Romans 3:20

3:20 For no one is declared righteous before him ¹  by the works of the law, ²  for through the law comes ³  the knowledge of sin.

Romans 3:23

3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

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.” ⁴ 

Luke 10:25-29

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

10:25 Now ⁵  an expert in religious law ⁶  stood up to test Jesus, ⁷  saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ⁸  10:26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?” ⁹  10:27 The expert ¹⁰  answered, “Love ¹¹  the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, ¹²  and love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹³  10:28 Jesus ¹⁴  said to him, “You have answered correctly; ¹⁵  do this, and you will live.”

10:29 But the expert, ¹⁶  wanting to justify ¹⁷  himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Galatians 3:11-12

3:11 Now it is clear no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous one will live by faith. ¹⁸  3:12 But the law is not based on faith, ¹⁹  but the one who does the works of the law ²⁰  will live by them. ²¹ 

[3:20]  ¹ sn An allusion to Ps 143:2.

[3:20]  ² 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]  ³ tn Grk “is.”

[10:5]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Lev 18:5.

[10:25]  ⁵ tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[10:25]  ⁶ tn Traditionally, “a lawyer.” This was an expert in the interpretation of the Mosaic law (see also Luke 7:30, where the same term occurs).

[10:25]  ⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:25]  ⁸ sn The combination of inherit with eternal life asks, in effect, “What must I do to be saved?”

[10:26]  ⁹ tn Grk “How do you read?” The pronoun “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[10:27]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (the expert in religious law, shortened here to “the expert”) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:27]  ¹¹ tn Grk “You will love.” The future indicative is used here with imperatival force (see ExSyn 452 and 569).

[10:27]  ¹² sn A quotation from Deut 6:5. The fourfold reference to different parts of the person says, in effect, that one should love God with all one’s being.

[10:27]  ¹³ tn This portion of the reply is a quotation from Lev 19:18. The verb is repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[10:28]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:28]  ¹⁵ sn Jesus commends the reply (you have answered correctly). What is assumed here, given the previous context, is that he will respond to Jesus’ message, as to love God is to respond to his Son; see v. 22.

[10:29]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (the expert in religious law, shortened here to “the expert”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:29]  ¹⁷ tn Or “vindicate.”

[3:11]  ¹⁸ tn Or “The one who is righteous by faith will live” (a quotation from Hab 2:4).

[3:12]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “is not from faith.”

[3:12]  ²⁰ tn Grk “who does these things”; the referent (the works of the law, see 3:5) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:12]  ²¹ sn A quotation from Lev 18:5. The phrase the works of the law is an editorial expansion on the Greek text (see previous note); it has been left as normal typeface to indicate it is not part of the OT text.