but just as it is written: “They who have not been told about Him will see, And they who have not heard will understand.”
Parallel translations
- WEB But, as it is written, “They will see, to whom no news of him came. They who haven’t heard will understand.”
- KJV But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.
- BSB Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”
- NKJV but as it is written: “To whom He was not announced, they shall see; And those who have not heard shall understand.”
- NLT I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says, “Those who have never been told about him will see, and those who have never heard of him will understand.”
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 supports his pioneer aim with Isaiah's words: those who were never told will see, and those who never heard will understand. Scripture itself anticipates the gospel reaching the unreached.
Overview
Citing Isaiah 52:15 from the Servant passage, Paul shows his frontier mission fulfills prophecy. The text speaks of nations who had no prior word of the Lord coming to see and understand. Drawn from the great Suffering Servant prophecy, it ties Paul's Gentile mission to Christ's redemptive work. God always purposed that the unreached would come to know Him through the proclaimed Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Isa 52:15so he will cleanse many nations. Kings will shut their mouths at him: for they will see that which had not been told them; and they will understand that which they had not heard.
- Isa 65:1“I am inquired of by those who didn’t ask. I am found by those who didn’t seek me. I said, ‘See me, see me,’ to a nation that was not called by my name.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 15:21 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.