English Standard Version
Romans 1:22
22Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
Romans 1:22 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
- New International Version (NIV)Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
- New King James Version (NKJV)Professing to be wise, they became fools,
- New Living Translation (NLT)Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.
Context of Romans 1:22
20For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
Read all of Romans 1Romans 1:22 word by word
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Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Romans 1:22
- Romans 11:25Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
- Proverbs 25:14Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.
- Proverbs 26:12Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
- Isaiah 47:10You felt secure in your wickedness; you said, "No one sees me"; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, "I am, and there is no one besides me."
- Jeremiah 8:8"How can you say, 'We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us'? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie.
- Jeremiah 10:14Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them.
- Matthew 6:23but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
- 1 Corinthians 1:19For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
- 1 Corinthians 3:18Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
Commentaries on Romans 1:22
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Professing themselves to be wise - This is most strikingly true of all the ancient philosophers, whether Greeks or Romans, as their works, which remain, sufficiently testify. The word signifies not merely the professing but the assumption of the philosophic character. In this sense the word is used by the best Greek writers. See Kypke. A dispassionate examination of the doctrine and lives of the most famed philosophers of antiquity, of every nation, will…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22Professing themselves to be wise - This was the common boast of the philosophers of antiquity. The very word by which they chose to be called, “philosophers,” means literally “lovers of wisdom.” That it was their boast that they were wise, is well known; compare Romans 1:14; 1 Corinthians 1:19, 1 Corinthians 1:20, 1 Corinthians 1:22; 1 Corinthians 3:19; 2 Corinthians 11:19. They became fools - Compare Jeremiah 8:8-9. They became really foolish in their…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 1:22
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries