Romans 8:20

Romans 8:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
• New International Version (NIV)For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope
• English Standard Version (ESV)For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
• New King James Version (NKJV)For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;

Context of Romans 8:20

18During this time now, we have troubles and pain. But I am sure that these troubles are not really very great. One day God will show us all the great things he has prepared for us. That will make the troubles that we have now seem very small. 19The whole universe that God has made now waits for something great to happen. Everything is waiting with hope to find out who God's children really are. God has caused everything in the universe to lose its purpose. It did not choose to be like that. It was God who decided that it should be like that. Then it could hope for something better in a future time. 21At that time, the universe will not continue to become worse and worse, as it does now. It will become free from that power. It will be free to enjoy great things from God, as God's children are also free. 22We know that everything in the universe is still in great pain now. Everything cries together in pain, like a woman who is ready to have a baby.

Romans 8:20 word by word

τῇ γὰρ ματαιότητι ἡ κτίσις ὑπετάγη, οὐχ ἑκοῦσα ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν ὑποτάξαντα, ἐφ᾽ ἑλπίδιRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• the creatureκτίσιςktisis · creationG2937
• was made subjectὑποτάσσωhupotassō · to subjectG5293
• to vanityματαιότηςmataiotēs · futilityG3153
• notοὐou · noG3756
• willinglyἑκώνhekōn · voluntarilyG1635
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• by reason ofδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• inἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• hopeἐλπίςelpis · hopeG1680

Cross-references for Romans 8:20

• Romans 8:22We know that everything in the universe is still in great pain now. Everything cries together in pain, like a woman who is ready to have a baby.
• Genesis 3:17Then God said to Adam, ‘You listened to your wife and you did what she said. You ate fruit from the tree after I told you, “You must not eat fruit from this tree.” Because you did that, I will curse the ground. You will have to work very hard to make plants grow in it for your food. It will be like this for your whole life.
• Genesis 5:29He called his son Noah. Lamech said, ‘He will help us in our difficult work on the land. We have pain when we work on the land to get food. That is because the Lord God cursed the ground.’
• Genesis 6:13God said to Noah, ‘I will destroy everyone. That is what I have decided to do. Everywhere on the earth, people are attacking each other. Now I will destroy the people and also the earth.
• Job 12:6But robbers seem to live in peace. They cause God to be angry but they think that they are safe. They trust their own strength as their god.
• Isaiah 24:5The people who live on the earth have caused it to become unclean. They have not obeyed God's laws. They have turned against his teaching. They have not obeyed the covenant that God made with them for ever.
• Jeremiah 12:4Our land has been dry for a long time. The grass everywhere is dying. How long will this continue? The animals and the birds are dying. This has happened because the people who live in this land do wicked things. They like to boast, ‘God will not see what happens to us.’
• Jeremiah 14:5There is no grass in the fields for the deer to eat. So the mother deer runs away from her new baby.
• Hosea 4:3Because of this, the land will become like a desert. Everyone who lives there will become weak. Everything will die: the wild animals, the birds, and even the fish in the sea.
• Joel 1:18The cows make a sad noise. They all move about because they cannot find any grass. Even groups of sheep are hungry.

Commentaries on Romans 8:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20For the creature was made subject to vanity - The Gentile world were subject to vanity of mind; but how? not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same. May we not say, it became vain willingly, but was made subject to vanity unwillingly? For, let us recur to the origin of Gentilism, the confusion of languages, by reason of the attempt to build the tower of Babel; and though there are some passages in the gloss of the Targumists upon this…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20For the creature - The renewed creature; the Christian mind. This is given as a reason for its aspiring to the full privileges of adoption, that the present state is not one of choice, or one which is preferred, but one to which it has been subjected for wise reasons by God. Subject to vanity - The word “subject to” means placed in such a state; subjected to it by the appointment of another, as a soldier has his rank and place assigned him in an army. The…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-25Verses 18-25 The sufferings of the saints strike no deeper than the things of time, last no longer than the present time, are light afflictions, and but for a moment. How vastly different are the sentence of the word and the sentiment of the world, concerning the sufferings of this present time! Indeed the whole creation seems to wait with earnest expectation for the period when the children of God shall be manifested in the glory prepared for them. There…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-21creation: This includes animals, plants, and the earth itself. Paul follows the pattern found in the Old Testament by speaking about creation as if it were a person (see especially Psalm 65:12–13; Isaiah 24:4; Jeremiah 4:28; 12:4). waits in eager expectation for: Just as Adam’s sin brought harm to the whole created world, creation will also share in the blessings God has promised to his people. This hope includes the renewal of the earth itself (for…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 19-2219-22. For, &c.--"The apostle, fired with the thought of the future glory of the saints, pours forth this splendid passage, in which he represents the whole creation groaning under its present degradation, and looking and longing for the revelation of this glory as the end and consummation of its existence" [Hodge]. the earnest expectation--(compare Php 1:20). of the creature--rather, "the creation." waiteth for the manifestation--"is waiting for the…Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 8:20

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Earth
• Holy Spirit
• Suffering
• Vanity

In the dictionaries

• Adoption
• Allow
• Bondage
• Carnal
• Creature
• Enmity
• Fear
• Flesh
• Foreknow
• Glorify

Commentaries on Romans 8

• 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
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• 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