4. By no means! Let God be found true though every human being is false and a liar, as it is written, That You may be justified and shown to be upright in what You say, and prevail when You are judged [by sinful men]. [Ps. 51:4.]
5. But if our unrighteousness thus establishes and exhibits the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unjust and wrong to inflict His wrath upon us [Jews]? I speak in a [purely] human way.
6. By no means! Otherwise, how could God judge the world?
7. But [you say] if through my falsehood God's integrity is magnified and advertised and abounds to His glory, why am I still being judged as a sinner?
8. And why should we not do evil that good may come?–as some slanderously charge us with teaching. Such [false teaching] is justly condemned by them.
9. Well then, are we [Jews] superior and better off than they? No, not at all. We have already charged that all men, both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles), are under sin [held down by and subject to its power and control].
10. As it is written, None is righteous, just and truthful and upright and conscientious, no, not one. [Ps. 14:3.]
11. No one understands [no one intelligently discerns or comprehends]; no one seeks out God. [Ps. 14:2.]
12. All have turned aside; together they have gone wrong and have become unprofitable and worthless; no one does right, not even one!
13. Their throat is a yawning grave; they use their tongues to deceive (to mislead and to deal treacherously). The venom of asps is beneath their lips. [Ps. 5:9; 140:3.]
14. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. [Ps. 10:7.]
15. Their feet are swift to shed blood.
16. Destruction [as it dashes them to pieces] and misery mark their ways.
17. And they have no experience of the way of peace [they know nothing about peace, for a peaceful way they do not even recognize]. [Isa. 59:7, 8.]
18. There is no [reverential] fear of God before their eyes. [Ps. 36:1.]
19. Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that [the murmurs and excuses of] every mouth may be hushed and all the world may be held accountable to God.