For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Parallel translations
- WEB for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;
- BSB for all have sinned and fall 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 7:20For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
- 1 Jn 1:8–10If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- Rom 3:9What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
- Gal 3:22But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
- Rom 11:32For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
- Rom 3:19Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
- 1 Th 2:12That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.
- 2 Th 2:14Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Rom 5:2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
- 1 Pet 4:13But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
- Rom 1:28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
- 1 Pet 5:10But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
- Heb 4:1Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
- 1 Pet 5:1The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
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 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.