Romans 10:2

Romans 10:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
• New International Version (NIV)For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

Context of Romans 10:2

1My Christian friends, I want God to save Israel's people. I want that very much. I pray to God that he will save them. I can say this about them: They really want to serve God well. But they do not understand the right way to do this. 3They have not understood the way that God accepts people. Instead, they tried to make their own way to become right with God. They refused to accept God's way that would make them right with him. 4God gave his Law to Israel's people for a purpose. But Christ has finished that purpose. So now, every person who believes in Christ becomes right with God.

Romans 10:2 word by word

μαρτυρῶ γὰρ αὐτοῖς ὅτι ζῆλον θεοῦ ἔχουσιν ἀλλ᾽ οὐ κατ᾽ ἐπίγνωσιν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• I bearμαρτυρέωmartureō · to testifyG3140
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• they haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• a zealζῆλοςzēlos · zealG2205
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• notοὐou · noG3756
• according toκατάkata · according toG2596
• knowledgeἐπίγνωσιςepignōsis · knowledgeG1922

Cross-references for Romans 10:2

• 2 Corinthians 8:3Let me tell you this. They gave as much money as they were able to give. Then they gave even more than that! They gave it because they wanted to.
• Galatians 4:15But now you do not seem to be happy with me any more. I can say that you would have pulled out your own eyes to help me. You would have given them to me, if that had been possible.
• Colossians 4:13I can tell you this about Epaphras: He has worked very hard for you, and also for the people at Laodicea and at Hierapolis.
• 2 Kings 10:16Jehu said, ‘Come with me. You will see that I want to serve the Lord faithfully.’ So Jehonadab rode with Jehu in his chariot.
• John 16:2People will send you away from their meeting places. There will be a time when people will want to kill you. When they do this, they will even think that they are doing what God wants.
• Acts 21:20After the leaders had listened to Paul, they praised God. Then they said, ‘Brother Paul, you can see the problem. There are now many thousands of Jews who have believed in Jesus. But they also really want to obey the Law of Moses.
• Acts 22:3‘I am a Jew. I was born in Tarsus in the region of Cilicia. I lived here in Jerusalem when I was a boy. I studied God's Law for many years and Gamaliel was my teacher. I learned very well how to obey the laws of our ancestors. I tried to obey God as carefully as all of you do today.
• Acts 26:9I myself wanted to work against Jesus, the man from Nazareth, and against his message.
• Galatians 1:14I obeyed the Jewish rules better than many other Jews who were my friends. I tried very much to obey the ideas that our Jewish ancestors taught.
• Galatians 4:17Those false teachers try very much to please you. But they do not really want what is good for you. They want to make you turn away from me. Then you will only want to listen to them.
• Philippians 3:6I tried very much to please God. So I caused a lot of trouble and pain for the Christians. I obeyed the rules of God's Law, and nobody could say that I did anything wrong.
• Romans 10:3They have not understood the way that God accepts people. Instead, they tried to make their own way to become right with God. They refused to accept God's way that would make them right with him.
• Romans 9:31But Israel's people tried to find a law that would make them right with God. But they failed to become right with God.
• Psalms 14:4Will those evil people never learn? They destroy my people, as if they are eating a meal. They never pray to the Lord.
• Proverbs 19:2If you want to do something but you do not know how to do it, that is dangerous! If you hurry to do it, you will get into trouble.
• Isaiah 27:1At that time, the Lord will punish Leviathan. The Lord will use his great and powerful sword to destroy that monster. Leviathan is a snake that moves very fast in the sea and it turns in every direction. But the Lord will kill it.

Commentaries on Romans 10:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2They have a zeal of God - They believe their law to have come immediately from God himself, and are jealous of its glory and excellence; they conscientiously observe its rites and ceremonies, but they do not consider the object and end of those rites; they sin more through ignorance than malice; and this pleads in their excuse. By this fine apology for them, the apostle prepares them for the harsher truths which he was about to deliver.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2For I bear them record - To bear record means to be a witness; to give evidence. This, Paul was well qualified to do. He had been a Jew of the strictest order Acts 26:5; Philemon 3:5, and he well knew the extraordinary exertions which they put forth to obey the commands of the Law. A zeal of God - A zeal for God. Thus, John 2:17,” The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up;” an earnest desire for the honor of the sanctuary has wholly absorbed my attention…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2zealous: This means a strong and sincere commitment to God and to what God desires (see Numbers 25:6–13). This kind of passion can be good and faithful. In Paul’s time, however, much Jewish zeal was misdirected. Many people did not understand that Jesus Christ is the central point of God’s plan. Because of this, their passion did not lead them to the truth. Paul points to his own life as an example. Before he trusted Christ, Paul showed great zeal, but it…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. For I bear them record--or, "witness," as he well could from his own sad experience. that they have a zeal of--"for" God, but not according to knowledge--(Compare Ac 22:3; 26:9-11; Ga 1:13, 14). He alludes to this well-meaning of his people, notwithstanding their spiritual blindness, not certainly to excuse their rejection of Christ and rage against His saints, but as some ground of hope regarding them. (See 1Ti 1:13).Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 10:2

• Bigotry
• Justification
• Religion
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Confession
• Difference
• Establish
• Faith
• Provoke
• Rich
• Zeal
• Bible, the

Commentaries on Romans 10

• 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