Now it is clear
This phrase emphasizes the certainty and clarity of the statement that follows. In the Greek, the word used is "δῆλον" (delon), which means evident or manifest. Paul is making an unequivocal declaration, drawing from the broader context of his argument against the Judaizers who insisted on adherence to the Mosaic Law for justification. Historically, this reflects the early church's struggle to define the role of the Law in the life of believers, a pivotal issue in the development of Christian doctrine.

that no one is justified
The term "justified" comes from the Greek "δικαιοῦται" (dikaioutai), meaning to be declared righteous or acquitted. In a legal sense, it implies a verdict of innocence. Paul is asserting that human efforts, particularly adherence to the Law, cannot achieve this divine verdict. This reflects the core of the Reformation's emphasis on justification by faith alone, a principle that underscores the grace of God as the sole means of salvation.

before God
This phrase underscores the ultimate authority and the divine standard by which justification is measured. The Greek "παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ" (para tō Theō) indicates being in the presence of or in relation to God. It highlights the futility of human attempts to achieve righteousness through the Law when standing before a holy and perfect God. This perspective is rooted in the understanding of God's holiness and the human condition of sinfulness.

by the law
The "law" refers to the Mosaic Law, the commandments given to Israel. The Greek word "νόμου" (nomou) encompasses not just the Ten Commandments but the entire legal and ceremonial system. Paul is addressing the misconception that adherence to these laws could result in justification. Historically, this was a significant point of contention between Jewish Christians and Gentile converts, as the early church grappled with the role of the Law in the new covenant.

because, 'The righteous will live by faith.'
This quotation is from Habakkuk 2:4 and is pivotal in Paul's argument. The Greek "ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται" (ho dikaios ek pisteōs zēsetai) translates to "the righteous by faith will live." This phrase encapsulates the essence of the gospel message: that righteousness and life are granted through faith, not works. It reflects a continuity of God's plan from the Old Testament to the New Testament, emphasizing faith as the means of obtaining life. This principle was revolutionary in Paul's time and remains foundational in Christian theology, underscoring the transformative power of faith in Christ.

(11, 12) The Law could not bring a blessing. It could not justify. For the condition of justification is faith; and the Law has nothing to do with faith. Its standpoint was entirely different--that of works.

(11) In the sight of God.--Standing as a prisoner before His tribunal.

The just shall live by faith.--The stress is on the word "faith." It is faith (not law) which gives life. In St. Paul's application of the passage, the word "just" must be taken in what is technically termed a slightly proleptic sense. A man is not just before the exercise of faith, but he becomes just by the exercise of it; and, in another aspect, the state of righteousness upon which he then enters is also a state of life. Strictly speaking, the order is--faith, justification, life. It would be possible to take the Greek in such a way as to bring out this more distinctly: "The just by faith" (i.e., he whose righteousness is based on faith) "shall live." Some good commentators take the passage thus, but a balance of considerations seems, on the whole, to be in favour of the sense adopted in the Authorised version.

The quotation is from Habakkuk 2:4, where it refers to the preservation of the righteous Israelite amidst the general ruin caused by the Chaldean invasion. Though the wicked and proud shall be destroyed, the righteous man shall live "by his faith." There is some division of opinion amongst commentators as to whether the word translated "faith" means, in the original, faith in the active sense or faith in the passive sense--"fidelity," "faithfulness," or "trust in God." The sense in which the word is used by St Paul is most nearly related to the latter. It has the full-developed Christian meaning, which begins in belief, includes trust, and passes on to become an active energy of devotion. (Comp. the Note and Excursus on Romans 1:17, where the same quotation is made.)

Verse 11. - But that no man is justified by the Law in the sight of God, it is evident (ὅτι δὲ ἐν νόμῳ οὐδεὶς δικαιοῦται παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ); but that in the Law no man is justified with God, is evident. To "be justified" means to be brought out of a state of guiltiness and cursedness into a state of acceptance. The apostle, assuming that every one is guilty and under a curse, now shows that the Law offers no means of justification. "But." The apostle is meeting the notion that, though one who is of works of the Law is evermore threatened with a curse ready to light down upon him, and though the curse has been, as it cannot but have been, actually incurred, yet, by setting himself afresh to the endeavour and thenceforward continuing steadfast in all things written in the Law, he may thus win pardon and righteousness with God. To obviate this conception, without stopping to insist upon the fact that through indwelling sin no man possibly can continue in all the things written in the Law, he puts the notion aside by stating that this is not the method of justification which Scripture recognizes. This he shows by adducing that cardinal aphorism of Habakkuk, by which, as it should seem, the apostle was wont to substantiate the doctrine of justification by faith (comp. Romans 1:17; Hebrews 10:38). The way in which the passage is here introduced, almost as an obiter dictum, and as if not needing a formal indication of its coming out of Scripture, suggests the feeling that the passage, as taken in the sense in which the apostle reads it, was one already familiar to his readers, no doubt through his own former teaching. When in the Acts (Acts 13:39-41) we read that in the synagogue at the Pisidian Antioch, in close connection with the statement that through believing in Christ a man is justified, he cited another passage of Habakkuk (Habakkuk 1:5), denouncing unbelieving despisers, we cannot doubt that he had made good his statement about justification by alleging this same probative text. "In the Law;" that is, as being it. the sphere and domain of the Law. Compare the use of the same preposition: Romans 2:12, "As many as have sinned under [Greek, 'in'] the Law;" 3:19, "It saith to them that are under [Greek, 'in'] the Law." An exactly parallel construction is found in Acts 13:39, "From all things from which ye could not by [Greek, 'in'] the Law be justified." They could not as being in the Law find therein any means of gaining acceptance. "Is justified with God;" comes to be accounted righteous with him. "With God;" not merely outwardly, Levitically, in the judgment of a Levitical priest - but inwardly and in reality, in God's estimation. The preposition "with" (παρά) is used similarly in Romans 2:13, "For not the hearers of the Law are righteous with God;" 1 Corinthians 3:19, "The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." It is God himself that justifies the sinner (Romans 3:30; Romans 4:5); but the apostle does not write "is justified by God," because he is confronting the notion so natural to man, and above all, to the Judaizing legalist, that a man is to make himself righteous by doings - ceremonial or moral - of his own. For, The just shall live by faith (ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται); the righteous by faith shall live. The apostle is not weaving the prophet's words into his own sentence simply as aptly expressing his own thought, but is citing them probatively as words of Scripture; as if he had said, "As Scripture saith, The righteous," etc. The same is the case with the words introduced in the next verse out of Leviticus; so Romans 9:7. In Romans 15:3 and 1 Corinthians 2:9 the apostle inserts, "according as it is written," as in parenthesis, before adding the words of Scripture in such a way as to form a continuation of his own sentence. "The righteous by faith shall live;" that is, the righteous man shall draw his life from his faith. It is generally agreed upon by Hebrew scholars that in the original passage (Habakkuk 2:4) the words, "by his faith" (or possibly, adopting another reading of the Hebrew text, "by my faith," that is, by faith in me) belong to "shall live," rather than to "the righteous" (see on this point Delitzsch on Hebrews 10:38, and Canon Cook on Habakkuk 2:4, in 'Speaker's Commentary'). And that St. Paul so understood it is made probable by the contrasted citation of" shall live in them "in the next verse. With this conjunction of the words, the passage suits the apostle's purpose perfect]y; for if it is by or from his faith that the righteous man lives, then it is by or from his faith that he gets to be accepted by God as righteous. The "faith" spoken of is shown by the context in Habakkuk to mean such reliance upon God as is of a steadfast character, and not a mere fleeting or occasional acceptance of God's promises as true. This is plainly the view of the passage which is taken by the Pauline writer of the Hebrews in Hebrews 10:38.

Parallel Commentaries ...


And
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

it is clear
δῆλον (dēlon)
Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 1212: Clear, manifest, evident. Of uncertain derivation; clear.

that
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

no one
οὐδεὶς (oudeis)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3762: No one, none, nothing.

is justified
δικαιοῦται (dikaioutai)
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1344: From dikaios; to render just or innocent.

before
παρὰ (para)
Preposition
Strong's 3844: Gen: from; dat: beside, in the presence of; acc: alongside of.

God
Θεῷ (Theō)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2316: A deity, especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very.

by
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

[the] Law,
νόμῳ (nomō)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3551: From a primary nemo; law, genitive case, specially, (including the volume); also of the Gospel), or figuratively.

because,
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

“The
Ὁ (Ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

righteous
δίκαιος (dikaios)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1342: From dike; equitable; by implication, innocent, holy.

will live
ζήσεται (zēsetai)
Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2198: To live, be alive. A primary verb; to live.

by
ἐκ (ek)
Preposition
Strong's 1537: From out, out from among, from, suggesting from the interior outwards. A primary preposition denoting origin, from, out.

faith.”
πίστεως (pisteōs)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 4102: Faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.


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NT Letters: Galatians 3:11 Now that no man is justified (Gal. Ga)