Quotes & Notes on:
Romans 3:10
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John Wesley's Notes:
As it is written-That all men are under sin appears from the vices
which have raged in all ages. St. Paul therefore rightly cites David and
Isaiah, though they spoke primarily of their own age, and expressed what
manner of men God sees, when he looks down from heaven; not what he
makes them by his grace.
There is none righteous-This is the general proposition. The particulars
follow: their dispositions and designs, Ro 3:11,12; their discourse, Ro
3:13,14; their actions, Ro 3:16-18. Ps 14:1, &c.
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge:
* As it is. Ro 3:4; 11:8; 15:3,4; Isa 8:20; 1Pe 1:16
* There. Ps 14:1-3; 53:1-3
* none. Ro 3:23; Job 14:4; 15:14; 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
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Adam Clarke's Commentary:
As it is written] See Ps 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 Ro 3:12. 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.
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Family Bible Notes:
As it is written; Ps 14:1-3; 53:1-3:1
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1599 Geneva Bible Notes:
(No comment on this verse).
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People's New Testament Commentary:
As it is written. See Ps 14:1-3; 53:1-3. Paul quotes the Jewish
Scriptures to confirm his statement.
None righteous. None absolutely free from sin
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Robertson's Word Pictures:
As it is written (kathôs gegraptai hoti). Usual formula of
quotation as in verse Ro 3:4 with recitative hoti added as in verse Ro
3:8. Paul here uses a catena or chain of quotations to prove his point
in verse Ro 3:9 that Jews are in no better fix than the Greeks for all
are under sin. Dr. J. Rendel Harris has shown that the Jews and early
Christians had Testimonia (quotations from the Old Testament) strung
together for certain purposes as proof-texts. Paul may have used one of
them or he may have put these passages together himself. Verses Ro
3:10-12 come from Ps 14:1-3; first half of Ro 3:13 as far as edoliousan
from Ps 4:9, the second half from Ps 140:3; verse Ro 3:14 from Ps 10:7;
Ro 3:15-17 from an abridgment of Isa 59:7; verse Ro 3:18 from Ps 35:1.
Paul has given compounded quotations elsewhere (2Co 6:16; Ro 9:25,27;
11:26,34; 12:19). Curiously enough this compounded quotation was
imported bodily into the text (LXX) of Ps 14:1 after verse 4 in Aleph B,
etc. There is none righteous, no, not one (ouk estin dikaios oude heis).
"There is not a righteous man, not even one." This sentence is like a
motto for all the rest, a summary for what follows.
Albert Barnes' Commentary:
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
Ro 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--dikaiov.
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 14:1-7; 53:1-6
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Jamieson-Faussett Brown:
As it is written, &c.-- (Ps 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.
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Spurgeon Commentary:
What the prophet said of one is here applied to the whole race, for the
nature of man is in all cases the same. Note how strong are the three
negatives here, how they quench all hope of finding a natural
righteousness in man.
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William Burkitt's Notes:
Observe here, How the apostle proves his assertion; namely, That both
Jew and Gentile were under the guilt both of original and actual
transgression, from the testimony of David, Ps 14:1-7 where the state of
corrupt nature is described, and the natural condition of all men
declared, till they are either restrained or renewed by the grace of
God: There is none righteous, no not one. Which words are true in
several respects:
1. There is none originally righteous, no not one; none righteous in
their first plantation in the world, until they are transplanted into
the body of Christ, wrought and fashioned by his Holy Spirit.
2. There is none efficiently righteous, no not one: None have a
righteousness of their own making, but of God's. The righteousness of
justification and sanctification both are from Christ, not from
ourselves; we are his workmanship, not our own.
3. There is none meritoriously righteous, no not one; none that can
deserve or demand anything as a due debt at God's hand; but the most
rigorous and holy saints are but unprofitable servants.
4. There is none perfectly and completely righteous, no not one; but
inchoatively only: None righteous in a strict and legal sense, but in a
gospel and qualified sense only: He that doeth righteousness is
righteous, in the account of God; and, as such, shall be accepted and
rewarded by him.
Observe, 2. How the apostle proves the corruption of mankind in general,
by an induction of particulars. He surveys him in all the principal
faculties of his soul, and members of his body; his understanding, will
and affections; his eye, hand, tongue, and feet all corrupted and
depraved: Their mouth is full or cursing, and bitter speeches: Their
heart an open sepulchre, gaping after, and devouring the good name of
their neighbours, and belching out filthy, ill scented, and unsavoury
words against them. They seek not God in anything they do, and there is
no fear of God, no respect of God before their eyes.
The apostle suts up all with this, because want of the fear of God
before our eyes, is the fountain from which all other evils do proceed
and flow. The fear of God is the bridle and curb which restrains from
sin; where that is wanting, all iniquity abounds; where that is present
and prevalent, it keeps the soul close to God, I will put my fear in
their hearts, and they shall not depart from me. Jer 32:32
We usually depart far, yea, run fast from those we fear; but the true
fear of God will make us cleave close unto him, because love is
intermixed with it, and renders it a delightful fear.
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Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary:
(No comment on this verse).
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The Fourfold Gospel:
(No comment on this verse).
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