But I ask, did they not hear? Indeed they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
Parallel translations
- WEB But I say, didn’t they hear? Yes, most certainly, “Their sound went out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
- KJV But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
- NKJV But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: “Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.”
- NASB But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? On the contrary: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.”
- NLT But I ask, have the people of Israel actually heard the message? Yes, they have: “The message has gone throughout the earth, and the words to all the world.”
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
Paul asks whether Israel failed to hear, and answers that the message has gone out to all the earth. Their unbelief is not for lack of opportunity to hear.
Overview
Anticipating an excuse, Paul asks if Israel simply did not hear the gospel. Quoting Psalm 19:4, which speaks of creation's witness, he applies its language to the wide spread of the gospel message. The point is that the word has indeed been proclaimed broadly, so Israel cannot plead ignorance. Their failure is unbelief, not deprivation, a theme Paul presses further in the closing verses of the chapter.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 22
- Ps 19:4their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun.
- Rom 1:8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed all over the world.
- Matt 24:14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
- 1 Th 1:8For not only did the message of the Lord ring out from you to Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone out to every place, so that we have no need to say anything more.
- Col 1:23if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
- Col 1:6that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God.
- Mark 16:15And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
- Matt 28:19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
- Matt 26:13Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
- Ps 98:3He has remembered His love and faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
- Ps 22:27All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
- Isa 49:6He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
- Acts 2:5–11Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
- Jer 16:19O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of distress, the nations will come to You from the ends of the earth, and they will say, “Our fathers inherited nothing but lies, worthless idols of no benefit at all.
- Isa 52:10The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
- Matt 4:8Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
- Isa 24:16From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I am wasting away! I am wasting away! Woe is me.” The treacherous betray; the treacherous deal in treachery.
- 1 Kgs 18:10As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you.
- Rom 15:19by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
- Mark 16:20And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming His word by the signs that accompanied it.
- Acts 28:23So they set a day to meet with Paul, and many people came to the place he was staying. He expounded to them from morning to evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and persuading them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.
- Acts 26:20First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 10:18 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
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