Romans 5:3
“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
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Paul continues describing the believer's life of joy, now extending it even to suffering. He begins a chain of cause and effect: tribulation, patience, experience, and hope.
What Does Romans 5:3 Mean?
Paul makes a startling claim: believers can rejoice even in tribulations, because suffering produces patient endurance. He is not saying Christians enjoy pain or pretend it does not hurt. Rather, he says they can "glory" -- exult with confidence -- in the midst of trials because they understand what God is doing through them. Suffering is not meaningless for the believer; it is part of a process with a purpose. The same joy that rests in grace and hope (verses 1 and 2) does not collapse when hardship comes.
The reason is found in the chain Paul begins here: "tribulation worketh patience." The word translated patience means steadfast endurance, the strength to bear up under pressure without giving way. Trials, rather than destroying faith, can deepen it, training the believer to hold firm. In the verses that follow, Paul extends the chain -- endurance produces proven character, and character produces hope. So the very things that seem to threaten the Christian's confidence can actually strengthen it. This perspective transforms how believers face affliction: not as evidence that God has abandoned them, but as a furnace in which endurance, character, and hope are forged.
In the Original Language
"Glory" translates the Greek "kauchaomai," to exult or boast. "Tribulation" renders "thlipsis," pressure and affliction, and "patience" comes from "hypomonē," steadfast endurance that remains under a burden.
Cross References
“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
- James 1:3
“And patience, experience; and experience, hope:”
- Romans 5:4
“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”
- 1 Peter 1:7
Application
In hardship, believers can hold to the truth that God is using even their suffering to build endurance, allowing them to face trials with hope rather than despair.