Romans 4:14

Mace New Testament

for if they only who are of the law have right of possession, faith is made useless, and the promise becomes of no effect.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
If those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made empty and the promise nullified,

King James Version (1611)
For if they which are of the law be heires, faith is made voide, and the promise made of none effect.

King James Version
For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:

English Standard Version
For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.

New American Standard Bible
For if those who are of the Law are heirs, then faith is made void and the promise is nullified;

New Century Version
If people could receive what God promised by following the law, then faith is worthless. And God's promise to Abraham is worthless,

Amplified Bible
If those who are [followers] of the Law are [the true] heirs [of Abraham], then faith [leading to salvation] is of no effect and void, and the promise [of God] is nullified.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified;

Legacy Standard Bible
For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith has been made empty and the promise has been abolished;

Berean Standard Bible
For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith is useless and the promise is worthless,

Contemporary English Version
If Abraham and his descendants were given this promise because they had obeyed a law, then faith would mean nothing, and the promise would be worthless.

Complete Jewish Bible
For if the heirs are produced by legalism, then trust is pointless and the promise worthless.

Darby Translation
For if they which [are] of law be heirs, faith is made vain, and the promise made of no effect.

Easy-to-Read Version
If people could get God's promise by following the law, then faith is worthless. And God's promise to Abraham is worthless,

Geneva Bible (1587)
For if they which are of the Lawe, be heires, faith is made voide, & the promise is made of none effect.

George Lamsa Translation
For if they had become heirs by means of the law, then faith would have been empty and the promise made of no effect.

Good News Translation
For if what God promises is to be given to those who obey the Law, then faith means nothing and God's promise is worthless.

Lexham English Bible
For if those of the law are heirs, faith is rendered void and the promise is nullified.

Literal Translation
For if those of Law are heirs, faith has been made of no effect, and the promise has been annulled.

American Standard Version
For if they that are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of none effect:

Bible in Basic English
For if they who are of the law are the people who get the heritage, then faith is made of no use, and the word of God has no power;

Hebrew Names Version
For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of no effect.

International Standard Version
For if those who were given the lawthose of the law">[fn] are the heirs, then faith is useless and the promise is worthless,Galatians 3:18;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
For if they who are of the law were heirs, faith would be vain, and the promise be abolished.

Murdock Translation
For if they who are of the law were heirs, faith would be made void, and the promise of no force.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
For yf they which are of the lawe be heyres, then is fayth but vayne, and the promise of none effect:

English Revised Version
For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of none effect:

World English Bible
For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of no effect.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
For if they who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise of no effect.

Weymouth's New Testament
For if it is the righteous through Law who are heirs, then faith is useless and the promise counts for nothing.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For if thei that ben of the lawe, ben eiris, feith is distried, biheest is don awey.

Update Bible Version
For if those that are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made of no effect:

Webster's Bible Translation
For if they who are of the law [are] heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of no effect.

New English Translation
For if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified.

New King James Version
For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect,

New Living Translation
If God's promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless.

New Life Bible
If those who obey the Law are to get the world, then a person putting his trust in God means nothing. God's promise to Abraham would be worth nothing.

New Revised Standard
If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For, if they who are of law are heirs, made void is faith and of no effect is the promise.

Douay-Rheims Bible
For if they who are of the law be heirs, faith is made void: the promise is made of no effect.

Revised Standard Version
If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
For yf they which are of the lawe be heyres then is fayth but vayne and the promes of none effecte.

Young's Literal Translation
for if they who are of law [are] heirs, the faith hath been made void, and the promise hath been made useless;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For yf they which are of the lawe be heyres, the is faith vayne, and the promes of none effecte,

Simplified Cowboy Version
If God only did this for those who obeyed the Code, the faith would be useless.

Contextual Overview

⁹ Is this happiness then for the circumcised only, or for the uncircumcised also? for we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. ¹⁰ how was it then accounted? whilst he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? he was not then circumcised, but uncircumcised: ¹¹ and he received the sign of circumcision, as a seal of the justification by that faith, which the uncircumcised have: that he might be the father of all those who believe, tho' they are uncircumcised, that it might be accounted to them also for righteousness: ¹² and the father of the circumcised, that is of those who are not barely circumcised, but who imitate that faith which our father Abraham had, being yet uncircumcised. ¹³ Besides, the promise that he should possess the world, was not made to Abraham, or to his posterity in consideration of the law, but with regard to the righteousness by faith. ¹⁴ for if they only who are of the law have right of possession, faith is made useless, and the promise becomes of no effect. ¹⁵ because the effect of the law is punishment: for if there had been no law, there could have been no transgression. ¹⁶ therefore the inheritance is of faith, that it might be meerly of favour, to the end the promise might be assured to all his posterity, not to that part only who have the law, but to that also who have the faith of Abraham, the father of us all, as it is written,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

For if: Romans 4:16, Galatians 2:21, Galatians 3:18-24, Galatians 5:4, Philippians 3:9, Hebrews 7:19, Hebrews 7:28

made: Romans 3:31, Numbers 30:12, Numbers 30:15, Psalms 119:126, Isaiah 55:11, Jeremiah 19:7

Reciprocal: Genesis 22:16 - General Luke 10:26 - General Romans 9:31 - hath Galatians 3:12 - the law Galatians 3:17 - that it Galatians 3:29 - heirs

Cross-References

Matthew 25:41
then will he say to those on the left, depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.

Matthew 25:46
and these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

2 Thessalonians 1:9
the Lord shall punish them with everlasting destruction, when he shall appear in the glory of his power,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For if they which are of the law be heirs,.... That is, if the Jews who are under the law, and are seeking for righteousness and life by the works of it, should, on the account of their obedience to it, be heirs of the grace of life and of glory,

faith is made void; for if the right to the inheritance is by the works of the law, there is no room for faith; that can be of no use or service;

and the promise made of none effect: if salvation is by works, it is to no purpose for God to promise, or men to believe; for the thing promised depends not upon God's promise, but upon man's obedience to the law; and if that is not perfectly observed, as it cannot possibly be, then the promise of God stands for nothing, and is in course made void. The apostle here argues from the absurdities which follow upon the doctrine of justification by works, as he does from the different effects of the law, in the following verse.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For if they which are of the law - Who seek for justification and acceptance by the Law.

Faith is made void - Faith would have no place in the scheme; and consequently the strong commendations bestowed on the faith of Abraham, would be bestowed without any just cause. If people are justified by the Law, they cannot be by faith, and faith would be useless in this work.

And the promise ... - A promise looks to the future. Its design and tendency is to excite trust and confidence in him who makes it. All the promises of God have this design and tendency; and consequently, as God has given many promises, the object is to call forth the lively and constant faith of people, all going to show that in the divine estimation, faith is of inestimable value. But if people are justified by the Law; if they are rendered “acceptable” by conformity to the institutions of Moses; then they cannot depend for acceptance on any promise made to Abraham, or his seed. They cut themselves off from that promise, and stand independent of it. That promise, like all other promises, was made to excite faith. If, therefore, the Jews depended on the Law for justification, they were cut off from all the promises made to Abraham; and if they could be justified by the Law, the promise was useless. This is as true now as it was then. If people seek to be justified by their morality or their forms of religion, they cannot depend on any promise of God; for he has made no promise to any such attempt. They stand independently of any promise, covenant, or compact, and are depending on a scheme of their own; a scheme which would render his plan vain and useless; which would render his promises, and the atonement of Christ, and the work of the Spirit of no value. It is clear, therefore, that such an attempt at salvation cannot be successful.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Romans 4:14. For, if they which are of the law be heirs — If the Jews only be heirs of the promise made to Abraham, and that on the ground of prior obedience to the law, then faith is made void-is entirely useless; and the promise, which was made to faith, is made of none effect.