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For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see?
Romans 8:24 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB For we were saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for that which he sees?
  • KJV For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
  • NKJV For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?
  • NASB For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
  • NLT We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it.

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

We were saved in hope, and hope by nature looks for what is not yet seen. Our salvation includes a future not yet possessed, embraced by faith.

Overview

Paul affirms that hope is integral to our salvation, directed toward a redemption not yet visible. By definition, hope concerns what is unseen, awaiting fulfillment. This patient, forward-looking hope sustains believers as they await the glory and bodily redemption already promised.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 26

  • 2 Cor 5:7For we walk by faith, not by sight.
  • Heb 11:1Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.
  • 2 Cor 4:18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
  • 1 Pet 1:21Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him; and so your faith and hope are in God.
  • Rom 12:12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.
  • 1 Th 5:8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation.
  • Rom 15:13Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
  • 1 Pet 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
  • Rom 5:2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
  • Heb 6:18–19Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
  • Col 1:27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
  • Rom 15:4For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.
  • Ps 146:5Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
  • Ps 33:18Surely the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loving devotion
  • Gal 5:5But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the hope of righteousness.
  • Zech 9:12Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; even today I declare that I will restore to you double.
  • 1 Jn 3:3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.
  • Jer 17:7But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.
  • 2 Th 2:16Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope,
  • 1 Cor 13:13And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.
  • Ps 33:22May Your loving devotion rest on us, O LORD, as we put our hope in You.
  • 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 1:5the faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel
  • Titus 2:11–13For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone.
  • 1 Pet 1:10–11Concerning this salvation, the prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,
  • Prov 14:32The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Romans videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Romans 8:24YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on RomansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 8:24 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.