Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Blessed is the man whom the Lord will by no means charge with sin.”
- KJV Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
- NKJV Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”
- NASB “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.”
- NLT Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.”
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 is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against him. Justification means God no longer reckons our sin to our account.
Overview
Continuing Psalm 32:2, Paul highlights the negative side of justification: God will 'by no means charge' the believer with sin. The same crediting language used for righteousness is here applied to the non-crediting of sin. This double blessing, righteousness reckoned and sin not reckoned, is the believer's secure standing in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ps 32:2Blessed is the man whose iniquity the LORD does not count against him, in whose spirit there is no deceit.
- 1 Pet 2:24He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
- 2 Cor 5:19–20that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
- 1 Pet 3:18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- Isa 53:10–12Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
- Phlm 1:18–19But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 4:8 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.