Lessons # 97 and 98
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New American Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ HCSB = Holman Christian Standard Bible +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
+ 4. Text is based on 1984 edition of the NIV +
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Humanity’s sinfulness (Rom 3:9-20)
9 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10 As 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 poison of vipers is on their lips.”14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17and the way of peace they do not know.”18“There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
Let me refresh your mind about what we previously stated regarding the passage before us. We asserted that it is concerned with humanity’s sinfulness. We stated that there are three assertions of Apostle Paul in our passage that summarize it. The first is that there is no exception to sinfulness as we already expounded in verse 9. The second is that humanity’s sinfulness is attested by the OT Scriptures as the apostle proved by citing various passages in the OT Scriptures. This, as we stated previously, he did in verses 10 to 18. We have examined verses 10 to 13a. The third assertion is that humanity’s sinfulness is specifically supported by some functions of the law as he discoursed in verses 19 and 20. These three assertions enabled us to state a message of the section which is that Humanity’s sinfulness is universal as attested by the Scripture and specifically supported by some functions of the law. As I already stated, we ended with first sentence of Romans 3:13 Their throats are open graves that we described as sixth sentence of the apostle’s second or third quotation from the OT Scripture. We explained that we used the expression “second or third quotation” because there is the question of what source the apostle quoted. I mean there is a problem regarding the source of this quotation since this is not part of Psalm 14 in Hebrew text the apostle cited beginning in verse 10, but it is a sentence found in Psalm 5:9 (10 LXX):
Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.
However, the sentence in Romans 3:13 Their throats are open graves is part of verse 3 of Psalm 13 in the Septuagint that is available to us. Although this sentence is part of Psalm 5:9 in the Hebrew text, but if the Septuagint of Psalm 13 from which the LES is translated is one that the apostle had, then he quoted from it. If it is not, he might have quoted from Psalm 5:9 (10 LXX) in the Septuagint. This would mean that there is a third source of his quotation. It is for this reason we used the expression “second or third quotation.” Regardless of his actual source of quotation, one thing that is clear is that the apostle quoted from the Scripture either in a version of the Septuagint we have or a version that he had that did not include what is given in the Septuagint of Psalm 13:3 that we have so that he quoted from Psalm 5:9 (10 LXX). In any event, the apostle’s quotation is given in the sentence of Romans 3:13 Their throats are open graves. The explanation we have given applies to the next sentence of the apostle in the passage we are considering.
The seventh sentence of the “second or third” quotation of the apostle is given in Romans 3:13 their tongues practice deceit. Again, this sentence is either from the Septuagint of Psalm 5:10 or from the Septuagint of Psalm 13:3. Either case, because the quotation is from the OT Scripture in the Septuagint, our focus is on the sentence their tongues practice deceit.
The word “tongue” is translated from a Greek noun (glōssa) that means “tongue.” The tongue may refer literally to a body part as an organ of speech as what was loosed to enable Zechariah to speak just before the naming of his son, John the Baptist, as we read in Luke 1:64:
Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God.
Figuratively, “tongue” is used for split flames in Acts 2:3:
They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
The word may mean “language” unique to a people as it is used by those from other nations that were present on the Day of Pentecost to acknowledge hearing the disciples speak in their various languages the great things God has done, when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit took place as we read in Acts 2:11:
(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
To remove any misunderstanding of what tongues means in this passage, some of our modern English versions rendered the phrase our own tongues as our own languages as we find, for example, in the NET, among others. It is in the sense of “language” that “tongue” is used to describe different peoples of the nations that are redeemed as we read in Revelation 5:9:
And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
In our passage of Romans 3:13, the word means “tongue” as “organ of speech.”
The tongue of humans as the organ of speech is involved in deceiving others since we read in Romans 3:13 their tongues practice deceit. The expression “practice deceit” is translated from a Greek verb (dolioō) that is used four times in the Septuagint with the meaning “to deal treacherously” as it is used to indicate that it was God who worked on the Egyptians to hate His people Israel as we read in Psalm 105:25:
whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants.
The verbal phrase to conspire against his servants is literally to deal deceitfully against his servants. However, the Greek verb appears only once in the Greek NT with the meaning of “to deceive or practice deceit.”
In any case, the sentence of Romans 3:13 their tongues practice deceit means that those involved formed the habit of lying. We are saying that a tongue that practices deceit is one that lies or is described as a liar. There should be no doubt that a tongue that practices deceit refers to a liar since we have passages that imply this. The psalmist in his petition to Yahweh desired to be delivered from his enemies or the wicked that are described as liars in Psalm 120:2:
Save me, O LORD, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.
The phrase from lying lips is parallel to from deceitful tongues. Thus, a tongue that practices deceit is a description of a liar. Prophet Micah charged the Israelites of lying as recorded in Micah 6:12:
Her rich men are violent; her people are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully.
The sentence her people are liars is parallel to their tongues speak deceitfully. So, a tongue that speaks deceitfully is a way to describe a liar. The implication is that when the apostle quoted in Romans 3:13 their tongues practice deceit he meant to describe those involved as liars. If the source of the apostle’s quotation is Psalm 5:9 then the context indicates that those in view were the psalmist’s enemies who were presumably unbelievers or the wicked. It is true that the psalm the apostle quoted referred primarily to the psalmist’s enemies or the wicked but that is indeed a description of an unbeliever. In effect, the quotation of the apostle still supports the universality of human sinfulness. Of course, even if the apostle’s source of quotation is the Psalm 13:3 in the Septuagint, those in view would be fools who deny the existence of God. This would still imply universality of human sinfulness since humans unaided by God deny His existence. That aside, the psalmist who became disillusioned with all human help, makes the statement that indicates humans in general are liars as we read in Psalm 116:11:
And in my dismay I said, “All men are liars.”
Even a heathen poet recognized this fact of human beings being liars that he spoke of his own people as liars as Apostle Paul quoted him about the Cretans recorded in Titus 1:12:
Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”
The word “prophet” is translated from a Greek noun (prophētēs) that refers to “a proclaimer of God’s utterances” but here in Titus 1:12, it has the sense of “a poet” because ancient poets were believed to sing under divine inspiration. Anyhow, the point is that the apostle’s quotation given in Romans 3:13 their tongues practice deceit supports his assertion regarding the universality of human sinfulness. Nonetheless, we should note that lying affects people negatively as we may gather, for example, in Proverbs 15:4:
The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.
The verbal phrase crushes the spirit may be understood to mean “causes despair” or “leads to ruin.” Either way, lying harms others. Anyway, the seventh sentence of the “second or third” quotation of the apostle is given in Romans 3:13 their tongues practice deceit that implies that lying is that which characterizes humanity and so attest to the universal sinfulness of humanity.
The eighth sentence of the “second or fourth” quotation of the apostle is given in Romans 3:13 “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” Our use of the expression “second or fourth quotation” is because this sentence is not in Psalm 14 in the Hebrew text, but it is in the Septuagint of the same psalm in the one available to us. Nonetheless, the sentence is found in Psalm 140:3 (LXX 139:4):
They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on their lips. Selah
If the apostle had a different version of the Septuagint of Psalm 14 of Hebrew text than the one available to us, he would have quoted from Psalm 140:3. If this is the case, we have a fourth source of his quotation in the passage we are studying. If, however, he had the same Septuagint of Psalm 14 that we have then the eighth sentence would have been quoted from the same psalm and that justifies our use of the word “second” to describe the source of his quotation.
All the same, the eighth sentence of the “second or fourth” quotation of the apostle is given in Romans 3:13 “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” The word “poison” is translated from a Greek noun (ios) that may mean “poison, venom” as it is used to describe the tongue in James 3:8:
but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
The word may mean “rust, corrosion” as it is used to describe the fate of the wealth of those who oppress the poor as stated in James 5:3:
Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.
In our passage of Romans 3:13, the word has the sense “venom secreted by snake.” It is associated with the word “vipers” in our verse that is translated from a Greek noun (aspis) that in our verse has the sense of “asp,” that is, “a venomous snake characterized by hollow, venom-conducting fangs in the upper jaw; possibly a cobra.”
Anyway, the venom of asp is used to describe lips in the sentence of Romans 3:13 “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” If the apostle’s source is Psalm 140:3 (LXX 139:4) the pronoun “their” refers to evil men or men of violence that represent humans as unbelievers, but if his source is the Septuagint of Psalm 13, the pronoun “their” would refer to all humanity since all humans without being aided by God do not believe in Him. That aside, the word “lip” is translated from a Greek noun (cheilos) that may mean “lips” as organ of speech as it is used in the praising of God as described in Hebrews 13:15:
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.
The word may mean “shore, edge” of a river as it is used to describe the numerous descendants of Abraham through Isaac by comparing them to sand in Hebrews 11:12:
And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
In our passage of Romans 3:13, the word has the sense of “lip,” that is, “either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking.” Anyway, the sentence The poison of vipers is on their lips the apostle quoted means that humans cause great damage to others by what they say. In fact, what we said about the use of tongue applies here in that humans generally harm others by what they say. This fact supports the apostle’s assertion about universal sinfulness of humanity.
The ninth sentence of the “second or fifth” quotation of the apostle is given in Romans 3:14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” Our use of the expression “second or fifth quotation” is because this sentence is not in Psalm 14 in the Hebrew text, but it is in the Septuagint of the same psalm in the copy available to us that is the second source of the apostle’s quotation as we have so far considered. Nonetheless, the sentence is found in Psalm 10:7 (LXX 9:28):
His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.
The Septuagint reads slightly different from the Hebrew text since the Septuagint of Psalm 9:28 reads:
Him whose curse and bitterness and guile fill his mouth, under his tongue are trouble and distress.
If the apostle had a different version of the Septuagint of Psalm 14 of Hebrew text than the one available to us, he would have quoted from Psalm 10:7 (LXX 9:28). If this is the case, we have a fifth source of his quotation in the passage we are studying. If, however, he had the same Septuagint of Psalm 14 that we have, the ninth sentence would have been quoted from the same psalm and that justifies our use of the word “second” to describe the source of his quotation given in Romans 3:14 Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.
The word “mouth” is translated from a Greek noun (stoma) that literally refers to human organ that is used for eating, drinking, breathing, and speaking. Its use for consumption of food or drink is conveyed in the efforts of the soldiers who crucified Jesus in trying to quench His thirst, using cheap wine in John 19:29:
A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.
The word “lips” is literally “mouth.” The use of the Greek word for breathing or blowing is conveyed in describing Jesus’ future destruction of the Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2:8:
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
The mouth as an organ of speech is clearly indicated in James 3:10:
Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
Figuratively, the Greek noun in question can be used as a metonym for what the mouth utters so means “utterance”, as it is used in the promise of the Lord Jesus to His disciples regarding the assistance they would receive from the Holy Spirit whenever they are brought before a hostile audience, as stated in Luke 21:15:
For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
The sentence I will give you words and wisdom is literally I will give you a mouth and wisdom. The sentence may alternatively be rendered I will give you eloquence and wisdom. Figuratively, the word can also mean the foremost part of something, that is, edge, as it is used in description of a sword in Hebrews 11:34:
quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
In our context of Romans 3:14, the word means “mouth” in the sense of an organ of speech. The mouth is described in Romans 3:14 Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.
The word “full” is translated from a Greek verb (gemō) that means “to be full.” The word “cursing” is translated from a Greek noun (ara) that appears only here in the Greek NT, it means “curse,” that is, “an appeal to some supernatural power to inflict injury or destruction on someone or some group.” The word “bitterness” is translated from a Greek noun (pikria) that basically means “bitterness.” It can refer to the experience of bitterness to the taste when something is taken into the mouth although in the NT it is used in imagery, as it is used in Hebrews 12:15:
See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Figuratively, the Greek word refers to the state of sharp, intense resentment or hate, hence means “bitter resentment, animosity, anger, harshness.” It is in the figurative sense that it is used by Apostle Peter to describe Simon the sorcerer in Acts 8:23:
For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.
Of course, the sense in this passage is probably that of “envy” since the clause for I see that you are full of bitterness may be translated for I see that you are full of bitter envy although literally the phrase full of bitter envy is gall of bitterness. In our passage of Romans 3:14, the word is used figuratively in the sense of “bitterness,” that is, “hatred.”
In any event, whether we use the meaning “bitterness” or “hatred,” for the Greek word translated “bitterness” in Romans 3:14, the ninth sentence of the “second or fifth” quotation of the apostle given in Romans 3:14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness” supports the universality of human sinfulness. If the apostle quoted from Psalm 10:7 (LXX 9:28) those in view are the wicked that represent fallen humanity but if he quoted from the Septuagint of Psalm 14 (13), then those in view were the fools that deny the existence of God. In either case, the quotation of the apostle supports the universality of sinfulness in humanity. Bitterness is part of the sinful nature of all humans. This we know because those who are regenerated still have them and so the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul commands believers to get rid of it in Ephesians 4:31:
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Likewise, hatred is that which characterizes the fallen humanity as the Holy Spirit also conveyed through Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:19–20:
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions.
The point we are stressing is simply that the ninth sentence of the “second or fifth” quotation of the apostle given in Romans 3:14 supports Apostle Paul’s assertion of the universality of human sinfulness since bitterness or hatred characterize fallen humanity.
The tenth sentence of the “second or sixth” quotation of the apostle is given in Romans 3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood.” Our use of the expression “second or sixth quotation” is because this sentence is not in Psalm 14 in the Hebrew text, but it is in the Septuagint of the same psalm in the copy available to us. Nonetheless, the sentence is found in two passages in the OT Scripture. It is found in Proverbs 1:16:
for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood.
While it is possible that the apostle could have quoted from this passage but because of the quotation in Romans 3:16, it is more likely that he quoted from the second passage where this sentence is found, that is, in Isaiah 59:7:
Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil thoughts; ruin and destruction mark their ways.
Verse 7 in the Hebrew Text as given in the NIV reads slightly different from the Septuagint of Isaiah 59:7 that reads:
Their feet run swiftly to evil to pour out blood, and their thoughts are from murder; affliction and misery are in their paths.
On a surface reading, it may appear that the differences between the readings of the Hebrew text and the Septuagint are substantial but not necessarily so. Take for example, the Hebrew Text as given in the NIV reads Their feet rush into sin but the Septuagint reads Their feet run swiftly to evil. There is no difference between the two sentences as implied in the NIV. Truly, the word “sin” of the NIV is translated from a Hebrew word (rǎʿ) that may mean “bad, evil.” If the meaning “evil” is used to translate the Hebrew text of the Hebrew sentence in Isaiah 59:7 as done in majority of our English versions, it will be clear that there is no difference in the two sentences in the Hebrew text and in the Septuagint. That aside, if the apostle had a different version of the Septuagint of Psalm 14 of Hebrew text than the one available to us, he would have quoted from the Septuagint of Isaiah 59:7 with a slight modification. If this is the case, we have a sixth source of his quotation in the passage we are studying. If, however, he had the same Septuagint of Psalm 14 of Hebrew text that we have, the tenth sentence would have been quoted from the same psalm and that justifies our use of the word “second” to describe the source of his quotation in Romans 3:15 Their feet are swift to shed blood. The sentence is concerned with violence and how readily those described commit murder. This interpretation would be understood by examining the Greek words used.
The word “feet” is translated from a Greek noun (podos) or (pous) that literally refers to “foot,” that is, the part of the body that is used for movement as it is used to describe the body part of Lazarus that was bound at his burial, as we read in John 11:44:
The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
However, the Greek word that is translated “foot” is used figuratively in different senses. The word may refer to control or authority, as the word is used to indicate that some believers in the early church gave the proceeds from the sale of their property to the apostles to distribute to the needy as recorded in Acts 4:35:
and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
To say that the money from sale of property was put under the apostle’s feet does not literally mean to place the money under their feet. Instead, it means to leave the money under the authority or control of the apostles to distribute as needed. The word can be used for the whole person, as it is used in describing those who buried Ananias as narrated in Acts 5:9:
Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
The phrase the feet of the men is used for the persons who buried Ananias that is why some English versions, such as the CEV and the REB, omitted it and so gave the translation the men who buried or those who buried. Related to this use of the word “feet” to refer to a person, is its use to refer to a person who is ready or active in an activity as it is used to describe those who preach the gospel as stated in Romans 10:15:
And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
The praise lauded here does not refer to the feet of those who bring good news but the preachers who do so although, in course of their preaching, there is movement that implies the use of their feet. The word may also mean “power” as it is used in the description given about Jesus Christ’s activity as He concludes God’s plan in salvation in 1 Corinthians 15:27:
For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.
To put everything under Christ’s feet means that everything is subjected to Him or that He has power or is in control of everything. So, it should be clear that the word “foot” although refers to part of the human body for movement, has other usages in the Scripture. In our passage of Romans 3:15, the word means “foot” but has the sense of “a person who is in motion” in the sentence Their feet are swift to shed blood.
The word “swift” is translated from a Greek adjective (oxys) that may mean “sharp” in the sense of having a keen edge for cutting as it is used in John’s vision of the Lord Jesus as one with double edged sword as recorded in Revelation 1:16:
In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
In our passage of Romans 3:15, the word means “swift” in the sense of being rapid in motion. So those described, according to the apostle quotation, are said to be swift to shed blood.
The word “shed” is translated from a Greek verb (ekcheō) that means to cause to discharge in quantity hence means “to pour out” with different nuances both literally and figuratively. Relating to liquid, it may mean “to spill” as it is used regarding an activity of people with wine in the Lord Jesus’ statement recorded in Matthew 9:17:
Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
The sentence the wine will run out is literally the wine pours out but the sense of the word is that of “to spill” as reflected in the translation of some English versions such as the ESV and the NET, to mention a few. With respect to solid objects the word may mean “to scatter” as it is used in the scattering of coins by Jesus when He drove people away from the temple for merchandizing in it, according to John 2:15:
So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
The English versions that are more literal in their translation, such as the NASB and the ESV, translated the sentence he scattered the coins of the money changers of the NIV as he poured the coins of the money changers. Of course, the sense of our Greek word in this passage is that of “to scatter” and so majority of our English versions translated the word like the NIV using the word “scatter”. The Greek word may mean “to burst open, to gush out”, as it is used to describe the death of Judas Iscariot in Acts 1:18:
(With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.
The Greek word may mean “to shed” when it is used with respect to blood where the sense of murder is conveyed as in the death of Stephen, as referenced in the defense of Apostle Paul before Jewish audience in Jerusalem as recorded in Acts 22:20:
And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’
The Greek word may mean “to bestow, give” as that is the sense of our word in its usage to describe the receiving of the Holy Spirit by Gentiles as stated in Acts 10:45:
The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
The sentence the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles means the gift of the Holy Spirit has been bestowed or given to the Gentiles. Therefore, the sentence the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles may be translated the gift of the Holy Spirit had been bestowed even on the Gentiles. This makes sense since it is the coming upon of the Holy Spirit on those assembled in Cornelius house that heard the preaching of the gospel that is referred as the pouring of the gift of the Holy Spirit, according to Acts 10:44:
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.
The Greek word figuratively may mean “to cause to fully experience” hence it is in the sense of “to show” or “to experience” that the word is used in Romans 5:5:
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
The sentence God has poured out his love into our hearts may be translated as “how much he has shown our hearts how much he loves us” as suggested in UBS handbook on Romans. The Greek English lexicon of Louw and Nida suggests the translation “our hearts have been made to fully experience the love of God.” The Greek word may mean “to plunge into, to give oneself up to, to dedicate oneself in total commitment to something,” as it is used in Jude 11:
Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.
The sentence they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error may be translated they have given themselves up to the error of Balaam for gain indicating that our Greek word translated “rushed” in the NIV has the sense of “to give oneself up to something.” In our passage of Romans 3:15, the word has the sense of “to shed” or “to pour out.” Of course, it is used with the word “blood” so that it has the sense of “to commit murder.”
The word “blood” in the quotation of Romans 3:15 Their feet are swift to shed blood is translated from a Greek noun (haima) that literally means “blood” as the red life-fluid of humans and animals as in the description of what oozed out when the body of Jesus Christ was pierced by Roman soldiers while He was hanging on the cross as stated in John 19:34:
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
Figuratively, the Greek word means “lifeblood” as constituting the life of an individual. Thus, the Greek word is used for “seat of life” in the Septuagint of Leviticus 17:11:
For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.
Because blood is considered seat of life, the shedding of blood is the same as killing or taking of life as the word is used to describe the prophets killed by Israel’s ancestors as our Lord Jesus referenced in Luke 11:50:
Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,
Some English versions such as the TEV and the CEV avoided the use of the word “blood” in their translation of this verse. For example, the sentence the blood of all the prophets that has been shed is translated in the TEV as the murder of all the prophets killed. In our passage of Romans 3:15, the Greek word is used with the meaning “lifeblood”, that is, “blood of a person considered as the seat of life.” Hence, there is no doubt that to shed blood is to take the life of a person which may be described either as murder or killing.
All the same, the apostle’s quotation in Romans 3:15 Their feet are swift to shed blood supports the fact of the universality of sinfulness of humanity. This may be difficult to conceive because not everyone commits murder at least in the way we understand murder. However, we should first recognize the context of the quotation. If the apostle quoted from the Septuagint of Psalm 14 (LXX 13) that we have, he would be describing those who deny the existence of God. Those who deny the existence of God have no problem committing murder if they think they would not be caught or held responsible for it and so the quotation is applicable to fallen humanity. If the apostle quoted from Isaiah 59:7, the context indicates that those who are quick to commit murder are evil people. Because of the fall, humans are in general evil and so the quotation would still apply to all humans. I submit to you that all humans are quick to commit murder if we truly understand the full exposition of murder as given in the sixth code of the Ten Commandments. The Lord Jesus during His Sermon on the Mount expounded the sixth code of the Ten Commandments in a way that if understood will remove any doubt that humans are quick to commit murder. I will not go into the details of His exposition but let me cite what He expounded about murder recorded in Matthew 5:21–22:
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Our surface reading of the sixth code of the Ten Commandments implies that it is only a physical act in which one person deprives another of the individual’s life on this planet. It is possible that a person could boast by saying that the individual has never violated the sixth code of the Ten Commandments based on a physical understanding of what murder is. In fact, the rich young ruler that came to the Lord Jesus to inquire what he would do to inherit eternal life boasted that he had never broken this commandment, among others, as we read in Matthew 19:18–20:
18 “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Apparently, this rich young ruler did not hear the exposition of the Lord Jesus about the sixth code of the Ten Commandments; for if he did, he would not be quick to assert his compliance to it. Anyhow, the Lord Jesus expounded the sixth commandment by throwing some light on it that the commandment is beyond physical murder.
The light our Lord shed on murder is to show that it is not merely a physical act, but it involves both hatred and sins of the tongue. In other words, a person commits murder in two other ways: hating and by the use of the tongue. He explained the first way in the sentence of Matthew 5:22 anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. The KJV adds the phrase without cause, but this is not found in the best ancient manuscripts. It may not be obvious that our Lord likens anger to murder. But the word “judgment” is our clue that our Lord links murder to anger. For, it is the same Greek word that is used for judgment in Matthew 5:21. Of course, our Lord used the idea of judgment in two other times in Matthew 5:22 to connect what He said in this verse to murder. He does not state who is going to do the judging here, however, we should understand that ultimately, it is He who will do the judging. There is also another way that we are certain that our Lord connected “anger” to murder, it is through what the Holy Spirit puts by the pen of Apostle John in I John 3:15:
Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.
It is true John defines murder in terms of “hate” but really hate is a human emotion that is irrational so is “anger.” While I do not want to go into more detail about our Lord’s exposition on murder, the fact that He expounded it to include hate should convince anyone who doubts that murder, if fully understood, to include hatred, is a sin that humans are quick to commit. Hence, the apostle’s quotation in Romans 3:15 Their feet are swift to shed blood supports the universality of human sinfulness. This brings us to the next quotation of the apostle that appears to have come from Isaiah 59, but we are out of time so we will continue with that in our next study. However, let me end with a reminder of the message of the section we are expounding, which is Humanity’s sinfulness is universal as attested by the Scripture and specifically supported by some functions of the law.
03/13/26