be justified in his sight, since zthrough the law comes knowledge of sin.
The Righteousness of God Through Faith
21 But now athe righteousness of God bhas been manifested apart from the law, although cthe Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—
Romans 3:12–21 — The New International Version (NIV)
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
13 “Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
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.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
Romans 3:12–21 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 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. 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.
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Romans 3:12–21 — New Living Translation (NLT)
12 All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.”
13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
Their tongues are filled with lies.”
“Snake venom drips from their lips.”
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “They rush to commit murder.
16 Destruction and misery always follow them.
17 They don’t know where to find peace.”
18 “They have no fear of God at all.”
19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.
Romans 3:12–21 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”
13 “Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
Romans 3:12–21 — New Century Version (NCV)
12 All have turned away.
Together, everyone has become useless.
There is no one who does anything good;
there is not even one.”
13 “Their throats are like open graves;
they use their tongues for telling lies.”
“Their words are like snake poison.”
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and hate.”
15 “They are always ready to kill people.
16 Everywhere they go they cause ruin and misery.
17 They don’t know how to live in peace.”
18 “They have no fear of God.”
19 We know that the law’s commands are for those who have the law. This stops all excuses and brings the whole world under God’s judgment, 20 because no one can be made right with God by following the law. The law only shows us our sin.
21 But God has a way to make people right with him without the law, and he has now shown us that way which the law and the prophets told us about.
Romans 3:12–21 — American Standard Version (ASV)
12 They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable;
There is none that doeth good, no, not so much as one:
13 Their throat is an open sepulchre;
With their tongues they have used deceit:
The poison of asps is under their lips:
14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
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.
21 But now apart from the law a righteousness of God hath been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Romans 3:12–21 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
12 All have gone out of the way, they have together become unprofitable; there is not one that practises goodness, there is not so much as one: 13 their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; asps’ poison is under their lips: 14 whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; 15 swift their feet to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery are in their ways, 17 and way of peace they have not known: 18 there is no fear of God before their eyes.
19 Now we know that whatever the things the law says, it speaks to those under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world be under judgment to God. 20 Wherefore by works of law no flesh shall be justified before him; for by law is knowledge of sin. 21 But now without law righteousness of God is manifested, borne witness to by the law and the prophets;
Romans 3:12–21 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
12 Everyone has turned away.
Together they have become rotten to the core.
No one does anything good,
not even one person.
13 Their throats are open graves.
Their tongues practice deception.
Their lips hide the venom of poisonous snakes.
14 Their mouths are full of curses and bitter resentment.
15 They run quickly to murder people.
16 There is ruin and suffering wherever they go.
17 They have not learned to live in peace.
18 They are not terrified of God.”
19 We know that whatever the Scriptures say applies to everyone under their influence, and no one can say a thing. The whole world is brought under the judgment of God. 20 Not one person can have God’s approval by any effort to follow the laws in the Scriptures. These laws show what sin is.
21 Now, the way to receive God’s approval has been made plain in a way other than the laws in the Scriptures. Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets tell us this.
Romans 3:12–21 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
12 All have turned away;
all alike have become useless.
There is no one who does what is good,
not even one.
13 Their throat is an open grave;
they deceive with their tongues.
Vipers’ venom is under their lips.
14 Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and wretchedness are in their paths,
17 and the path of peace they have not known.
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
19 Now we know that whatever the law says speaks to those who are subject to the law, so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God’s judgment. 20 For no one will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.
21 But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed —attested by the Law and the Prophets
Romans 3:12–21 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
12 All have turned aside, together they have become worthless;
there is no one who shows kindness,
there is not even one.”
13 “Their throats are opened graves;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of vipers is under their lips.”
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
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.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
21 But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets,
Romans 3:12–21 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
12 All have turned aside together; they have become worthless;
There is no one who practices kindness;
there is not even one.
13 Their throat is an opened grave;
they deceive with their tongues;
the venom of asps is under their lips,
14 whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 destruction and distress are in their paths,
17 and they have not known the way of peace.
18 The fear of God is not before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those under the law, in order that every mouth may be closed and the whole world may become accountable to God. 20 For by the works of the law no person will be declared righteous before him, for through the law comes knowledge of sin.
21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified about by the law and the prophets—
Romans 3:12–21 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
12 All of them have turned away.
They have all become worthless.
No one does anything good,
no one at all.”
13 “Their throats are like open graves.
With their tongues they tell lies.”
“The words from their lips are like the poison of a snake.”
14 “Their mouths are full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “They run quickly to commit murder.
16 They leave a trail of failure and pain.
17 They do not know the way of peace.”
18 “They don’t have any respect for God.”
19 What the law says, it says to those who are ruled by the law. Its purpose is to shut every mouth and make the whole world accountable to God. 20 So it can’t be said that anyone will be made right with God by obeying the law. Not at all! The law makes us more aware of our sin.
21 But now God has shown us how to become right with him. The Law and the Prophets give witness to this. It has nothing to do with obeying the law.
Romans 3:12–21 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to 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.
21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,