Romans 10
New American Standard Bible
The Word of Faith Brings Salvation
10 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they have (A)a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. 3 For not knowing about (B)God’s righteousness and (C)seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 4 For (D)Christ is the [a]end of the Law for righteousness to (E)everyone who believes.
5 For Moses writes of the righteousness that is [b]based on the Law, that the person who performs [c]them (F)will live by [d]them. 6 But (G)the righteousness [e]based on faith speaks as follows: “(H)Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or ‘Who will descend into the (I)abyss?’ (that is, to (J)bring Christ up from the dead).” 8 But what does it say? “(K)The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 [f]that (L)if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and (M)believe in your heart that (N)God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, [g]resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, [h]resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “(O)Whoever believes in Him will not be [i]put to shame.” 12 For (P)there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is (Q)Lord of (R)all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “(S)Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him (T)whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without (U)a preacher? 15 But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “(V)How beautiful are the feet of those who [j](W)bring good news of good things!”
16 However, they (X)did not all heed the [k]good news; for Isaiah says, “(Y)Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So faith comes from (Z)hearing, and hearing by (AA)the word [l]of Christ.
18 But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? On the contrary:
19 But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says,
“(AC)I will (AD)make you jealous with those who are not a nation,
With a foolish nation I will anger you.”
20 And Isaiah is very bold and says,
“(AE)I was found by those who did not seek Me,
I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me.”
21 But as for Israel, He says, “(AF)I have spread out My hands all day long to a disobedient and obstinate people.”
Footnotes
- Romans 10:4 Or goal
- Romans 10:5 Lit out of, from
- Romans 10:5 I.e., the statutes of the Law
- Romans 10:5 I.e., the statutes of the Law
- Romans 10:6 Lit out of, from
- Romans 10:9 Or because
- Romans 10:10 Lit to righteousness
- Romans 10:10 Lit to salvation
- Romans 10:11 Or disappointed
- Romans 10:15 Or preach the gospel
- Romans 10:16 Or gospel
- Romans 10:17 Or concerning Christ
- Romans 10:18 Or inhabited earth
Romans 10
The Message
Israel Reduced to Religion
10 1-3 Believe me, friends, all I want for Israel is what’s best for Israel: salvation, nothing less. I want it with all my heart and pray to God for it all the time. I readily admit that the Jews are impressively energetic regarding God—but they are doing everything exactly backward. They don’t seem to realize that this comprehensive setting-things-right that is salvation is God’s business, and a most flourishing business it is. Right across the street they set up their own salvation shops and noisily peddle their knockoffs. After all these years of refusing to really deal with God on his terms, insisting instead on making their own deals, they have nothing to show for it.
4-10 The earlier revelation was intended simply to get us ready for the Messiah, who then puts everything right for those who trust him to do it. Moses wrote that anyone who insists on using the law code to live right before God soon discovers it’s not so easy—every detail of life regulated by fine print! But trusting God to shape the right living in us is a different story—no precarious climb up to heaven to recruit the Messiah, no dangerous descent into hell to rescue the Messiah. So what exactly was Moses saying?
The word that saves is right here,
as near as the tongue in your mouth,
as close as the heart in your chest.
It’s the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—“Jesus is my Master”—embracing, body and soul, God’s work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That’s it. You’re not “doing” anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: “God has set everything right between him and me!”
11-13 Scripture reassures us, “No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it.” It’s exactly the same no matter what a person’s religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. “Everyone who calls, ‘Help, God!’ gets help.”
14-17 But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That’s why Scripture exclaims,
A sight to take your breath away!
Grand processions of people
telling all the good things of God!
But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: “Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?” The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.
18-21 But haven’t there been plenty of opportunities for Israel to listen and understand what’s going on? Plenty, I’d say.
Preachers’ voices have gone ’round the world,
Their message to earth’s seven seas.
So the big question is, Why didn’t Israel understand that she had no corner on this message? Moses had it right when he predicted,
When you see God reach out to those
you consider your inferiors—outsiders!—
you’ll become insanely jealous.
When you see God reach out to people
you think are religiously stupid,
you’ll throw temper tantrums.
Isaiah dared to speak out these words of God:
People found and welcomed me
who never so much as looked for me.
And I found and welcomed people
who had never even asked about me.
Then he capped it with a damning indictment:
Day after day after day,
I beckoned Israel with open arms,
And got nothing for my trouble
but cold shoulders and icy stares.
Romans 10
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
10 Brethren, the will of my heart, indeed, and my prayer to God, is for them unto salvation.
2 For I bear them witness, that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
3 For they, not knowing the justice of God, and seeking to establish their own, have not submitted themselves to the justice of God.
4 For the end of the law is Christ, unto justice to every one that believeth.
5 For Moses wrote, that the justice which is of the law, the man that shall do it, shall live by it.
6 But the justice which is of faith, speaketh thus: Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? that is, to bring Christ down;
7 Or who shall descend into the deep? that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.
8 But what saith the scripture? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart. This is the word of faith, which we preach.
9 For if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him up from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For, with the heart, we believe unto justice; but, with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith: Whosoever believeth in him, shall not be confounded.
12 For there is no distinction of the Jew and the Greek: for the same is Lord over all, rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear, without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach unless they be sent, as it is written: How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things!
16 But all do not obey the gospel. For Isaias saith: Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of Christ.
18 But I say: Have they not heard? Yes, verily, their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the whole world.
19 But I say: Hath not Israel known? First, Moses saith: I will provoke you to jealousy by that which is not a nation; by a foolish nation I will anger you.
20 But Isaias is bold, and saith: I was found by them that did not seek me: I appeared openly to them that asked not after me.
21 But to Israel he saith: All the day long have I spread my hands to a people that believeth not, and contradicteth me.
Romans 10
Expanded Bible
10 Brothers and sisters, the ·thing I want most [pleasure/desire of my heart] and my prayer to God is for ·all the Jews to be saved [L their salvation]. 2 ·I can say this about them [L For I testify about them that…]: They ·really try to follow God [L have a zeal for God], but ·they do not know the right way [their zeal is misguided/uninformed/undiscerning; L not according to knowledge]. 3 Because they ·did not know [or ignored] the ·way that God makes people right with him [righteousness of God], they ·tried to make themselves right in their own way [L sought to establish their own righteousness]. So they did not ·accept God’s way of making people right [L submit to God’s righteousness]. 4 [L For] Christ ·ended [is the end/culmination/fulfillment of] the law so that everyone who believes in him may ·be right with God [have righteousness].
5 [L For] Moses writes about ·being made right [the righteousness attained] by following the law. He says, “A person who ·obeys [L does] these things will live ·because of [or by means of] them [Lev. 18:5].” 6 But ·this is what the Scripture says about being made right through faith [L the righteousness by faith says; C righteousness is personified as speaking]: “Don’t say ·to yourself [L in your heart; Deut. 9:4], ‘Who will ·go up [ascend] into heaven [Deut. 30:12]?’” (That means, “Who will go up to heaven and bring Christ down to earth [C a reference to the Incarnation, Christ coming to earth as a human being]?”) 7 “And do not say, ‘Who will go down into the ·world below [or depths; or place of the dead; L abyss; Deut. 30:13; Ps. 107:26]?’” (That means, “Who will go down and bring Christ up from the dead?”) [C Such impossible tasks are not needed for our salvation, since Christ already did them for us.] 8 ·This is what the Scripture says [L But what does it say?]: “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart [Deut. 30:14; C God’s salvation has been brought near through Christ and is received by faith].” That is the ·teaching [message; word] of faith that we ·are telling [preach; proclaim]. 9 If you ·declare [confess] with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. 10 [L For] We believe with our hearts, and so we ·are made right with God [are justified; receive righteousness]. And we ·declare [confess] with our mouths, ·and so we are saved [leading to salvation]. 11 As the Scripture says, “Anyone who ·trusts [believes] in him will never be ·disappointed [or put to shame; Is. 28:16].” 12 ·That Scripture says “anyone” because [L For] there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles. [L For; Because] The same Lord is the Lord of all and gives ·many blessings [generously; (spiritual) riches] to all who trust in him, 13 as the Scripture says, “Anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved [Joel 2:32].”
14 ·But before people can ask the Lord for help, they must believe in him [L How, then, can they call on one in whom they have not believed?]; and ·before they can believe in him, they must hear about him [L how can they believe in one of whom they have not heard?]; and ·for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them [L how can they hear without someone preaching to them?]; 15 and ·before someone can go and tell them, that person must be sent [L how can they preach unless they are sent?]. [L As] It is written, “How ·beautiful [or welcome; or timely] ·is the person [L are the feet of those] who comes ·to bring [proclaiming; preaching] good news [Is. 52:7].” 16 But not ·all the Jews [L everyone] ·accepted [heeded; obeyed] the good news. [L For] Isaiah said, “Lord, who believed ·what we told them [our message/report; Is. 53:1]?” 17 ·So [Thus; Consequently] faith comes from ·hearing the Good News [L hearing], and ·people hear the Good News [hearing comes; or the message/report arrives] ·when someone tells them [through the word/message] ·about [or proclaimed by; L of] Christ.
18 But I ask: Didn’t ·people [L they; C Israel] ·hear the Good News [L hear]? Yes, they heard—as the Scripture says:
“Their ·message [voice] went out to all the earth;
their words ·go everywhere on [L to the ends of] the world [Ps. 19:4].”
19 Again I ask: Didn’t ·the people of Israel [L Israel] understand? Yes, they did understand [C this sentence is implied, but not stated, in the Greek]. First, Moses says:
“I will use those who are not a nation [C the Gentiles] to make you jealous.
I will use a nation that ·does not understand [is foolish/senseless] to make you angry [Deut. 32:21].”
20 Then Isaiah is bold enough to say:
“I was found by those who were not ·asking me for help [seeking/looking for me].
I ·made myself known [revealed myself] to people who were not ·looking for [asking about/for] me [Is. 65:1].”
21 But about Israel ·God [or Isaiah; L he] says,
“All day long I ·stood ready to accept [L held out my hands to]
people who ·disobey [disbelieve] and are ·stubborn [defiant; rebellious; Is. 65:2].”
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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