---
title: Romans 5:18
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/romans-5-18/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/romans-5-18.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Romans 5:18
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Romans 5:18

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> So then, just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men.

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (2013 revision): "as through one trespass the result to men of all sorts was condemnation, so too through one act of justification the result to men of all sorts is their being declared righteous for life"

## JW Usage

Watchtower commentary takes Romans 5:18 as describing the scope of Christ's ransom — "to men of all sorts." The rendering supports the JW position that Christ's sacrifice provides the basis on which Jehovah's organisation extends the offer of salvation to people from every background, but application of the ransom requires individual faith and ongoing organisational obedience. The verse fits within the Watchtower's broader corresponding-ransom theology.

## Protestant Usage

The Greek phrase is eis pantas anthrōpous — "to all men" — not "to men of all sorts." The contrast with v18a is decisive: as Adam's one trespass brought condemnation to ALL men, so Christ's one act of righteousness brings declaration of righteousness to ALL men. Whether Paul means this universally (every human as offered), corporately (all who are in Christ), or representatively, "all" is the term. The NWT's "all sorts" is not in the Greek. The mismatch protects the Watchtower from any universal-scope reading, but it does so by editing the text. And Paul's broader point in v17 is the asymmetric abundance: "those who receive the abundance of the undeserved kindness… will rule as kings in life through the one person, Jesus Christ." The gift is abundant, not parsimonious — and it is offered to all.

## NWT Issue

The NWT inserts "of all sorts" into pantas anthrōpous — consensus reads "to all men" (ESV/NASB/NIV/KJV). The Greek pantas means "all"; "of all sorts" is a translator's gloss inserted to restrict the universal scope. The pattern appears throughout the NWT (compare 1 Timothy 2:4 "all sorts of men should be saved") and serves to forestall any universalist-leaning reading of Paul's "all" language. The insertion is unwarranted by the Greek.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [The Corresponding Ransom Chain](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/ransom-chain.md) — Romans 5 — Not Like the Trespass [Salvation]