for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Parallel translations
- WEB for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;
- KJV For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
- NKJV for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
- NASB for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
- NLT For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
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
All people have sinned and fall short of God's glory. This universal need is why all need the same Savior.
Overview
This famous summary declares the universal reality of sin: every person has missed the mark and lacks the glory God intended for humanity. It grounds the 'no distinction' of the previous verse, since all share the same plight. The verse drives the reader to the only remedy, the free justification offered in Christ described next.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Eccl 7:20Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
- 1 Jn 1:8–10If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- Rom 3:9What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.
- Gal 3:22But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.
- Rom 11:32For God has consigned everyone to disobedience so that He may have mercy on everyone.
- Rom 3:19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
- 1 Th 2:12encouraging you, comforting you, and urging you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
- 2 Th 2:14To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Rom 5:2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
- 1 Pet 4:13But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.
- Rom 1:28Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
- 1 Pet 5:10And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.
- Heb 4:1Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it.
- 1 Pet 5:1As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 3:23 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.