Romans 3:8-16

3:8 And why not say, “Let us do evil so that good may come of it”? – as some who slander us allege that we say. ¹  (Their ²  condemnation is deserved!)

The Condemnation of the World

3:9 What then? Are we better off? Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin, 3:10 just as it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one,

3:11 there is no one who understands,

there is no one who seeks God.

3:12 All have turned away,

together they have become worthless;

there is no one who shows kindness, not even one.” ³ 

3:13 “Their throats are open graves, ⁴ 

they deceive with their tongues,

the poison of asps is under their lips.” ⁵ 

3:14 “Their mouths are ⁶  full of cursing and bitterness.” ⁷ 

3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,

3:16 ruin and misery are in their paths,

[3:8]  ¹ tn Grk “(as we are slandered and some affirm that we say…).”

[3:8]  ² tn Grk “whose.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, this relative clause was rendered as a new sentence in the translation.

[3:12]  ³ sn Verses 10-12 are a quotation from Ps 14:1-3.

[3:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “their throat is an opened grave.”

[3:13]  ⁶ sn A quotation from Pss 5:9; 140:3.

[3:14]  ⁷ tn Grk “whose mouth is.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:14]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Ps 10:7.