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].”
Romans 10
Lexham English Bible
The Righteousness of God through Faith in Christ
10 Brothers, the desire of my heart and my prayer to God on behalf of them is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For ignoring the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own,[a] they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is from the law: “The person who does this[b] will live by it.”[c][d] 6 But the righteousness from faith speaks like this: “Do not say in your heart,[e] ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”[f] (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or “Who will descend into the abyss?”[g] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near to you, in your mouth and in your heart”[h] (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim), 9 that[i] if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”[j] 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who is rich to all who call upon him. 13 For “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”[k]
14 How then will they call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in him about whom they have not heard? And how will they hear about him without one who preaches to them? 15 And how will they preach, unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How timely are the feet of those who bring good news of good things.”[l] 16 But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”[m] 17 Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word about Christ.
18 But I say, they have not heard, have they?[n] On the contrary,
“Their voice has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the inhabited world.”[o]
19 But I say, Israel did not know, did they?[p] First, Moses says,
“I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation;
by a senseless nation I will provoke you to anger.”[q]
20 And Isaiah is very bold and says,
“I was found by those who did not seek me;
I became known to those who did not ask for me.”[r]
21 But about Israel he says,
“The whole day long I held out my hands
to a disobedient and resistant people.”[s]
Footnotes
- Romans 10:3 Some manuscripts have “their own righteousness”
- Romans 10:5 Some manuscripts explicitly state “these things”
- Romans 10:5 A quotation from Lev 18:5
- Romans 10:5 Some manuscripts have “them”
- Romans 10:6 A quotation from Deut 9:4
- Romans 10:6 A quotation from Deut 30:12
- Romans 10:7 A quotation from Deut 30:13
- Romans 10:8 A quotation from Deut 30:14
- Romans 10:9 Or “because”
- Romans 10:11 A quotation from Isa 28:16
- Romans 10:13 A quotation from Joel 2:32
- Romans 10:15 A quotation from Isa 52:7; Nah 1:15
- Romans 10:16 A quotation from Isa 53:1
- Romans 10:18 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here
- Romans 10:18 A quotation from Ps 19:4
- Romans 10:19 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here
- Romans 10:19 A quotation from Deut 32:21
- Romans 10:20 A quotation from Isa 65:1
- Romans 10:21 A quotation from Isa 65:2
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