What Does Romans 3:28 Mean in the King James?
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Alignment rests on where you lean your full weight, not on the deeds you can stack up.
THE MEANING
You are aligned through trust, apart from deeds of the instruction. The verse locates alignment in reliance, not in a record of performance.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Your standing with God depends on proving yourself through the deeds the instruction requires.
THE ROOT
δικαιοῦται
dikaioutai
GROWS FROM
δικ-
The δικ- family carries the sense of what is right or just; δικαιόω (dikaioō) means to justify or declare right.
“Justified” can sound like a verdict alone, while this word family also gathers the language of being right or aligned. The verse presents that alignment as coming through trust rather than being earned through deeds.
ALSO GROWS
dikaios: Just or right
δίκαιος
The related adjective describes what is aligned with what is right.
dikaiosynē: Righteousness or alignment
δικαιοσύνη
This related noun makes the family’s shared language of rightness visible.
πίστις
pistis
GROWS FROM
πειθ-
From πείθω (peithō), to persuade or win over; related forms carry the sense of being persuaded and trusting.
“Faith” can sound like a belief held at a distance, while its word family also carries persuasion and reliance. Beside alignment, it describes trust as the way alignment is received, not its price.
ALSO GROWS
peithomai: Be persuaded or come to trust
πείθομαι
This form shows the receptive side of trust: being persuaded rather than proving oneself through deeds.
pisteuō: Believe or trust
πιστεύω
The related verb shows pistis as an active reliance, not merely an idea held in the mind.
THE PATTERN
Alignment comes through trust rather than being built from a record of deeds.
And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.Not of works, lest any man should boast.THE THREAD
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.“Justifieth” comes from δικαιόω (dikaioō), the same word family as “justified” here, while “believeth” is πιστεύω (pisteuō), related to πίστις (pistis), trust. It makes Romans 3:28 concrete: trust is counted for alignment even where the person is not working to earn it.
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