For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
Parallel translations
- WEB For as through the one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, many will be made righteous.
- KJV For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
- BSB For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
- NKJV For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
- NLT Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.
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
Through Adam's disobedience many were made sinners; through Christ's obedience many will be made righteous. Our standing depends on our representative.
Overview
Paul contrasts the disobedience of 'the one man' Adam, which constituted many as sinners, with the obedience of 'the one,' Christ, which constitutes many as righteous. This points to Christ's whole life and especially his obedient death as the basis of believers' righteousness. The verse is a key text for understanding how Christ's righteousness is reckoned to those who are his.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Rom 5:18So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned; even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life.
- 2 Cor 5:21For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
- Phil 2:8And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross.
- Rom 5:12Therefore as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned.
- Eph 1:6to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved,
- Rom 5:15But the free gift isn’t like the trespass. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
- Isa 53:10–12Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him. He has caused him to suffer. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his offspring. He will prolong his days, and Yahweh’s pleasure will prosper in his hand.
- Dan 9:24Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.
- Rev 7:9–17After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.
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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 5:19 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.