Romans 9:30

Romans 9:30 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
• New International Version (NIV)What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
• English Standard Version (ESV)What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith;
• New King James Version (NKJV)What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith;

Context of Romans 9:30

28The Lord God will finish his work quickly. He has warned his people what he will do. And he will punish them completely.’ 29Isaiah had already said this: ‘The Lord of great power has let some of our children live. If he had not done that, no descendants would remain. We would have become like the people in Sodom and Gomorrah.’ So, we must think about what all this means. The Gentiles were not trying to become right with God. But some of them have now become right with him. God has accepted them as right, because they have believed in Jesus Christ. 31But Israel's people tried to find a law that would make them right with God. But they failed to become right with God. 32They failed because they refused to believe in Christ. Instead, they were trying to do certain things so that God would accept them. Because of that they fell to the ground. Their feet hit the stone which causes people to fall.

Romans 9:30 word by word

Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν; ὅτι ἔθνη τὰ μὴ διώκοντα δικαιοσύνην κατέλαβεν δικαιοσύνην, δικαιοσύνην δὲ τὴν ἐκ πίστεως·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• shall we sayἐρῶereō · to sayG2046
• thenοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• Thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• the Gentilesἔθνοςethnos · GentilesG1484
• which followedδιώκωdiōkō · to pursueG1377
• notμήmē · notG3361
• righteousnessδικαιοσύνηdikaiosunē · righteousnessG1343
• have attained toκαταλαμβάνωkatalambanō · to graspG2638
• evenδέde · thenG1161
• ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102

Cross-references for Romans 9:30

• Romans 9:14Because of this, someone might say that God is not fair. No! We should never say that!
• Romans 3:5Maybe some people may say, ‘The wrong things that we do show more clearly that God is always right. So perhaps God is wrong to punish us.’
• Romans 1:18God in heaven shows that he is angry with people. He is angry because they do not respect him and they do bad things. Because they continue to do those bad things, they choose not to accept God's true message.
• Romans 4:11Some time after that, God told Abraham that someone should circumcise him. That would be a mark on his body to show that God had accepted him. God had already accepted Abraham because Abraham believed in him. God did not accept Abraham because they had circumcised him as a Jewish man. This shows that Abraham is like a father to everyone that God has accepted. Like Abraham, God has accepted them because they have believed in him. It is not important that nobody has circumcised them.
• Romans 10:20Also, this is what Isaiah said very bravely: ‘God says: Those people who were not looking for me have found me. I showed myself to people who were not even asking about me.’
• Isaiah 65:1The Lord says, ‘I was ready to answer, even when my people did not ask me anything. I showed myself to people who were not even looking for me. I said, “Look! Here I am!” to a nation who did not even use my name to pray.
• 1 Corinthians 6:9People who do wrong things like that will never belong to God's kingdom. You surely know that. Do not think that people like this will receive God's good things: People who have sex in wrong ways. People who worship idols. People who have sex with anyone that they are not married to. Men who have sex with other men.
• Ephesians 2:12At that time, you did not know about Christ, God's special Messiah. You did not belong to the nation of Israel's people. You did not know about the good things that God had promised to his people. You were living in this world with nothing good to hope for. You were living without God's help.
• Ephesians 4:17So I say this to you. I am sure that I have the Lord's authority to say it. You must not live any longer like the Gentile people who do not know God. They do whatever their silly ideas teach them to do.
• 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.
• 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.
• Proverbs 15:9The Lord hates the way that wicked people live. But he loves people who want to do what is right.
• Proverbs 21:21If you are kind and faithful, you will live a long life! Other people will respect you and they will be kind to you.
• Isaiah 51:1‘Listen to me, you people who want to do what is right. You people who want to serve the Lord, listen to me! Think about the rock that you are a part of. Think about the ground that they dug you out from.
• 1 Timothy 6:11But you, Timothy, are a servant of God. So keep away from all bad things like that. Instead, always try to do what is right. Serve God in a way that pleases him. Choose to trust God and to love other people. Continue to be strong when you have trouble. Be kind to people.
• Romans 1:17The good news explains how God accepts people as right with himself. He does this when they believe in Christ. It is only because of their faith. Nothing else. This is what was written in the Bible long ago: ‘Everyone that God accepts as right will live, because they trust him.’

Commentaries on Romans 9:30

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 30What shall we say then? - What is the final conclusion to be drawn from all these prophecies, facts, and reasonings? This: That the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness, etc. This, with the succeeding verses, together with what belongs to the same subject in the beginning of the following chapter, I have explained at large in the notes on Romans 1:17, to which I must refer the reader; and shall content myself in this place with Dr. Taylor's…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 30-33Verses 30-33 The Gentiles knew not their guilt and misery, therefore were not careful to procure a remedy. Yet they attained to righteousness by faith. Not by becoming proselytes to the Jewish religion, and submitting to the ceremonial law; but by embracing Christ, and believing in him, and submitting to the gospel. The Jews talked much of justification and holiness, and seemed very ambitious to be the favourites of God. They sought, but not in the right…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-33n this section, Paul addresses a serious question. Many Jews did not believe in Jesus. If God had promised salvation to Israel, how could Jesus truly fulfill God’s plan when so few Jews believed (9:1–5)? In response, Paul uses the Old Testament to show that God always planned to save only a remnant, that is, a smaller group within Israel (9:6–29). Paul also explains that many Jews did not accept Christ because they refused to trust in him (9:30–10:21)…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 30-3130-31. What shall we say then?--"What now is the result of the whole?" The result is this--very different from what one would have expected. That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained--"attained" to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith--As we have seen that "the righteousness of faith" is the righteousness which justifies (see on Ro 3:22, &c.), this verse must mean that "the Gentiles, who while strangers to Christ…Read the comment
• Calvin’s Commentaries · v. 3030. What then, etc. That he might cut off from the Jews every occasion of murmuring against God, he now begins to show those causes, which may be comprehended by human minds, why the Jewish nation had been rejected. But they do what is absurd and invert all order, who strive to assign and set up causes above the secret predestination of God, which he has previously taught us is to be counted as the first cause. But as this is superior to all other causes…Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 9:30

• Gentiles
• Justification
• Predestination
• Salvation

In the dictionaries

• Continual
• Fault
• Resist
• Attain
• Bible, the
• Election
• Paul, the Apostle
• Romans, Epistle to the
• Salvation

Commentaries on Romans 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• 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