Romans 3:12

Romans 3:12, in plain English

Everyone has turned away from God. We've all become morally corrupt, and there's literally no one doing genuine good.

Why it's here

Paul is painting the bleakest possible picture of the human condition apart from God. He's not talking about people being bad—he's saying we're all gone bad, corrupted at the root. There's no exceptions clause.

Who's speaking

Paul, continuing the Scripture quotation

Where it sits in the story

This is the foundation for the entire gospel message. If this weren't true—if some people were basically okay on their own—then Jesus wouldn't have needed to die for everyone. The cross only makes sense if the diagnosis is this serious.

The scholarly reading

All humanity has abandoned the right path, becoming collectively worthless; there is not a single person who performs good.

Language and setting

The Hebrew root of 'turned away' (Greek: exklínō, from the LXX of Psalm 14:3) suggests deliberate deviation, not mere neutral indifference. The term 'worthless' (Greek: achréōs, from 'without use') carries commercial and juridical overtones—humans have become unprofitable, rendering no usable return to their creator. The triple negation ('all have turned away...become worthless...there is no one who does good') creates a rhetorical crescendo of condemnation that admits no exception and no appeal.

Voice

Paul, continuing the psalm citation

Significance

This provides the rationale for why the gospel cannot be a reward system: there is no human moral capital to draw upon, no achievement to credit. Redemption must therefore be entirely gratuitous, entirely grounded in divine initiation rather than human cooperation.

10As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one.

11There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.

12All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

13“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”

14“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

Read all of Romans 3 — The courtroom falls silent. Every mouth is stopped. Then Paul introduces a righteousness that comes not from the law but through faith.