For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
Parallel translations
- WEB because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them.
- KJV Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
- NKJV because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
- NASB because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
- NLT They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.
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
What can be known of God is evident to people because God has made it plain to them. Humanity is not without knowledge of God.
Overview
Paul grounds human accountability in revelation: God Himself has shown people what may be known of Him. This is general revelation — truth about God available to all through creation and conscience. It removes the excuse of ignorance and sets up the charge that people sin against light they have been given.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Acts 14:16–17In past generations, He let all nations go their own way.
- Ps 19:1–6For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
- Rom 1:20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.
- Acts 17:23–30For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you.
- Isa 40:26Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these? He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
- John 1:9The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world.
- Jer 10:10–13But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.
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 1:19 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.