Romans 3:19-20

3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under ¹  the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 3:20 For no one is declared righteous before him ²  by the works of the law, ³  for through the law comes ⁴  the knowledge of sin.

Romans 10:5

10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.” ⁵ 

Psalms 40:12

40:12 For innumerable dangers ⁶  surround me.

My sins overtake me

so I am unable to see;

they outnumber the hairs of my head

so my strength fails me. ⁷ 

Galatians 3:10

3:10 For all who ⁸  rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law.” ⁹ 

James 2:10-11

2:10 For the one who obeys the whole law but fails ¹⁰  in one point has become guilty of all of it. ¹¹  2:11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” ¹²  also said, “Do not murder.” ¹³  Now if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a violator of the law.

[3:19]  ¹ tn Grk “in,” “in connection with.”

[3:20]  ² sn An allusion to Ps 143:2.

[3:20]  ³ tn Grk “because by the works of the law no flesh is justified before him.” Some recent scholars have understood the phrase ἒργα νόμου (erga nomou, “works of the law”) to refer not to obedience to the Mosaic law generally, but specifically to portions of the law that pertain to things like circumcision and dietary laws which set the Jewish people apart from the other nations (e.g., J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC], 1:155). Other interpreters, like C. E. B. Cranfield (“‘The Works of the Law’ in the Epistle to the Romans,” JSNT 43 [1991]: 89-101) reject this narrow interpretation for a number of reasons, among which the most important are: (1) The second half of v. 20, “for through the law comes the knowledge of sin,” is hard to explain if the phrase “works of the law” is understood in a restricted sense; (2) the plural phrase “works of the law” would have to be understood in a different sense from the singular phrase “the work of the law” in 2:15; (3) similar phrases involving the law in Romans (2:13, 14; 2:25, 26, 27; 7:25; 8:4; and 13:8) which are naturally related to the phrase “works of the law” cannot be taken to refer to circumcision (in fact, in 2:25 circumcision is explicitly contrasted with keeping the law). Those interpreters who reject the “narrow” interpretation of “works of the law” understand the phrase to refer to obedience to the Mosaic law in general.

[3:20]  ⁴ tn Grk “is.”

[10:5]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Lev 18:5.

[40:12]  ⁶ tn Or “sinful deeds.” The Hebrew term used here can have a nonmoral nuance (“dangers”) or a moral one (“sinful deeds”) depending on the context. The next line (see “my sins”) seems to favor the moral sense, but the psalmist also speaks of enemies shortly after this (v. 14).

[40:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “and my heart abandons me.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of emotional strength and courage. For a similar idea see Ps 38:10.

[3:10]  ⁸ tn Grk “For as many as.”

[3:10]  ⁹ tn Grk “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things written in the book of the law, to do them.”

[2:10]  ¹⁰ tn Or “stumbles.”

[2:10]  ¹¹ tn Grk “guilty of all.”

[2:11]  ¹² sn A quotation from Exod 20:14 and Deut 5:18.

[2:11]  ¹³ sn A quotation from Exod 20:13 and Deut 5:17.