“Therefore by the deedes of the Law, there shall no flesh be iustified in his sight: for by the Law is the knowledge of sinne.”
1611 King James Version (KJV)
3:20 No flesh shall be justified - None shall be forgiven and accepted of God. By the works of the law - On this ground, that he hath kept the law. St. Paul means chiefly the moral part of it, #Rom 3:9|,19 Rom 2:21,26; &c. which alone is not abolished, #Rom 3:31|. And it is not without reason, that he so often mentions the works of the law, whether ceremonial or moral; for it was on these only the Jews relied, being wholly ignorant of those that spring from faith. For by the law is only the knowledge of sin - But no deliverance either from the guilt or power of it.
Ro 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law. "Works of the law" (Revised Version). In the Greek, this reads, "Works of law". The statement is general, and of course would include the law of Moses. Shall no flesh be justified. Since all are found to be sinners, law-breakers, none can be counted sinless; or, in other words, justified. For by the law [is] the knowledge of sin. Again the article "the" is not found in the Greek before "law". Law, generally, when once known, reveals to us that we are transgressors. The savage steals as a legitimate pursuit, but when once he hears the law, "Thou shalt not steal" (Ex 20:15), his sin is revealed.