ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Romans 1.19-21

Book: Romans · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

17. For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith. 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth in unrighteousness;

19. because that which is known of God is manifest in them; for God manifested it unto them. 20. For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse: 21. because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened.

  1. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23. and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. (Romans 1:17-23, ASV)
WEB

17. For in it is revealed God’s righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.” 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

19. because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them. 20. For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse. 21. Because, knowing God, they didn’t glorify him as God, neither gave thanks, but became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless heart was darkened.

  1. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23. and traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things. (Romans 1:17-23, WEB)
KJV

17. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. in them: or, to them 20. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: so: or, that they may be 21. Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

  1. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. (Romans 1:17-23, KJV)
YLT

17. For the righteousness of God in it is revealed from faith to faith, according as it hath been written, 'And the righteous one by faith shall live,' 18. for revealed is the wrath of God from heaven upon all impiety and unrighteousness of men, holding down the truth in unrighteousness.

19. Because that which is known of God is manifest among them, for God did manifest [it] to them, 20. for the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world, by the things made being understood, are plainly seen, both His eternal power and Godhead, to their being inexcusable; 21. because, having known God they did not glorify [Him] as God, nor gave thanks, but were made vain in their reasonings, and their unintelligent heart was darkened,

  1. professing to be wise, they were made fools, 23. and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of fowls, and of quadrupeds, and of reptiles. (Romans 1:17-23, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul the Apostle
  • Audience: the mixed Jewish and Gentile house churches at Rome, a congregation Paul had neither founded nor yet visited
  • Location: composed at Corinth, addressed to Rome
  • Time period: c. AD 57

Theological reading

The passage is the New Testament's fullest statement of general revelation, and it makes three claims in sequence that are easy to collapse into one.

First, there is real knowledge: that which is known of God is manifest in them, for God manifested it unto them. The knowledge is not merely available; it has been given. Second, the medium is creation: the invisible attributes, his eternal power and divinity, are perceived through the things that are made, which is the seed of every natural-theology argument the codex catalogues. Third, and decisively, the response is suppression rather than ignorance: knowing God, they glorified him not as God, and the result is a darkened heart.

That third step is what makes the passage more than a proof text for design arguments. Paul's diagnosis of unbelief is not primarily intellectual. The verb in verse 18 is katecho, to hold down or restrain, and it places a moral act at the root of the failure. This is why the passage sits behind Reformed Epistemology and the sensus divinitatis of General Revelation: belief in God is treated as natural and its absence as an achievement requiring explanation. It is also the biblical anchor for treating epistemic failure as culpable rather than merely unfortunate, which is the structure examined at Argument from Epistemic Normativity.

Without excuse (anapologetos) is a courtroom word, the negation of the term Paul uses for his own defence elsewhere. Read carefully it limits as well as convicts: Paul's claim is that the evidence suffices to remove the excuse, not that it suffices to produce saving knowledge, which is why chapter 10 still insists that faith comes by hearing.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:

Guides:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.