Romans 3:3-5

3:3 What then? If some did not believe, does their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God? 3:4 Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being 1  shown up as a liar, 2  just as it is written: “so that you will be justified 3  in your words and will prevail when you are judged.” 4 

3:5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates 5  the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is he? 6  (I am speaking in human terms.) 7 

1 tn Grk “every man”; but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to stress humanity rather than masculinity.

2 tn Grk “Let God be true, and every man a liar.” The words “proven” and “shown up” are supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning.

3 tn Grk “might be justified,” a subjunctive verb, but in this type of clause it carries the same sense as the future indicative verb in the latter part. “Will” is more idiomatic in contemporary English.

4 tn Or “prevail when you judge.” A quotation from Ps 51:4.

5 tn Or “shows clearly.”

6 tn Grk “That God is not unjust to inflict wrath, is he?”

7 sn The same expression occurs in Gal 3:15, and similar phrases in Rom 6:19 and 1 Cor 9:8.