Romans 1:22

Romans 1:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
• New International Version (NIV)Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
• English Standard Version (ESV)Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Professing to be wise, they became fools,

Context of Romans 1:22

20For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse and without defense. 21For even though they knew God [as the Creator], they did not honor Him as God or give thanks [for His wondrous creation]. On the contrary, they became worthless in their thinking [godless, with pointless reasonings, and silly speculations], and their foolish heart was darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God for an image [worthless idols] in the shape of mortal man and birds and four-footed animals and reptiles. 24Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their own hearts to [sexual] impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin],

Romans 1:22 word by word

φάσκοντες εἶναι σοφοὶ ἐμωράνθησανRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Professing themselvesφάσκωphaskō · to claimG5335
• to beεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• wiseσοφόςsophos · wiseG4680
• they became foolsμωραίνωmōrainō · be foolishG3471

Cross-references for Romans 1:22

• Romans 11:25I do not want you, believers, to be unaware of this mystery [God’s previously hidden plan]—so that you will not be wise in your own opinion—that a partial hardening has [temporarily] happened to Israel [to last] until the full number of the Gentiles has come in;
• Proverbs 25:14Like clouds and wind without rain Is a man who boasts falsely of gifts [he does not give].
• Proverbs 26:12Do you see a man [who is unteachable and] wise in his own eyes and full of self-conceit? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
• Isaiah 47:10For you [Babylon] have trusted and felt confident in your wickedness; you have said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and your knowledge have led you astray, And you have said in your heart (mind), ‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’
• Jeremiah 8:8“How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the Lord is with us [and we are learned in its language and teachings]’? Behold, [the truth is that] the lying pen of the scribes Has made the law into a lie [a mere code of ceremonial observances].
• Jeremiah 10:14Every man has become [like a brute] irrational and stupid, without knowledge [of God]; Every goldsmith is shamed by his carved idols; For his molten images are frauds and lies, And there is no breath in them.
• Matthew 6:23But if your eye is bad [spiritually blind], your whole body will be full of darkness [devoid of God’s precepts]. So if the [very] light inside you [your inner self, your heart, your conscience] is darkness, how great and terrible is that darkness!
• 1 Corinthians 1:19For it is written and forever remains written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise [the philosophy of the philosophers], And the cleverness of the clever [who do not know Me] I will nullify.”
• 1 Corinthians 3:18Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool [discarding his worldly pretensions and acknowledging his lack of wisdom], so that he may become [truly] wise.

Commentaries on Romans 1:22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Professing themselves to be wise - This is most strikingly true of all the ancient philosophers, whether Greeks or Romans, as their works, which remain, sufficiently testify. The word signifies not merely the professing but the assumption of the philosophic character. In this sense the word is used by the best Greek writers. See Kypke. A dispassionate examination of the doctrine and lives of the most famed philosophers of antiquity, of every nation, will…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22Professing themselves to be wise - This was the common boast of the philosophers of antiquity. The very word by which they chose to be called, “philosophers,” means literally “lovers of wisdom.” That it was their boast that they were wise, is well known; compare Romans 1:14; 1 Corinthians 1:19, 1 Corinthians 1:20, 1 Corinthians 1:22; 1 Corinthians 3:19; 2 Corinthians 11:19. They became fools - Compare Jeremiah 8:8-9. They became really foolish in their…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-25Verses 18-25 The apostle begins to show that all mankind need the salvation of the gospel, because none could obtain the favour of God, or escape his wrath by their own works. For no man can plead that he has fulfilled all his obligations to God and to his neighbour; nor can any truly say that he has fully acted up to the light afforded him. The sinfulness of man is described as ungodliness against the laws of the first table, and unrighteousness against…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-32Paul waits to explain righteousness through faith (see 3:21) until he first teaches about the sinfulness of all people. Both non-Jews and Jews are equally under the power of sin (1:18–32; 2:1–3:8). Because of this, both groups are in the same situation before God. No one can gain God’s favor by their own actions or obedience (3:9–20). All people need God’s saving action, not their own efforts.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22-2322-23. Professing themselves--"boasting," or "pretending to be" wise, they became fools--"It is the invariable property of error in morals and religion, that men take credit to themselves for it and extol it as wisdom. So the heathen" (1Co 1:21) [Tholuck].Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 1:22

• Blindness
• Conceit
• Conscience
• Gentiles
• Godlessness
• Idolatry
• Lasciviousness
• Pride
• Rome
• Wicked (People)
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Affection
• Call
• Creation
• Dark
• Despiteful
• Faith
• Fall of man
• Idolatry
• Lie
• Manifest

Commentaries on Romans 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings