Romans 4:18

Romans 4:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
• New International Version (NIV)Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, "So shall your offspring be."
• New King James Version (NKJV)who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”

Context of Romans 4:18

16Therefore [it is] on the principle of faith, that [it might be] according to grace, in order to the promise being sure to all the seed, not to that only which [is] of the law, but to that also which [is] of Abraham's faith, who is father of us all, 17(according as it is written, I have made thee father of many nations,) before the God whom he believed, who quickens the dead, and calls the things which be not as being; who against hope believed in hope to his becoming father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be: 19and not being weak in faith, he considered not his own body already become dead, being about a hundred years old, and the deadening of Sarah's womb, 20and hesitated not at the promise of God through unbelief; but found strength in faith, giving glory to God;

Romans 4:18 word by word

ὃς παρ᾽ ἐλπίδα ἐπ᾽ ἐλπίδι ἐπίστευσεν εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι αὐτὸν πατέρα πολλῶν ἐθνῶν κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον· οὕτως ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα σου·Read the interlinear

• hopeἐλπίςelpis · hopeG1680
• believedπιστεύωpisteuō · to trust (in)G4100
• becomingγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
• manyπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
• nationsἔθνοςethnos · GentilesG1484
• accordingκατάkata · according toG2596
• wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• Soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• seedσπέρμαsperma · seed: offspringG4690

Cross-references for Romans 4:18

• Romans 4:19and not being weak in faith, he considered not his own body already become dead, being about a hundred years old, and the deadening of Sarah's womb,
• Romans 5:5and hope does not make ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by [the] Holy Spirit which has been given to us:
• Romans 8:24For we have been saved in hope; but hope seen is not hope; for what any one sees, why does he also hope?
• Ruth 1:11And Naomi said, Return, my daughters: why will ye go with me? Are there yet sons in my womb, that they could be your husbands?
• Proverbs 13:12Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; but the desire [that] cometh to pass is a tree of life.
• Ezekiel 37:11And he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off!
• Mark 5:35While he was yet speaking, they come from the ruler of the synagogue's [house], saying, Thy daughter has died, why troublest thou the teacher any further?
• Luke 1:18And Zacharias said to the angel, How shall I know this, for I am an old man, and my wife advanced in years?
• Acts 27:25Wherefore be of good courage, men, for I believe God that thus it shall be, as it has been said to me.
• Genesis 15:5And he led him out, and said, Look now toward the heavens, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them. And he said to him, So shall thy seed be!

Commentaries on Romans 4:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Who against hope believed in hope - The faith of Abraham bore an exact correspondence to the power and never-failing faithfulness of God; for though, in the ordinary course of things, he had not the best foundation of hope, yet he believed that he should be the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken; namely, that his posterity should be like the stars of heaven for multitude, and like the dust of the earth.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Who against hope - Who against all apparent or usual ground of hope. He refers here to the prospect of a posterity; see Romans 4:19-21. Believed in hope - Believed in what was promised to excite his hope. Hope here is put for the object of his hope - what was promised. According to what was spoken - Genesis 15:5. So shall thy seed be - That is, as the stars in heaven for multitude. Thy posterity shall be very numerous.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-22Verses 13-22 The promise was made to Abraham long before the law. It points at Christ, and it refers to the promise, Ge 12:3. In Thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. The law worketh wrath, by showing that every transgressor is exposed to the Divine displeasure. As God intended to give men a title to the promised blessings, so he appointed it to be by faith, that it might be wholly of grace, to make it sure to all who were of the like precious…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2218-22. Who against hope--when no ground for hope appeared. believed in hope--that is, cherished the believing expectation. that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be--that is, Such "as the stars of heaven," Ge 15:5.Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 4:18

• Abraham
• Catholicity
• Faith
• Hope
• Justification
• Quotations and Allusions
• Resurrection
• Salvation
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Flesh
• Impute
• Quicken
• Raise
• Reckon
• Stagger
• Unbelief
• Void
• Bible, the
• Galatians, Epistle to the

Commentaries on Romans 4

• 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