EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Romans 1:23
23They refused to worship the great God who can never die. Instead, they made false gods for themselves. They worshipped idols that were like people who must die. They also made idols that looked like birds, animals and snakes, and they worshipped them.
Romans 1:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
- English Standard Version (ESV)and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
- New King James Version (NKJV)and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
Context of Romans 1:23
21Those people really knew about God. But they did not respect him as a great God, and they did not thank him. They did not even think clearly any more. Their minds became confused and they did not understand God's message. 22They said that they were wise, but really they became fools. They refused to worship the great God who can never die. Instead, they made false gods for themselves. They worshipped idols that were like people who must die. They also made idols that looked like birds, animals and snakes, and they worshipped them. 24So God let those people do all the bad things that they wanted to do. God let those disgusting things rule their lives. As a result, they did bad things with each other's bodies. They did things that people should be ashamed to do. 25They refused to believe the true things about God. Instead, they chose to believe lies. They worshipped things that God has made and they became servants of those things. But they refused to worship God himself who made those things! Everyone should praise him for ever! Amen. This is true.
Read all of Romans 1Romans 1:23 word by word
καὶ ἤλλαξαν τὴν δόξαν τοῦ ἀφθάρτου θεοῦ ἐν ὁμοιώματι εἰκόνος φθαρτοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ πετεινῶν καὶ τετραπόδων καὶ ἑρπετῶν.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- changedἀλλάσσωallassō · to changeG236
- the gloryδόξαdoxa · gloryG1391
- of the uncorruptibleἄφθαρτοςaphthartos · incorruptibleG862
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- intoἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- an imageεἰκώνeikōn · imageG1504
- made like toὁμοίωμαhomoiōma · likenessG3667
- corruptibleφθαρτόςphthartos · perishableG5349
- manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
- to birdsπετεινόςpeteinon · birdG4071
- fourfooted beastsτετράπουςtetrapous · four-footedG5074
- creeping thingsἑρπετόνherpeton · reptileG2062
Cross-references for Romans 1:23
- Romans 1:25They refused to believe the true things about God. Instead, they chose to believe lies. They worshipped things that God has made and they became servants of those things. But they refused to worship God himself who made those things! Everyone should praise him for ever! Amen. This is true.
- Psalms 106:20They turned away from their great God. Instead, they worshipped the statue of a cow, an animal that eats grass!
- Jeremiah 2:11Have any other nations turned against their gods? No! They have not done that, even to their false gods! But my people have turned against me, the true God who makes them great.’
- Deuteronomy 4:15Remember when the Lord spoke to you at Mount Horeb from the middle of the fire. You did not see him in any shape. So be very careful about everything that you do.
- Deuteronomy 5:8You must not make any idol for yourself. Do not make a false god in the shape of anything that is in the sky above. Do not make one in the shape of anything on the earth or in the sea.
- Psalms 115:5Each idol has a mouth, but it cannot speak! It has eyes, but it cannot see!
- Psalms 135:15Other nations make idols with silver and gold. People worship things that they have made with their hands!
- Isaiah 40:18You cannot find anyone else who is like God. There is no image that you can make to be like him.
- Isaiah 44:13A carpenter measures a piece of wood. Then he draws a shape for the image. He uses his tools to cut the wood. He carefully makes it have the right shape. He makes the image have the shape of a human. It looks like a beautiful person. Now it is ready to go in its special room.
- Ezekiel 8:10So I went in and I looked. I saw pictures of many things on the walls all around. There were pictures of snakes and other disgusting animals. There were also images of the things that Israel's people were worshipping.
- Acts 17:29So, because we are God's children, we should not think that he is a thing like an idol. Clever people use gold or silver or stone to make images of gods. But God is not like these things that people choose to make for themselves.
- 1 Corinthians 12:2You know how you lived before you came to know God. You let idols lead you in many wrong ways. And those idols cannot even speak!
- 1 Peter 4:3You have already had enough time in your life to do bad things. Those are the kinds of things that people who do not know God like to do. You did many evil things that your bodies wanted to do. You had sex in a wrong way. You often became drunk. You went to wild parties where you drank too much alcohol. You also worshipped useless idols.
- Revelation 9:20But all the people that the fire, the smoke and the sulphur did not kill continued to do bad things. They did not change how they lived. They worshipped things that they had made for themselves. They worshipped demons and idols that they made from gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood. Those idols cannot see anything or hear anything. They cannot walk anywhere. But the people continued to worship them.
Commentaries on Romans 1:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23They changed the glory, etc. - The finest representation of their deities was in the human figure; and on such representative figures the sculptors spent all their skill; hence the Hercules of Farnese, the Venus of Medicis, and the Apollo of Belvidere. And when they had formed their gods according to the human shape, they endowed them with human passions; and as they clothed them with attributes of extraordinary strength, beauty, wisdom, etc., not having…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23And changed - This does not mean that they literally “transmuted” God himself; but that in their views they exchanged him; or they changed him “as an object of worship” for idols. They produced, of course, no real change in the glory of the infinite God, but the change was in themselves. They forsook him of whom they had knowledge Romans 1:21, and offered the homage which was due to him, to idols. The glory - The majesty, the honor, etc. This word stands…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 1:23
In the dictionaries
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
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