ROM 3:21 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=important (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made visible, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets;

UST But now God has revealed how he makes people righteous. Becoming righteous is not related to obeying the laws God gave the Jews. Yet, in what they wrote in the Scriptures Moses and the prophets testify about how God makes people righteous.

BLB But now apart from Law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, being borne witness to by the Law and the Prophets.

AICNT But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

OEB But now, quite apart from Law, the divine righteousness stands revealed, and to it the Law and the prophets bear witness –

WEBBE But now apart from the law, a righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified by the law and the prophets;

WMBB But now apart from the law, a righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified by the Torah and the Prophets;

MSG God Has Set Things Right (21-24) But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.

NET But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed –

LSV And now apart from law the righteousness of God has been revealed, testified to by the Law and the Prophets,

FBV But now God's character of goodness and right[fn] has been demonstrated. It has nothing to do with law-keeping, even though it was spoken of by the law and the prophets.

3:21 See under 1:17. Also 3:22.

TCNT But now the righteousness of God has been revealed apart from the law, attested by the Law and the Prophets,

T4T But God’s ◄erasing the record of our sins/declaring us no longer guilty► does not depend on our obeying the laws that he gave Moses. It has now been {God has now} revealed to us how he erases the record of our sins by a different way. It was written about by Moses {Moses wrote about it} in the laws [PRS] God gave him, and it was also written about by the prophets {the prophets also wrote about it}.

LEB ¶ But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified about by the law and the prophets—

BBE But now without the law there is a revelation of the righteousness of God, to which witness is given by the law and the prophets;

Moff But now we have a righteousness of God disclosed apart from law altogether; it is attested by the Law and the prophets,

Wymth But now a righteousness coming from God has been brought to light apart from any Law, both Law and Prophets bearing witness to it—

ASV But now apart from the law a righteousness of God hath been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

DRA But now without the law the justice of God is made manifest, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.

YLT And now apart from law hath the righteousness of God been manifested, testified to by the law and the prophets,

Drby But now without law righteousness of [fn]God is manifested, borne witness to by the law and the prophets;

3.21 Elohim

RV But now apart from the law a righteousness of God hath been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
(But now apart from the law a righteousness of God hath/has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; )

SLT But now without law the justice of God has been made apparent, being testified by the law and by the prophets;

Wbstr But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being testified by the law and the prophets;

KJB-1769 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

KJB-1611 But nowe the righteousnesse of God without the Lawe is manifested, being witnessed by the Lawe and the Prophets.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps But nowe is the righteousnes of God declared without the lawe, beyng witnessed by the testimonie of the lawe and of the prophetes.
(But now is the righteousness of God declared without the law, being witnessed by the testimony of the law and of the prophets.)

Gnva But nowe is the righteousnesse, of God made manifest without the Lawe, hauing witnes of the Lawe and of the Prophets,
(But now is the righteousness, of God made manifest without the Law, having witness of the Law and of the Prophets, )

Cvdl But now without addinge to of ye lawe is the righteousnes which avayleth before God, declared, hauynge witnesse of ye lawe and the prophetes:
(But now without addinge to of ye/you_all law is the righteousness which avayleth before God, declared, having witness of ye/you_all law and the prophets:)

TNT Now verely is the rightewesnes that cometh of God declared without the fulfillinge of the lawe havinge witnes yet of the lawe and of the Prophetes.
(Now verily/truly is the rightewesnes that cometh/comes of God declared without the fulfillinge of the law having witness yet of the law and of the Prophets. )

Wycl But now with outen the lawe the riytwisnesse of God is schewid, that is witnessid of the lawe and the profetis.
(But now without the law the righteousness of God is showed, that is witnessid of the law and the prophets.)

Luth Nun aber ist ohne Zutun des Gesetzes die Gerechtigkeit, die vor GOtt gilt, offenbaret und bezeuget durch das Gesetz und die Propheten.
(Now but is without Zutun the law the justice, the before/in_front_of God gilt, revealed and witnessed through the law and the prophet(s).)

ClVg Nunc autem sine lege justitia Dei manifestata est: testificata a lege et prophetis.[fn]
(now however without lawfully justice of_God obviousta it_is: testificata from lawfully and prophets. )

3.21 Testificata, etc. Quia lex eam multis sacramentis figuravit, eo ipso perhibet testimonium justitiæ Dei, quia in ea nemo justificatur. Prophetæ perhibent testimonium, id prænuntiando uod Christi implevit adventus.

3.21 Testificata, etc. Because the_law her many sacraments figured, by_him himself perhibet testimony justice of_God, because in/into/on them nobody/no_one justificatur. Prophets perhibent testimony, that beforenuntiando uod of_Christ he_fulfilled arrivals.

UGNT νυνὶ δὲ χωρὶς νόμου, δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ πεφανέρωται, μαρτυρουμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν;
(nuni de ⱪōris nomou, dikaiosunaʸ Theou pefanerōtai, marturoumenaʸ hupo tou nomou kai tōn profaʸtōn;)

SBL-GNT Νυνὶ δὲ χωρὶς νόμου δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ πεφανέρωται, μαρτυρουμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν,
(Nuni de ⱪōris nomou dikaiosunaʸ theou pefanerōtai, marturoumenaʸ hupo tou nomou kai tōn profaʸtōn,)

RP-GNT Νυνὶ δὲ χωρὶς νόμου δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ πεφανέρωται, μαρτυρουμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν·
(Nuni de ⱪōris nomou dikaiosunaʸ theou pefanerōtai, marturoumenaʸ hupo tou nomou kai tōn profaʸtōn;)

TC-GNT Νυνὶ δὲ χωρὶς νόμου δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ πεφανέρωται, μαρτυρουμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν·
(Nuni de ⱪōris nomou dikaiosunaʸ Theou pefanerōtai, marturoumenaʸ hupo tou nomou kai tōn profaʸtōn; )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:21–31: God makes people righteous when they believe in Jesus

In this section Paul explained God’s plan for rescuing wrongdoers and making them right with himself. God did this by sending Jesus Christ to stand in the place of every wrongdoer and take the punishment that every wrongdoer deserves. So then, when a person believes in Jesus as the one who has taken the punishment on his behalf, God makes that person right with himself. In this way God remains true to his righteous character, for wrongdoing has been punished.

Since God did that, believers cannot boast in themselves. Paul also said that this faith in Jesus supports the law of Moses.

Here are other possible headings for this section:

Righteousness Through Faith (NIV)

How We Are Put Right with God (GNT)

God Gives Us His Approval as a Gift (GW)

God’s Way of Accepting People (CEV)

3:21a

But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed,

¶ But now the righteousness from God has been shown that does not depend on the law of Moses,
¶ But recently God has shown how he will make people right with himself. It is not the Jewish law that makes them right.

But now: This phrase introduces a new topic that contrasts with obeying the law of Moses. It may also indicate a new period of time. It introduces Jesus dying on the cross and God resurrecting him, which occurred about twenty-five years before Paul wrote this letter. Consider how to translate that meaning in your language. For example:

But at this timeUma Back Translation on TW.

apart from the law: This phrase indicates that the law of Moses does not help people get this righteousness of God that he has revealed through Jesus. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

It has nothing to do with law (GNT)

without keeping the requirements of the law (NLT)

not on the basis of obeying the laws of Moses

But we do not become straight in his sight from our following the Lord’s Law.Uma Back Translation on TW.

the righteousness of God has been revealed: The word revealed means that, by what Jesus did, God showed people how they can be righteous before God without following the law of Moses.

This clause is passive. Some languages must translate it as an active clause. For example:

God has shown us a way to be made right with him (NLT)

God has a way to make people right with him…and he has now shown us that way (NCV)

the righteousness of God: There are three ways to interpret the Greek word ending that the BSB translates as of:

Here it indicates that God makes people right in their relationship with him. For example:
a way to be made right with him (NLT) (GNT, NJB, NLT, GW, CEV, NCV)
Here it indicates that God enables believers to behave in right ways. For example:
a righteousness from God (NIV84) (NIV84)
Here it refers to the righteousness that God has. This is the natural way to interpret the meaning of the word of in English here. For example:
the righteousness of God (REB) (BSB, ESV, RSV, NIV11, NASB, KJV, NABRE, NET, REB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because many scholars and versions support it.For example, Cranfield (page 202) says it is “as…in 1:17,…a status of righteousness before God….” Morris (page 173) says it is “the right standing that comes from God.”

Here are other ways to translate this phrase according to interpretation (1):

how God does make us acceptable to him (CEV)

God has a way to make people right with him (NCV)

3:21b

as attested by the Law and the Prophets.

but the law of Moses and the prophets spoke about it.
The books of the Laws of Moses and the Prophets tell about this way of making people right.

as attested by the Law and the Prophets: The Greek is literally “being testified to by the law and the prophets.” The words in the Old Testament (the Law and the Prophets) do not help people get the righteousness of God. But some of those words speak about this righteousness.

There is an implied contrast in this phrase. For example:

even though the Law of Moses and the prophets gave their witness to it (GNT)

In some languages it is more natural not to translate the contrast. For example:

to which the Law and the Prophets testify (NIV)

as was promised in the Law and the Prophets

The Law and the Prophets tell of it.

attested: This word means “report what one saw.” The word is often used where the person is expected to be truthful and accurate. Here are other ways to translate this word:

testify (NIV)

told us about (NCV)

the Law and the Prophets: Here this phrase refers to the whole Old Testament. In some languages the meaning of this phrase would not be clear. If that is true in your language, you may want to explain it in the text. For example:

the books of the Laws of Moses and the books of the Prophets

the books of the Laws of Moses and the Prophets

the Prophets: Prophets are people who speak on behalf of God. God’s message may be in words or visions. The prophets then tell the people God’s message. See how you translated this word in 1:2.

This phrase here implies the writings of the prophets in the Old Testament. In some languages it would be more natural or more clear to indicate that. For example:

the writings of…the prophets (NLT)

the writings of the past that God caused…the prophets to writeTagbanwa Back Translation on TW.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

νυνὶ δὲ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: νυνί Δέ χωρίς νόμου δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ πεφανέρωται μαρτυρουμένη ὑπό τοῦ νόμου καί τῶν προφητῶν)

But now here indicates that what follows is in contrast to Paul’s discussion about the law in [2:1–3:20](../02/01.md). Use a natural way in your language for introducing a contrast. Alternate translation: [Yet now]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

νυνὶ δὲ χωρὶς νόμου, δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ πεφανέρωται

If it would be more natural in your language, you could reverse the order of these phrases. Alternate translation: [But now, the righteousness of God has been made known apart from the law]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

νόμου & τοῦ νόμου

law & the law

While the first occurrence of the law in this verse refers to the laws that God gave the Jews through Moses, the second occurrence refers to the first five books in the Old Testament that were written by Moses. The ULT shows this difference by using the law and the Law respectively. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [the laws that God gave Israel … the part of Scripture that Moses wrote]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

χωρὶς νόμου

Here, apart from the law could mean: (1) apart from doing what the law requires. Alternate translation: [without having to do what the law requires] (2) outside of what the law says. Alternate translation: [not related to what the law says] or [differently than what the law says]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ πεφανέρωται

˓the˒_righteousness ˱of˲_God ˓has_been˒_revealed

If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you must state who did the action, Paul implies that “God” did it. Alternate translation: [God has made his righteousness visible] or [God has revealed his righteousness]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ

˓the˒_righteousness ˱of˲_God

See how you translated this phrase in [1:17](../01/17.md).

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

μαρτυρουμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν

˓being˒_attested (Some words not found in SR-GNT: νυνί Δέ χωρίς νόμου δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ πεφανέρωται μαρτυρουμένη ὑπό τοῦ νόμου καί τῶν προφητῶν)

If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [the Law and the Prophets bearing witness]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

μαρτυρουμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν

Here Paul uses the Law and the Prophets as if they were people who could witness or testify in a courtroom. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [what God says in the Law and the Prophets is a written testimony to this]

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν

Paul is using the name of two parts of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Law and the Prophets, to represent the entire Hebrew Scriptures in general. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [in your Scriptures]

Parallel ROM 3:21

Section 3:21–31: God makes people righteous when they believe in Jesus

3:21a

3:21b