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Romans 10

KJV · Chapter 10/16

1Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

2For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

3For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

5For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

6But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)

7Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

8But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

12For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

14How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

15And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

16But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

17So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

18But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

19But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.

20But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.

21But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul explains that salvation comes by confessing Jesus as Lord and believing in one's heart in the resurrection, with no distinction between Jew and Greek. He laments that Israel, though zealous for God, tried to establish its own righteousness instead of accepting God's.

Explanation

Here Paul clarifies one of the most quoted verses about salvation: 'if you confess with your mouth... and believe in your heart... you will be saved.' He argues that Israel failed not for lack of religious zeal, but for seeking to justify themselves by their own works instead of surrendering to the righteousness that comes from God by faith. The chained rhetorical questions ('how shall they believe if they have not heard? how shall they hear without a preacher?') establish the importance of gospel preaching as the necessary link between God's message and people's faith — a direct call to the responsibility of proclaiming the good news.

Fun facts

  • The phrase 'how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace' (verse 15) is a quotation from Isaiah 52:7, a text originally about the return from the Babylonian exile, which Paul reapplies to the preaching of the gospel.
  • The idea that 'whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved' (verse 13) quotes Joel 2:32, the same text Peter had already used in his Pentecost sermon in Acts 2:21, showing a direct connection between the two passages.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Romans 10:1After describing the rejection of part of Israel in chapter 9, Paul reaffirms that his personal desire and prayer are still for the salvation of that same people, not for their condemnation.
  2. Romans 10:2He acknowledges something positive in Israel, their religious zeal, but points out the problem: that effort is not matched by the correct understanding of how God’s righteousness actually works.
  3. Romans 10:3This explains that misunderstanding: instead of accepting the righteousness that comes from God by faith, Israel tried to build its own righteousness based on keeping the law.
  4. Romans 10:4“End” here can be read as “goal” or as “termination” — churches read this word in different ways. Either way, Paul is linking the law of Moses directly to Christ as the point it had always pointed toward.
  5. Romans 10:5This quotes Moses (Leviticus) to describe how righteousness by the law worked: whoever kept the commandments would live by them — a path based entirely on performance.
  6. Romans 10:6This sentence comes from Deuteronomy, where Moses said the law was neither far off nor hidden, but within anyone’s reach. Paul reuses the same words, only applied to Christ, without flagging that he is grafting a new meaning onto an ancient text.
  7. Romans 10:7This continues Paul’s rereading of a text from Deuteronomy (already explained in verse 6): descending into the deep would be an impossible attempt to bring Christ back from the dead, something that has already happened and does not need to be repeated.
  8. Romans 10:8In contrast with these impossible efforts, the message of faith is near and accessible, in the mouth and heart of whoever hears it, without requiring any superhuman feat.
  9. Romans 10:9Making a public confession of loyalty to a “lord” was a gesture heavy with political weight at the time, because that title was also used for the Roman emperor. Declaring Jesus as Lord out loud was, therefore, more than a private opinion — it was a public stance.
  10. Romans 10:10This describes the mechanism of this faith very simply: believing in the heart leads to righteousness, publicly confessing it with the mouth leads to salvation.
  11. Romans 10:11This quotes Isaiah to reinforce that this promise applies to “whosoever” trusts, with no exception and no distinction.
  12. Romans 10:12This reinforces the “whosoever” of the previous verse by explaining why there is no difference between Jew and Greek: both have the same Lord, who treats equally all who call on him.
  13. Romans 10:13This quotes the prophet Joel to close the argument: whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved, with no condition of ethnic origin.
  14. Romans 10:14Paul anticipates a practical problem: this faith depends on a chain of events — someone preaching, others hearing, and only then believing and calling on the name of the Lord.
  15. Romans 10:15This is a quotation from the prophet Isaiah, which originally celebrated the arrival of a messenger running with good news after a war or crisis — the feet would be dirty and worn out from the journey, but beautiful for what they carried. Paul applies the same image to whoever spreads the gospel.
  16. Romans 10:16This acknowledges that not everyone accepts this message even after hearing it, quoting Isaiah, who had already lamented that same resistance in his own time.
  17. Romans 10:17This sums up the process described in the previous verses in a short sentence: faith comes by hearing, and what is heard is the message about Christ.
  18. Romans 10:18The quotation comes from Psalm 19, which originally speaks of creation, the sky, the stars, declaring God’s glory without needing words. Paul borrows that phrase to argue that the message already had wide reach.
  19. Romans 10:19This asks whether Israel really did not understand the message, and answers by quoting Moses (Deuteronomy), who had already predicted God provoking Israel to jealousy through a foreign people considered foolish.
  20. Romans 10:20This quotes Isaiah describing, boldly by the standards of the time, that God would let himself be found by people who were not even looking for him — a reference understood as the Gentiles.
  21. Romans 10:21This closes the chapter with another quotation from Isaiah: despite God’s loving persistence, stretching out his hands all day long, Israel itself is described as a rebellious and resistant people.

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