Romans 3:12

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
All have turned away;all alike have become worthless.There is no one who does what is good,not even one.

King James Version (1611)
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become vnprofitable, there is none that doeth good, no not one.

King James Version
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

English Standard Version
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."

New American Standard Bible
THEY HAVE ALL TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME CORRUPT; THERE IS NO ONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."

New Century Version
All have turned away. Together, everyone has become useless. There is no one who does anything good; there is not even one." Psalm 14:1–3

Amplified Bible
"ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, NO, NOT ONE."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."

Legacy Standard Bible
All have turned aside, together they have become worthless;There is none who does good,There is not even one."

Berean Standard Bible
All have turned away; they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.

Contemporary English Version
They have all turned away and are worthless. There isn't one person who does right.

Complete Jewish Bible
all have turned away and at the same time become useless; there is no one who shows kindness, not a single one!

Darby Translation
All have gone out of the way, they have together become unprofitable; there is not one that practises goodness, there is not so much as one:

Easy-to-Read Version
They have all turned away from him, and now they are of no use to anyone. There is no one who does good, not even one."

Geneva Bible (1587)
They haue all gone out of the way: they haue bene made altogether vnprofitable: there is none that doeth good, no not one.

George Lamsa Translation
They are all gone astray and they have been rejected: there are none who do good, no, not one.

Good News Translation
All have turned away from God; they have all gone wrong; no one does what is right, not even one.

Lexham English Bible
All have turned aside together; they have become worthless; There is no one who practices kindness; there is not even one.

Literal Translation
All turned away, they became worthless together, not one is doing goodness, not so much as one!" LXX-Psa. 13:1-3

American Standard Version
They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable; There is none that doeth good, no, not so much as one:

Bible in Basic English
They have all gone out of the way, there is no profit in any of them; there is not one who does good, not so much as one:

Hebrew Names Version
They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, No, not, so much as one."

International Standard Version
All have turned away. Together they have become worthless. No one shows kindness, not even one person!Psalm 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Ecclesiastes 7:20">[fn]

Etheridge Translation
All have declined together and are reprobate, And there is none that doeth good, not one.

Murdock Translation
They have all turned aside, together; and become reprobates. There is none that doeth good; no, not one.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
They are all gone out of the waye, they are all vnprofitable, there is none that doth good, no not one.

English Revised Version
They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable; There is none that doeth good, no, not so much as one:

World English Bible
They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not, so much as one."

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
They have all turned aside; they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doth good, no not one.

Weymouth's New Testament
All have turned aside from the right path; they have every one of them become corrupt. There is no one who does what is right--no, not so much as one."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Alle bowiden a wey, togidere thei ben maad vnprofitable; ther is noon that doith good thing, there is noon `til to oon.

Update Bible Version
They have all turned aside, they have together become unprofitable; There is none that does good, no, not, so much as one:

Webster's Bible Translation
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

New English Translation
All have turned away , together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness , not even one. "

New King James Version
They have all turned aside;They have together become unprofitable;There is none who does good, no, not one." Psalms 14:1-3; Psalms 53:1-3; Ecclesiastes 7:20 ">[fn]

New Living Translation
All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one."

New Life Bible
Everyone has turned away from God. They have all done wrong. Not one of them does what is good. No, not even one!

New Revised Standard
All have turned aside, together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, there is not even one."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
All, have turned aside, together, have become useless, There is none that doeth kindness, not so much as one:

Douay-Rheims Bible
All have turned out of the way: they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good, there is not so much as one.

Revised Standard Version
All have turned aside, together they have gone wrong; no one does good, not even one."

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
they are all gone out of ye waye they are all made vnprofytable ther is none that doeth good no not one.

Young's Literal Translation
All did go out of the way, together they became unprofitable, there is none doing good, there is not even one.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
They are all gone out of the waye, they are alltogether become vnprofitable: there is none that doeth good, no not one.

Mace New Testament (1729)
they are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable, there is none that doth good, no not one.

Simplified Cowboy Version
They've all dropped their ropes; everyone is useless. Nobody is doing anything good, not a single one.

Contextual Overview

¹So what difference does it make who's a Jew and who isn't, who has been trained in God's ways and who hasn't? As it turns out, it makes a lot of difference—but not the difference so many have assumed. First, there's the matter of being put in charge of writing down and caring for God's revelation, these Holy Scriptures. So, what if, in the course of doing that, some of those Jews abandoned their post? God didn't abandon them. Do you think their faithlessness cancels out his faithfulness? Not on your life! Depend on it: God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth. Scripture says the same: Your words stand fast and true; Rejection doesn't faze you. But if our wrongdoing only underlines and confirms God's rightdoing, shouldn't we be commended for helping out? Since our bad words don't even make a dent in his good words, isn't it wrong of God to back us to the wall and hold us to our word? These questions come up. The answer to such questions is no, a most emphatic No! How else would things ever get straightened out if God didn't do the straightening? It's simply perverse to say, "If my lies serve to show off God's truth all the more gloriously, why blame me? I'm doing God a favor." Some people are actually trying to put such words in our mouths, claiming that we go around saying, "The more evil we do, the more good God does, so let's just do it!" That's pure slander, as I'm sure you'll agree. So where does that put us? Do we Jews get a better break than the others? Not really. Basically, all of us, whether insiders or outsiders, start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners. Scripture leaves no doubt about it: There's nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God. They've all taken the wrong turn; they've all wandered down blind alleys. No one's living right; I can't find a single one. Their throats are gaping graves, their tongues slick as mudslides. Every word they speak is tinged with poison. They open their mouths and pollute the air. They race for the honor of sinner-of-the-year, litter the land with heartbreak and ruin, Don't know the first thing about living with others. They never give God the time of day. This makes it clear, doesn't it, that whatever is written in these Scriptures is not what God says about others but to us to whom these Scriptures were addressed in the first place! And it's clear enough, isn't it, that we're sinners, every one of us, in the same sinking boat with everybody else? Our involvement with God's revelation doesn't put us right with God. What it does is force us to face our complicity in everyone else's sin. 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. God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it's now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness. So where does that leave our proud Jewish insider claims and counterclaims? Canceled? Yes, canceled. What we've learned is this: God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does. We've finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade. And where does that leave our proud Jewish claim of having a corner on God? Also canceled. God is the God of outsider non-Jews as well as insider Jews. How could it be otherwise since there is only one God? God sets right all who welcome his action and enter into it, both those who follow our religious system and those who have never heard of our religion. ³ But by shifting our focus from what we do to what God does, don't we cancel out all our careful keeping of the rules and ways God commanded? Not at all. What happens, in fact, is that by putting that entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it. ⁴ So what difference does it make who's a Jew and who isn't, who has been trained in God's ways and who hasn't? As it turns out, it makes a lot of difference—but not the difference so many have assumed. First, there's the matter of being put in charge of writing down and caring for God's revelation, these Holy Scriptures. So, what if, in the course of doing that, some of those Jews abandoned their post? God didn't abandon them. Do you think their faithlessness cancels out his faithfulness? Not on your life! Depend on it: God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth. Scripture says the same: Your words stand fast and true; Rejection doesn't faze you. But if our wrongdoing only underlines and confirms God's rightdoing, shouldn't we be commended for helping out? Since our bad words don't even make a dent in his good words, isn't it wrong of God to back us to the wall and hold us to our word? These questions come up. The answer to such questions is no, a most emphatic No! How else would things ever get straightened out if God didn't do the straightening? It's simply perverse to say, "If my lies serve to show off God's truth all the more gloriously, why blame me? I'm doing God a favor." Some people are actually trying to put such words in our mouths, claiming that we go around saying, "The more evil we do, the more good God does, so let's just do it!" That's pure slander, as I'm sure you'll agree. So where does that put us? Do we Jews get a better break than the others? Not really. Basically, all of us, whether insiders or outsiders, start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners. Scripture leaves no doubt about it: There's nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God. They've all taken the wrong turn; they've all wandered down blind alleys. No one's living right; I can't find a single one. Their throats are gaping graves, their tongues slick as mudslides. Every word they speak is tinged with poison. They open their mouths and pollute the air. They race for the honor of sinner-of-the-year, litter the land with heartbreak and ruin, Don't know the first thing about living with others. They never give God the time of day. This makes it clear, doesn't it, that whatever is written in these Scriptures is not what God says about others but to us to whom these Scriptures were addressed in the first place! And it's clear enough, isn't it, that we're sinners, every one of us, in the same sinking boat with everybody else? Our involvement with God's revelation doesn't put us right with God. What it does is force us to face our complicity in everyone else's sin. 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. God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it's now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness. So where does that leave our proud Jewish insider claims and counterclaims? Canceled? Yes, canceled. What we've learned is this: God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does. We've finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade. And where does that leave our proud Jewish claim of having a corner on God? Also canceled. God is the God of outsider non-Jews as well as insider Jews. How could it be otherwise since there is only one God? God sets right all who welcome his action and enter into it, both those who follow our religious system and those who have never heard of our religion. But by shifting our focus from what we do to what God does, don't we cancel out all our careful keeping of the rules and ways God commanded? Not at all. What happens, in fact, is that by putting that entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it. ⁵ So what difference does it make who's a Jew and who isn't, who has been trained in God's ways and who hasn't? As it turns out, it makes a lot of difference—but not the difference so many have assumed. First, there's the matter of being put in charge of writing down and caring for God's revelation, these Holy Scriptures. So, what if, in the course of doing that, some of those Jews abandoned their post? God didn't abandon them. Do you think their faithlessness cancels out his faithfulness? Not on your life! Depend on it: God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth. Scripture says the same: Your words stand fast and true; Rejection doesn't faze you. But if our wrongdoing only underlines and confirms God's rightdoing, shouldn't we be commended for helping out? Since our bad words don't even make a dent in his good words, isn't it wrong of God to back us to the wall and hold us to our word? These questions come up. The answer to such questions is no, a most emphatic No! How else would things ever get straightened out if God didn't do the straightening? It's simply perverse to say, "If my lies serve to show off God's truth all the more gloriously, why blame me? I'm doing God a favor." Some people are actually trying to put such words in our mouths, claiming that we go around saying, "The more evil we do, the more good God does, so let's just do it!" That's pure slander, as I'm sure you'll agree. So where does that put us? Do we Jews get a better break than the others? Not really. Basically, all of us, whether insiders or outsiders, start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners. Scripture leaves no doubt about it: There's nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God. They've all taken the wrong turn; they've all wandered down blind alleys. No one's living right; I can't find a single one. Their throats are gaping graves, their tongues slick as mudslides. Every word they speak is tinged with poison. They open their mouths and pollute the air. They race for the honor of sinner-of-the-year, litter the land with heartbreak and ruin, Don't know the first thing about living with others. They never give God the time of day. This makes it clear, doesn't it, that whatever is written in these Scriptures is not what God says about others but to us to whom these Scriptures were addressed in the first place! And it's clear enough, isn't it, that we're sinners, every one of us, in the same sinking boat with everybody else? Our involvement with God's revelation doesn't put us right with God. What it does is force us to face our complicity in everyone else's sin. 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. God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it's now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness. So where does that leave our proud Jewish insider claims and counterclaims? Canceled? Yes, canceled. What we've learned is this: God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does. We've finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade. And where does that leave our proud Jewish claim of having a corner on God? Also canceled. God is the God of outsider non-Jews as well as insider Jews. How could it be otherwise since there is only one God? God sets right all who welcome his action and enter into it, both those who follow our religious system and those who have never heard of our religion. But by shifting our focus from what we do to what God does, don't we cancel out all our careful keeping of the rules and ways God commanded? Not at all. What happens, in fact, is that by putting that entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it. ⁶ So what difference does it make who's a Jew and who isn't, who has been trained in God's ways and who hasn't? As it turns out, it makes a lot of difference—but not the difference so many have assumed. First, there's the matter of being put in charge of writing down and caring for God's revelation, these Holy Scriptures. So, what if, in the course of doing that, some of those Jews abandoned their post? God didn't abandon them. Do you think their faithlessness cancels out his faithfulness? Not on your life! Depend on it: God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth. Scripture says the same: Your words stand fast and true; Rejection doesn't faze you. But if our wrongdoing only underlines and confirms God's rightdoing, shouldn't we be commended for helping out? Since our bad words don't even make a dent in his good words, isn't it wrong of God to back us to the wall and hold us to our word? These questions come up. The answer to such questions is no, a most emphatic No! How else would things ever get straightened out if God didn't do the straightening? ⁷It's simply perverse to say, "If my lies serve to show off God's truth all the more gloriously, why blame me? I'm doing God a favor." Some people are actually trying to put such words in our mouths, claiming that we go around saying, "The more evil we do, the more good God does, so let's just do it!" That's pure slander, as I'm sure you'll agree. ⁹So where does that put us? Do we Jews get a better break than the others? Not really. Basically, all of us, whether insiders or outsiders, start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners. Scripture leaves no doubt about it: There's nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God. They've all taken the wrong turn; they've all wandered down blind alleys. No one's living right; I can't find a single one. Their throats are gaping graves, their tongues slick as mudslides. Every word they speak is tinged with poison. They open their mouths and pollute the air. They race for the honor of sinner-of-the-year, litter the land with heartbreak and ruin, Don't know the first thing about living with others. They never give God the time of day. This makes it clear, doesn't it, that whatever is written in these Scriptures is not what God says about others but to us to whom these Scriptures were addressed in the first place! And it's clear enough, isn't it, that we're sinners, every one of us, in the same sinking boat with everybody else? Our involvement with God's revelation doesn't put us right with God. What it does is force us to face our complicity in everyone else's sin.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

They are: Exodus 32:8, Psalms 14:3, Ecclesiastes 7:29, Isaiah 53:6, Isaiah 59:8, Jeremiah 2:13, Ephesians 2:3, 1 Peter 2:25

become: Genesis 1:31, Genesis 6:6, Genesis 6:7, Matthew 25:30, Philemon 1:11

there is none: Psalms 53:1, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 2:8-10, Philippians 2:12, Philippians 2:13, Titus 2:13, Titus 2:14, James 1:16, James 1:17

Reciprocal: Psalms 53:3 - none Jeremiah 13:7 - it was Mark 10:18 - Why Luke 17:10 - General Acts 25:2 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 2:18
God said, "It's not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion." So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn't find a suitable companion.

Genesis 3:13
"The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."

Genesis 3:20
The Man, known as Adam, named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living.

Genesis 3:21
God made leather clothing for Adam and his wife and dressed them.

Proverbs 19:3
People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does God always get blamed?

Proverbs 28:13
You can't whitewash your sins and get by with it; you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.

Luke 10:29
Looking for a loophole, he asked, "And just how would you define ‘neighbor'?"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

They are all gone out of the way,.... In Psalms 14:3; it is said, "they are all gone aside"; as persons in debt: man had a considerable stock of righteousness, holiness, knowledge, c. but he has run through all, has contracted large and numerous debts, has been obliged to hide himself, has been used as a bankrupt, and turned out of house and home: Christ indeed has undertook to pay, and he has paid all the debts of his people and has put them into a better state than ever Adam was in: in Psalms 53:3, it is rendered, "everyone of them is gone back"; that is, from God; from his commands, and from their former state and condition: here the phrase is rendered by the apostle, "they are all gone out of the way": that is, out of the way of God and his precepts, out of the way of holiness and righteousness, of light and life; into their own ways, the ways of sin, Satan, and the world of darkness, and of death: so Aben Ezra explains it, "out of the right way"; Kimchi and Ben Melech paraphrase it, "out of the good way: and so"

they are together become unprofitable; the word נאלחו, in

Psalms 14:3 and Psalms 53:3; is translated, "they are become filthy"; which R. Aben Ezra interprets by נשחתו, "they are corrupt"; and R. Solomon Jarchi by נהפכו לקלקול, "they are turned to corruption"; the metaphor is taken from stinking flesh, which is tainted and corrupted, and so good for nothing, hence here rendered "unprofitable"; for so men being corrupted by sin, are of no use, service, and advantage to God, to men, or to themselves; but, on the contrary, nauseous to God, and to all that are good, and hurtful to themselves and others: for

there is none that does good, no, not one; and therefore must be unprofitable. There is none that can do good in a spiritual manner, without the grace of God, strength from Christ, and the assistance of the Spirit; and there is not even a spiritual man, that can do good perfectly, and without sin.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

They have all gone out of the way - They have “declined” from the true path of piety and virtue.

They are together - They have at the same time; or they have equally become unprofitable. They are as one; they are joined, or united in this declension. The expression denotes union, or similarity.

Become unprofitable - This word in Hebrew means to become “putrid” and “offensive,” like fruit that is spoiled. In Arabic, it is applied to “milk” that becomes sour. Applied to moral subjects, it means to become corrupt and useless. They are of no value in regard to works of righteousness.

There is none ... - This is taken literally from the Hebrew.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Romans 3:12. They are all gone out of the way — παντες εξεκλιναν, they have all diverged from the right way, they have either abandoned or corrupted the worship of God: the Jews, in forsaking the law and the prophets, and the Gentiles, in acting contrary to the law which God had written on their hearts. And the departure of both from the truth proves the evil propensity of human nature in general.

They are together become unprofitable — ηχρειωθησαν. They are useless, good for nothing; or, as the Hebrew has it, נאלחו neelachu, they are putrid: he views the whole mass of mankind as slain and thrown together, to putrefy in heaps. This is what is termed the corruption of human nature; they are infected and infectious. What need of the mercy of God to save from such a state of degeneracy!

There is none that doeth good — In Romans 3:10 it is said, There is none righteous; here, There is none that doeth good: the first may refer to the want of a righteous principle; the second, to the necessary consequence of the absence of such a principle. If there be no righteousness within, there will be no acts of goodness without.