Romans 3:14

Romans 3:14, in plain English

Our mouths are filled with cursing and bitterness—that's what naturally comes out when we're not transformed.

Why it's here

Paul continues the catalog of how human sinfulness shows up in actual behavior. It's not abstract; it's what you hear and see in how people talk. Cursing, bitterness—these are the outputs of corrupted hearts.

Who's speaking

Paul, quoting the Psalms

Where it sits in the story

You're seeing Paul prove his case from lived experience. This isn't theory—it's observation. Look at how humans actually speak to each other, and you'll see the evidence of our condition.

The scholarly reading

Their mouths overflow with curses and bitterness.

Language and setting

This continues the catena of citations, specifically from Psalm 10:7. The Greek words 'ara' (curses) and 'pikría' (bitterness) suggest both invective speech and the inner disposition that generates it—not merely bad words but a corrupted emotional and spiritual state. The progression through verses 10-14 moves from abstract moral failure to its concrete manifestation in human relationship and speech, showing how sin corrupts the relational and communicative dimensions of human existence.

Voice

Paul, citing the Psalms

Significance

Bitterness (pikría) becomes a running motif in the New Testament (Ephesians 4:31, Hebrews 12:15) as a symptom of spiritual alienation and the failure to receive God's grace—the inner state that manifests itself in words that wound.

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.”

15“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16ruin and misery lie in their wake,

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.