Note that Heidegger here brings together three words, all of which are derived from the stem recht (right). By so doing, he is able implicitly to show that much of the truth of his statement lies in the words themselves. The discussion that now ensues includes a variety of recht words that can be translated accurately in English only by introducing the stem “just.” The full significance of this discussion can be appreciated only if we bear constantly in mind the intimate relationship that these recht words have to one another. Thus: richtig (correct), rechtfertigen and Rechtfertigung (to justify; justification), Gerechtigkeit (justice, rightness, or righteousness), Gerecht (right, just, righteous), das Rechte (the morally right).
The English word “justice” carries strong connotations of an apportioning in an ethical or legal sense. Iustitia (justice), as used in medieval and Reformation theology, has a more ample meaning. It alludes to the entire rightness of man’s life and the rightness of his relationship to God, i.e., his righteousness. Heidegger here points to the roots of the modern philosophical understanding of justice in this theological tradition. The German word Gerechtigkeit (justice or righteousness), because of the centrally formative influence exerted by Luther’s translation of the Bible on the modern German language, inevitably carries something of this theological connotation, and the range of its meaning colors Heidegger’s present discussion. (QCT p. 89)