ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Romans 8.26

Book: Romans · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

There are ads on our codex that pay for hosting and keep the codex free. If you can, please consider whitelisting ris3n.com or allowing scripts to support the work.

Sponsored

Brands, events, influencers advertise here

ASV

24. For in hope were we saved: but hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth? 25. But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

26. And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered;

  1. and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28. And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:24-28, ASV)
WEB

24. For we were saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for that which he sees? 25. But if we hope for that which we don’t see, we wait for it with patience.

26. In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don’t know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can’t be uttered.

  1. He who searches the hearts knows what is on the Spirit’s mind, because he makes intercession for the saints according to God. 28. We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:24-28, WEB)
KJV

24. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25. But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

26. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

  1. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. because: or, that 28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:24-28, KJV)
YLT

24. for in hope we were saved, and hope beheld is not hope; for what any one doth behold, why also doth he hope for [it]? 25. and if what we do not behold we hope for, through continuance we expect [it].

26. And, in like manner also, the Spirit doth help our weaknesses; for, what we may pray for, as it behoveth [us], we have not known, but the Spirit himself doth make intercession for us with groanings unutterable,

  1. and He who is searching the hearts hath known what [is] the mind of the Spirit, because according to God he doth intercede for saints. 28. And we have known that to those loving God all things do work together for good, to those who are called according to purpose; (Romans 8:24-28, YLT)

See this page's graph and discover linked topics

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 Spirit also helpeth our infirmity, for we know not how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

The premise is unflattering and Paul states it without softening: we do not know what to pray for. Not that we pray badly, or too little, but that the content itself escapes us. Given that he has just described creation groaning and believers groaning, the admission fits a chapter that is honest about the limits of the present condition.

The verb translated helpeth is a compound, synantilambanomai, built from taking hold together with someone against something. It suggests joining in rather than taking over, which is why the verse is not a warrant for passivity in prayer.

The Spirit's intercession is described as stenagmois alaletois, groanings unspeakable or inexpressible. Interpreters divide sharply. Some read this as glossolalia, though Paul's own treatment of tongues in 1 Corinthians 14 emphasises intelligibility and does not use this vocabulary. Others read it as the believer's wordless groaning taken up by the Spirit. Others take it as the Spirit's own intercession, not verbalised at all, on the grounds that verse 27 says God searches hearts and knows the mind of the Spirit, which suggests something not requiring words to be understood. The third reading fits the syntax best and the passage does not settle the question beyond that.

The pastoral force is independent of the exegetical dispute. Prayer is not presented as a performance whose adequacy determines its reception, because two divine persons are already at work in it: the Spirit interceding here, and Christ interceding at verse 34.

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:

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.