“Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
- KJV Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
- NKJV “Blessedare those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered;
- NASB “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered.
- NLT “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.
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
Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven and covered. Justification includes the joyful pardon of guilt.
Overview
Quoting Psalm 32:1, Paul shows that the credited righteousness David spoke of is experienced as forgiveness, sins 'forgiven' and 'covered.' To be justified is to have one's transgressions taken away and no longer held against us. This pardon is secured through Christ, whose sacrifice covers the sins of all who believe.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 32:1–2Of David. A Maskil. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
- Ps 130:3–4If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities, then who, O Lord, could stand?
- Luke 7:47–50Therefore I tell you, because her many sins have been forgiven, she has loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
- Ps 85:2You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah
- Mic 7:18–20Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
- Ps 51:8–9Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice.
- Isa 40:1–2“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
- Jer 33:8–9And I will cleanse them from all the iniquity they have committed against Me, and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against Me.
- Matt 9:2Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
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 4:7 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.