The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
- KJV For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
- NKJV For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
- NASB For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
- NLT But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God's wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and the unrighteousness of those who suppress the truth. Human sin is not ignorance but active rejection of known truth.
Overview
Having stated the gospel's good news, Paul now explains why it is needed: God's righteous wrath stands against human sin. 'Suppress the truth in unrighteousness' indicates that people actively hold down the truth they know about God. God's wrath is not a loss of temper but His settled, holy opposition to sin. This begins Paul's argument that all humanity stands condemned and in need of the gospel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Eph 5:6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.
- 1 Tim 4:1–2Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,
- Rom 1:32Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.
- Col 3:6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.
- 2 Th 2:10and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.
- Rom 5:9Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!
- Rom 6:13Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.
- Rom 4:15because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression.
- John 3:19–21And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
- Rom 2:3So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?
- Rom 1:28Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
- Rom 1:19For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
- Acts 24:24–25After several days, Felix returned with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.
- Rom 2:15–23So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them
- Luke 12:46–47The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate. Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
- Rom 5:6For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 1:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.