New Living Translation
Romans 3:4
4Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.”
Romans 3:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
- New International Version (NIV)Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: “That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged.”
Context of Romans 3:4
2Yes, there are great benefits! First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God. 3True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful? Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.” 5“But,” some might say, “our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for him to punish us?” (This is merely a human point of view.) 6Of course not! If God were not entirely fair, how would he be qualified to judge the world?
Read all of Romans 3Romans 3:4 word by word
μὴ γένοιτο.¶ Γινέσθω δὲ ὁ θεὸς ἀληθής, πᾶς δὲ ἄνθρωπος ψεύστης καθὼς γέγραπται· ὅπως ἂν δικαιωθῇς ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σου καὶ νικήσεις ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαί σε.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- ·ἄνan · ifG302
- God forbidμήmē · notG3361
- God forbidγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
- yeaδέde · thenG1161
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- trueἀληθήςalēthēs · trueG227
- everyπᾶςpas · allG3956
- manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
- a liarψεύστηςpseustēs · liarG5583
- asκαθώςkathōs · as/just asG2531
- it is writtenγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
- Thatὅπωςhopōs · thatG3704
- thou mightest be justifiedδικαιόωdikaioō · to justifyG1344
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- thyσύsu · youG4771
- sayingsλόγοςlogos · wordG3056
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- mightest overcomeνικάωnikaō · to conquerG3528
- art judgedκρίνωkrinō · to judgeG2919
Cross-references for Romans 3:4
- Romans 3:6Of course not! If God were not entirely fair, how would he be qualified to judge the world?
- Romans 6:2Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?
- Romans 7:7Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”
- Romans 9:14Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of course not!
- Romans 11:1I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
- Luke 20:16“I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.” “How terrible that such a thing should ever happen,” his listeners protested.
- 1 Corinthians 6:15Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never!
- Galatians 2:17But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not!
- Galatians 2:21I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
- Galatians 6:14As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.
- Deuteronomy 32:4He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!
- Job 40:8“Will you discredit my justice and condemn me just to prove you are right?
- Psalms 100:5For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
- Psalms 119:160The very essence of your words is truth; all your just regulations will stand forever.
- Psalms 138:2I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.
- Micah 7:20You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.
Commentaries on Romans 3:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Apostle. God forbid - , Let it not be, far from it, by no means. Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar, etc. We must ever maintain that God is true, and that if, in any case, his promise appear to fail, it is because the condition on which it was given has not been complied with; which is the sense of what is written, Psalm 51:4; : I acknowledge my sin, and condemn myself that the truth of thy promise ( 2 Samuel 7:15, 2 Samuel 7:16;) to establish my…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4God forbid - Greek. Let not this be. The sense is, “let not this by any means be supposed.” This is the answer of the apostle, showing that no such consequence followed from his doctrines; and that “if” any such consequence should follow, the doctrine should be at once abandoned, and that every man, no matter who, should be rather esteemed false than God. The veracity of God was a great first principle, which was to be held, whatever might be the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Certainly not!: The Greek phrase mē genoito is a strong way to say "no." Paul often uses this style of argument in other parts of Romans (see 3:6, 31; 6:2, 15; 7:7, 13; 9:14; 11:1, 11). As it is written: Paul quotes Psalm 51:4, where King David admitted his sin of committing adultery with Bathsheba (see 2 Samuel 11:1–27). God punished David, and David admitted that God was right to judge him. David accepted that God’s judgment was completely just. God…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-43-4. For what if some did not believe?--It is the unbelief of the great body of the nation which the apostle points at; but as it sufficed for his argument to put the supposition thus gently, he uses this word "some" to soften prejudice. shall their unbelief make the faith of God--or, "faithfulness of God." of none effect?--"nullify," "invalidate" it.Read the comment
Topics related to Romans 3:4
In the dictionaries
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
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