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Easy-to-Read Version

Romans 1:22

They said they were wise, but they became fools.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Blindness;   Conceit;   Conscience;   Gentiles;   Godlessness;   Idolatry;   Lasciviousness;   Pride;   Rome;   Wicked (People);   Wisdom;   Scofield Reference Index - Faith;   Holy Spirit;   Thompson Chain Reference - False;   Fools;   Idolatry;   Wisdom, Worldly;   Wisdom-Folly;   Worldly;   Worship, False;   Worship, True and False;   The Topic Concordance - Foolishness;   Glory;   Heart;   Man;   Service;   Sexual Activities;   Uncleanness;   Understanding;   Vanity;   Wisdom;   Worship;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Fools;   Idolatry;   Titles and Names of the Wicked;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Rome, Romans;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Cain;   Concubine;   Creation;   Divorce;   Ethics;   Gentile;   Idol, idolatry;   Marriage;   Mission;   Nature;   Noah;   Sin;   Sun;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Amos, Theology of;   Condemnation;   Evil;   Fool, Foolishness, Folly;   Hell;   Homosexuality;   Idol, Idolatry;   Ignorant, Ignorance;   Religion;   Sin;   Time;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Christianity;   Judgment, Last;   Omnipotence of God;   Polytheism;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Idolatry;   Wise, Wisdom;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Acts of the Apostles;   Romans, the Epistle to the;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Gentiles;   Godlessness;   Judgment Day;   Proverbs, Book of;   Regeneration;   Revelation of God;   Romans, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Galatians, Epistle to the;   Idolatry;   Lie, Lying;   Love, Lover, Lovely, Beloved;   Paul the Apostle;   Person of Christ;   Romans, Epistle to the;   Text of the New Testament;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Alpha and Omega (2);   Atonement (2);   Fruit;   God;   Heathen;   Justification;   Knowledge;   Profession;   Profession (2);   Romans Epistle to the;   Sin (2);   Worldliness;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Graven Image;   Idolatry;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Fool;   Idolatry;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Evil;   Fool;   Gods;   Justification;   Profess;   Worship;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Saul of Tarsus;  

Devotionals:

- Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life - Devotion for January 26;   Every Day Light - Devotion for October 25;   Today's Word from Skip Moen - Devotion for June 23;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Claiming to be wise, they became fools
King James Version (1611)
Professing themselues to be wise, they became fooles:
King James Version
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
English Standard Version
Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
New American Standard Bible
Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
New Century Version
They said they were wise, but they became fools.
Amplified Bible
Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Professing to be wise, they became fools,
Legacy Standard Bible
Professing to be wise, they became fools,
Berean Standard Bible
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,
Contemporary English Version
They claim to be wise, but they are fools.
Complete Jewish Bible
Claiming to be wise, they have become fools!
Darby Translation
professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Geneva Bible (1587)
When they professed themselues to be wise, they became fooles.
George Lamsa Translation
And while they thought within themselves that they were wise, they became fools,
Good News Translation
They say they are wise, but they are fools;
Lexham English Bible
Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
Literal Translation
Professing to be wise, they became foolish
American Standard Version
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Bible in Basic English
Seeming to be wise, they were in fact foolish,
Hebrew Names Version
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
International Standard Version
Though claiming to be wise, they became foolsJeremiah 10:14;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
And while thinking in themselves that they were wise, they were fools. [fn]
Murdock Translation
And, while they thought within themselves that they were wise, they became fools.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
When they counted them selues wyse, they became fooles:
English Revised Version
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
World English Bible
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Weymouth's New Testament
While boasting of their wisdom they became utter fools,
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For thei `seiynge that hem silf weren wise, thei weren maad foolis.
Update Bible Version
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Webster's Bible Translation
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools:
New English Translation
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
New King James Version
Professing to be wise, they became fools,
New Living Translation
Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.
New Life Bible
They said that they were wise, but they showed how foolish they were.
New Revised Standard
Claiming to be wise, they became fools;
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Professing to be wise, they were made foolish,
Douay-Rheims Bible
For, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
Revised Standard Version
Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
When they couted them selves wyse they became foles
Young's Literal Translation
professing to be wise, they were made fools,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Whan they counted them selues wyse, they became fooles:
Mace New Testament (1729)
pretending to be wise, they became fools:
Simplified Cowboy Version
They brag about their wisdom, but they are fools.

Contextual Overview

19 This makes God angry because they have been shown what he is like. Yes, God has made it clear to them. 20 There are things about God that people cannot see—his eternal power and all that makes him God. But since the beginning of the world, those things have been easy for people to understand. They are made clear in what God has made. So people have no excuse for the evil they do. 21 People knew God, but they did not honor him as God, and they did not thank him. Their ideas were all useless. There was not one good thought left in their foolish minds. 22 They said they were wise, but they became fools. 23 Instead of honoring the divine greatness of God, who lives forever, they traded it for the worship of idols—things made to look like humans, who get sick and die, or like birds, animals, and snakes. 24 People wanted only to do evil. So God left them and let them go their sinful way. And so they became completely immoral and used their bodies in shameful ways with each other. 25 They traded the truth of God for a lie. They bowed down and worshiped the things God made instead of worshiping the God who made those things. He is the one who should be praised forever. Amen. 26 Because people did those things, God left them and let them do the shameful things they wanted to do. Women stopped having natural sex with men and started having sex with other women. 27 In the same way, men stopped having natural sex with women and began wanting each other all the time. Men did shameful things with other men, and in their bodies they received the punishment for those wrongs. 28 People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking. And so they do what they should not do.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Romans 11:25, Proverbs 25:14, Proverbs 26:12, Isaiah 47:10, Jeremiah 8:8, Jeremiah 8:9, Jeremiah 10:14, Matthew 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:19-21, 1 Corinthians 3:18, 1 Corinthians 3:19

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 4:16 - corrupt 2 Samuel 16:23 - all the counsel Job 11:12 - For vain Psalms 14:4 - Have Psalms 94:11 - General Psalms 106:20 - Thus Proverbs 6:32 - lacketh Proverbs 8:14 - sound Ecclesiastes 7:10 - wisely Ecclesiastes 7:23 - I said Isaiah 5:21 - wise Isaiah 8:20 - it is Isaiah 19:13 - princes of Zoan Isaiah 29:14 - for the wisdom Isaiah 44:9 - their own Isaiah 50:11 - all ye Jeremiah 4:22 - For my Jeremiah 9:23 - wise Jeremiah 10:8 - brutish Jeremiah 49:7 - Is wisdom Ezekiel 28:17 - thou hast Hosea 13:2 - according Luke 11:35 - General Acts 17:18 - philosophers Romans 1:14 - both to Romans 3:11 - none that understandeth Romans 10:19 - foolish 1 Corinthians 1:20 - hath 1 Corinthians 15:36 - fool Ephesians 5:11 - works Colossians 2:8 - philosophy 1 Timothy 1:7 - understanding 1 Timothy 6:20 - oppositions James 3:15 - but

Cross-References

Genesis 1:13
There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the third day.
Genesis 1:14
Then God said, "Let there be lights in the sky. These lights will separate the days from the nights. They will be used for signs to show when special meetings begin and to show the days and years.
Genesis 1:28
God blessed them and said to them, "Have many children. Fill the earth and take control of it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the air. Rule over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Genesis 8:17
Bring every living animal out of the boat with you—all the birds, animals, and everything that crawls on the earth. These animals will make many more animals, and they will fill the earth again."
Genesis 9:1
God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Have many children. Fill the earth with your people.
Genesis 30:27
Laban said to him, "Please, let me say something. I know that the Lord has blessed me because of you.
Genesis 30:30
When I came, you had little. Now you have much, much more. Every time I did something for you, the Lord blessed you. Now it is time for me to work for myself—it is time to do things for my family."
Genesis 35:11
God said to him, "I am God All-Powerful, and I give you this blessing: Have many children and grow into a great nation. Other nations and other kings will come out of you.
Leviticus 26:9
"Then I will turn to you. I will let you have many children. I will keep my agreement with you.
Job 40:15
"Look at the behemoth. I made the behemoth, and I made you. He eats grass like a cow.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Professing themselves to be wise,.... The learned men among the Gentiles first called themselves σοφοι, "Sophi", wise men: and afterwards, to cover their wretched pride and vanity, φιλοσοφοι, "Philosophers", lovers of wisdom; but notwithstanding all their arrogance, their large pretensions to wisdom, and boast of it

they became fools; they appeared to be so; they showed themselves to be such in those very things they prided themselves with the knowledge of: as, for instance, Socrates, after he had asserted the unity of God, and is said to die a martyr for the truth; yet one of the last actions of his life was sacrificing a cock to Aesculapius, at least he desired his friend Crito to do it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Professing themselves to be wise - This was the common boast of the philosophers of antiquity. The very word by which they chose to be called, “philosophers,” means literally “lovers of wisdom.” That it was their boast that they were wise, is well known; compare Romans 1:14; 1 Corinthians 1:19, 1Co 1:20, 1 Corinthians 1:22; 1 Corinthians 3:19; 2 Corinthians 11:19.

They became fools - Compare Jeremiah 8:8-9. They became really foolish in their opinions and conduct. There is something particularly pungent and cutting in this remark, and as true as it is pungent. In what way they evinced their folly, Paul proceeds immediately to state. Sinners of all kinds are frequently spoken of as fools in the Scriptures. In the sense in which it is thus used, the word is applied to them as void of understanding or moral sense; as idolaters, and as wicked; Psalms 14:1; Proverbs 26:4; Proverbs 1:17, Proverbs 1:22; Proverbs 14:8-9. The senses in which this word here is applied to the pagan are,

  1. That their speculations and doctrines were senseless; and,
  2. That their conduct was corrupt.



Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 22. Professing themselves to be wise — This is most strikingly true of all the ancient philosophers, whether Greeks or Romans, as their works, which remain, sufficiently testify. The word φασκοντες signifies not merely the professing but the assumption of the philosophic character. In this sense the word φασκειν is used by the best Greek writers. See Kypke. A dispassionate examination of the doctrine and lives of the most famed philosophers of antiquity, of every nation, will show that they were darkened in their mind and irregular in their conduct. It was from the Christian religion alone that true philosophy and genuine philosophers sprang.


 
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