You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?
Parallel translations
- WEB You who glory in the law, through your disobedience of the law do you dishonor God?
- KJV Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
- NKJV You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law?
- NASB You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?
- NLT You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking it. Disobedience turns one's boast into shame.
Overview
Paul names the heart of the problem: boasting in the law while breaking it actually dishonors the God who gave it. The very privilege that should lead to glorifying God becomes, through disobedience, a cause of His dishonor. This summarizes the indictment of the religious person and prepares for the Scripture citation that follows.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Jas 4:16–17As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil.
- Rom 2:17Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;
- John 5:45Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, in whom you have put your hope.
- Rom 3:2Much in every way. First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.
- Rom 9:4the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.
- Jer 8:8–9How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the Law of the LORD is with us,’ when in fact the lying pen of the scribes has produced a deception?
- Jas 1:22–27Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.
- John 9:28–29Then they heaped insults on him and said, “You are His disciple; we are disciples of Moses.
- Luke 10:26–29“What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?”
- Luke 18:11The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
- Matt 19:17–20“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 2:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.