EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Romans 4:18
18Abraham continued to trust God. He hoped to receive what God had promised. He continued to hope even when he had no good reason to hope. That is why he became the ancestor of many different people. It happened just like God had said: ‘You will have very many descendants.’
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
16So God gives us his promise as a gift, because he is very kind. We receive it when we trust him. If we believe in God like Abraham did, then God accepts us. That is God's promise to all of Abraham's family. If we believe in God, we can call Abraham our ancestor. We can all receive what God has promised. It is not only for those who have Moses' Law to obey. 17In the Bible, God said to Abraham, ‘I have chosen you to become the ancestor of many different people.’ That is what God himself promises, because Abraham believed in him. God is the one who causes dead people to become alive again. He speaks about things that are not yet there as if they were already there. Abraham continued to trust God. He hoped to receive what God had promised. He continued to hope even when he had no good reason to hope. That is why he became the ancestor of many different people. It happened just like God had said: ‘You will have very many descendants.’ 19Abraham was about 100 years old. His body was already so old that it was nearly dead. His wife, Sarah, was unable to have children. Abraham understood all that, but he did not stop trusting God. 20He never stopped believing what God had promised. Instead, he believed in God more strongly. He trusted God's great power.
Read all of Romans 4Romans 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Whoὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- againstπαράpara · from/with/besideG3844
- hopeἐλπίςelpis · hopeG1680
- believedπιστεύωpisteuō · to trust (in)G4100
- inἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- thatεἰςeis · towardG1519
- heαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- might becomeγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
- the fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
- of manyπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
- nationsἔθνοςethnos · GentilesG1484
- according toκατάkata · according toG2596
- that which was spokenἐρῶereō · to sayG2046
- Soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
- shallεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- thyσύsu · youG4771
- seedσπέρμαsperma · seed: offspringG4690
Cross-references for Romans 4:18
- Romans 4:19Abraham was about 100 years old. His body was already so old that it was nearly dead. His wife, Sarah, was unable to have children. Abraham understood all that, but he did not stop trusting God.
- Romans 5:5And when we hope like that, it will not disappoint us. That is because we know that God loves us very much. God has given his Holy Spirit to be with us. The Holy Spirit causes us to know God's love very well.
- Romans 8:24Ever since God saved us, we have continued to wait for this to happen. One day, we will receive what we have hoped for. Then we will not need to hope for it any more. Nobody continues to hope for something that he has already.
- Ruth 1:11But Naomi said, ‘My daughters, you should return to your own country. You should not choose to come back to Judah with me. I will not give birth to any more sons for you to marry them.
- Proverbs 13:12When you do not receive the things that you hope for, it makes you sad. But when you receive what you have always wanted, you are very happy.
- Ezekiel 37:11Then the Lord said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are a picture of all Israel's people. The Israelites are saying, “Our bones are dead and dry. There are no good things that we can hope for. We have come to an end.”
- Mark 5:35While Jesus was still speaking, some men arrived from the house of Jairus. He was the leader at the Jews' meeting place. The men said to Jairus, ‘Your daughter is dead. Do not ask any longer for the teacher to come.’
- Luke 1:18Zechariah asked the angel, ‘How can I be sure about this? You know that I am an old man. My wife is also old.’
- Acts 27:25Because of the angel's message, I say to you, “Be brave, my friends!” I trust God. I know that everything will happen in the way that the angel told me.
- Genesis 15:5The Lord took Abram outside. He said to Abram, ‘Look up at the sky. Count the stars. They are too many for you to count!’ Then God said, ‘That is how many descendants you will have.’
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
In the dictionaries
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
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