Romans 3:9

Romans 3:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
• New International Version (NIV)What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.
• English Standard Version (ESV)What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,
• New King James Version (NKJV)What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.

Context of Romans 3:9

7Someone might also say, ‘When I tell lies, that shows how great and good God is. My lies show more clearly that God always says what is true. So God should not say that I am a bad person. He should not punish me.’ 8But if that is true, you could also say, ‘We should do more and more bad things. Then something good will happen as a result.’ Some people even say that is the message which I teach. But if they say that, they are insulting me. It is right that God should punish those people. So then, what do we learn from that? We cannot say that we Jews are better than other people. No, certainly we cannot say that! I have said already that sin has power over everyone. That is true for both Jews and Gentiles. 10This is written in the Bible: ‘There is nobody who is right with God. There is not even one person who is like that. 11There is nobody who understands what is true. There is nobody who wants to worship God.

Romans 3:9 word by word

Τί οὖν; προεχόμεθα; οὐ πάντως· προῃτιασάμεθα γὰρ Ἰουδαίους τε καὶ Ἕλληνας πάντας ὑφ᾽ ἁμαρτίαν εἶναιRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• thenοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• are we betterπροέχωproechomai · to excelG4284
• Noοὐou · noG3756
• in no wiseπάντωςpantōs · surelyG3843
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• we have before provedπροαιτιάομαιproaitiaomai · to accuseG4256
• bothκαίkai · andG2532
• JewsἸουδαῖοςIoudaios · JewG2453
• andτεte · and/bothG5037
• GentilesἝλλην=ἝλληνHellēn · Greek, GentileG1672
• that they areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• underὑπόhupo · by/under: underG5259
• sinἁμαρτίαhamartia · sinG266

Cross-references for Romans 3:9

• Romans 3:5Maybe some people may say, ‘The wrong things that we do show more clearly that God is always right. So perhaps God is wrong to punish us.’
• Romans 6:15Someone might say: ‘So we have a new life because God is kind to us. God's Law that he gave to Moses does not rule us any more. Then maybe we should continue to do wrong things. It will not make any difference.’ No, that is not true!
• Romans 11:7So we can say this: Israel's people did not all find what they were looking for. Only those people that God had chosen received it. But the other people of Israel became unable to understand God's message.
• 1 Corinthians 10:19So think about food that people offer to idols as a sacrifice. I am not saying that the idols are real gods. The food that people offer to them is not special food.
• 1 Corinthians 14:15This is what I should do: I will not only pray with my spirit. I will also pray with my mind. I will sing to praise God with my spirit. And I will also do that with my mind.
• Philippians 1:18But it does not matter to me! All of them are telling people about Christ. That is the most important thing. Whether they speak because of wrong reasons or because of right reasons, they are speaking the message about Christ! Because of that, I am happy. Yes, I will continue to be happy.
• Romans 3:22God accepts people as right with himself because Jesus Christ did what God wanted. God accepts every person who believes in Christ. It is the same way for everyone, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.
• Isaiah 65:5They say to each other, “Keep away from me! Do not come near me! I am too holy for you!” These people are like smoke in my nose! They are like a fire that burns all day.’
• Luke 7:39When the Pharisee saw this, he said to himself, ‘This man cannot be a prophet from God. If he were, he would know all about this woman. He would know that she is a very bad person. He would not let her touch him.’
• Luke 18:9Jesus told a story to teach other people. These people thought that they were very good in front of God. They thought that they were much better than other people.
• 1 Corinthians 4:7Do not think that any of you are better than anyone else. You received from God everything that you have. So you have no reason to be proud of what you have. It is all a gift!
• Romans 1:28Those people decided that they did not need to know anything about God. So God let their minds become spoiled. As a result, they do bad things that people ought not to do.
• Romans 2:1So I say this to each one of you: Do not judge other people. If you decide that someone else has done a bad thing, remember that you also do the same bad things. You are really saying that God should punish you also! When you judge someone, God will not punish them and then forgive you.
• Galatians 3:10But some people try to obey all the rules of God's Law. They think that they will become right with God if they do this very well. But God will speak against people like that and he will punish them. It is written in the Bible: ‘God will punish everyone who does not always obey all the rules in his Law completely.’

Commentaries on Romans 3:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Jew. What then? - After all, have not we Jews a better claim to the privileges of the kingdom of God than the Gentiles have? Apostle. No, in no wise - For I have already proved that both Jews and Gentiles are under the guilt of sin; that they are equally unworthy of the blessings of the Messiah's kingdom; and that they must both, equally, owe their salvation to the mere mercy of God. From this, to the end of the 26th verse, the apostle proceeds to prove…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9What then? - This is another remark supposed to be made by a Jewish objector. “What follows? or are we to infer that we are better than others? Are we better than they? - Are we Jews better than the Gentiles? Or rather, have we any preference, or advantage as to character and prospects, over the Gentiles? These questions refer only to the great point in debate, to wit, about justification before God. The apostle had admitted Romans 3:2 that the Jews had…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-18Verses 9-18 Here again is shown that all mankind are under the guilt of sin, as a burden; and under the government and dominion of sin, as enslaved to it, to work wickedness. This is made plain by several passages of Scripture from the Old Testament, which describe the corrupt and depraved state of all men, till grace restrain or change them. Great as our advantages are, these texts describe multitudes who call themselves Christians. Their principles and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Not at all: Paul's strong response does not contradict his earlier statement in 3:1–2 that Jews have an advantage. However, this advantage has not benefited them because they did not obey God's commands and encountered God's punishment. Jews, like Gentiles (here, Greeks), have sinned against the revelation of God and stand condemned. under sin: Being "under" something means it controls a person. The main problem for humans is not only that they have sin…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 9-209. are we better than they?--"do we excel them?" No, in no wise--Better off the Jews certainly were, for having the oracles of God to teach them better; but as they were no better, that only aggravated their guilt.Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 3:9

• Bigotry
• Boasting
• Depravity of Man
• Greece

In the dictionaries

• Boasting
• Conclude
• Destruction
• Establish
• Faith
• Fall of man
• Justifier
• Overcome
• Sin
• Atonement

Commentaries on Romans 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings