Romans 3 · Verse 10

Romans 3:10

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Romans 3:10, King James Version

Romans 3:10 in other translations

BSBAs it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one.
WEBAs it is written, “There is no one righteous; no, not one.
ASVas it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one;
YLTaccording as it hath been written--‘There is none righteous, not even one;
DARBYaccording as it is written, There is not a righteous man, not even one;
BBEAs it is said in the holy Writings, There is not one who does righteousness;
WebsterAs it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

What does Romans 3:10 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 3:10-12
10-12. As it is written, &c.--(Psa 14:1-3; 53:1-3). These statements of the Psalmist were indeed suggested by particular manifestations of human depravity occurring under his own eye; but as this only showed what man, when unrestrained, is in his present condition, they were quite pertinent to the apostle's purpose.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 10. As it is written. The apostle is reasoning with Jews; and he proceeds to show, from their own Scriptures, that what he had affirmed was true. The point to be proved was, that the Jews, in the matter of justification, had no advantage or preference over the Gentiles; that the Jew had failed to keep the law which had been given him, as the Gentile had failed to keep the law which had been given him; and that both therefore were equally dependent on the mercy of God, incapable of being justified and saved by their works. To show this the apostle adduces texts, to show what was the character of the Jewish people; or to show that, according to their own Scriptures, they were sinners no less than the Gentiles. The point then is, to prove the depravity of the Jews, not that of universal depravity. The interpretation should be confined to the bearing of the passages on the Jews, and the quotations should not be adduced as directly proving the doctrine of universal depravity. In a certain sense, which will be stated soon, they may be adduced as bearing on that subject. But their direct reference is to the Jewish nation. The passages which follow are taken from various parts of the Old Testament. The design of this is to show, that this characteristic of sin was not confined to any particular period of the Jewish history, but pertained to them as a people; that it had characterized them throughout their existence as a nation. Most of the passages are quoted in the language of the Septuagint. The quotation in Rom 3:10-12, is from Ps 14:1-3, and from Ps 53:1-3. The fifty-third psalm is the same as the fourteenth, with some slight variations.

There is none righteous. The Hebrew (Ps 14:1) is, there is none that doeth good. The Septuagint has the same. The apostle quotes according to the sense of the passage. The design of the apostle is to show that none could be justified by the law. He uses an expression, therefore, which is exactly conformable to his argument, and which accords in meaning with the Hebrew, there is none just--δικαιος.

No, not one. This is not in the Hebrew, but is in the Septuagint. It is a strong universal expression, denoting the state of almost universal corruption which existed in the time of the psalmist. The expression should not be interpreted to mean that there was not literally one pious man in the nation; but that the characteristic of the nation was, at that time, that it was exceedingly corrupt. Instead of being righteous, as the Jew claimed, because they were Jews, the testimony of their own Scriptures was, that they were universally wicked.

(r) "There is none righteous" Ps 14, Ps 53

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 10 As it is written - See Psa 14:1-3; from which this and the two following verses are taken. There is none righteous - This is true, not only of the Jews, but of the Gentiles; of every soul of man, considered in his natural and practical state, previously to his receiving the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no righteous principle in them, and, consequently, no righteous act can be expected from them; see on Rom 3:12 (note). God himself is represented as looking down from heaven to see if there were any that feared and sought after him; and yet he, who cannot be deceived, could find none! And therefore we may safely conclude there was none to be found.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Romans 3:9-18

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…

Read the full comment on Romans 3:9-18 →

Romans 3:10 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καθὼςkathōsEven asG2531
γέγραπταιgegraptaiit has been writtenG1125
ὅτιhotithatG3754
οὐκoukNoneG3756
ἔστινestinthere isG1510
δίκαιοςdikaiosrighteousG1342
οὐδὲoudenot evenG3761
εἷς·heisone;G1520

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Romans 3:10

  • Psalms 53:1-3

    To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

  • Psalms 14:1-3

    To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

  • Romans 3:23

    For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

  • 1 John 1:8-10

    If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

  • Job 15:14

    What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

  • Job 25:4

    How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

  • Mark 7:21-22

    For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

  • Mark 10:18

    And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

  • Matthew 15:19

    For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

  • Titus 3:3

    For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

  • Jeremiah 17:9

    The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

  • Ephesians 5:3-6

    But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
As it is.
4; 11:8; 15:3,4; Isa 8:20; 1Pe 1:16
There.
Ps 14:1-3; 53:1-3
none.
23; Job 14:4; 15:14,16; 25:4; Jer 17:9; Mt 15:19; Mr 7:21,22
Mr 10:18; 1Co 6:9,10; Ga 5:19-21; Eph 2:1-3; 5:3-6; Col 3:5-9
1Ti 1:9,10; 2Ti 3:2-5; Tit 3:3; 1Jo 1:8-10; Re 21:8; 22:15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Romans 3:9

    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;

  • Romans 3:10

    As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

  • Romans 3:11

    There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

Read all of Romans 3

Romans 3:10 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Como está escrito: No hay justo, ni aun uno;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		selon qu’il est écrit: « Il n’y a point de juste, non pas même un seul;
German
Elberfelder 1871		"Da ist kein Gerechter, auch nicht einer;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		sicut scriptum est: Quia non est justus quisquam: