Romans 1:31
in Romans 1They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, unmerciful:
KJV
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
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This verse in Romans 1
Commentary
12 notes on this verse"Senseless" — and rightly so. For how could those who did not obey their parents understand anything? "Faithless" — that is, they are not steadfast in agreements. "Unloving, implacable, unmerciful" — the root of all evils is the very cooling of love: for from this …
This site's exposition
God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful
on Romans 1:30-32
The list closes on broken relationship, naming every bond that should hold a family or a city. Verse 32 lands the sharpest charge in the chapter. They know God's righteous decree, they do these things, and they applaud the people who do them.
This site's exposition
senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless
In Greek senseless, faithless, heartless and merciless all open with the same negative. Clarke takes faithless as covenant breaking. Chrysostom joins heartless to Matthew 24:12, where wickedness spreads and love grows cold in men.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaCOMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS · Written before 253.
proposed
"Therefore God handed them over to passions of dishonor. For even their women exchanged the natural use for that use which is outside nature. And in like manner the males also, having abandoned the natural use of the woman, were inflamed in their desire for one another, males working shamefulness with males, and receiving in themselves the wage which was due for their error. And as they did not approve of holding God in their knowledge, God handed them over to a reprobate mind, so that they do those things which are not fitting, being filled with all iniquity, malice, fornication, wickedness, avarice; full of envy, murders, strife, deceit, malignity; whisperers, detractors, hateful to God, insolent, proud, puffed up, inventors of evils, disobedient to parents, senseless, disorderly; without natural affection, without covenant, without mercy. And these, though they had come to know the justice of God, did not understand that those who do such things are worthy of death; and not only those who do them, but also those who consent to those who do them. Therefore you are inexcusable, O every man who judges; for in that wherein you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you do the same things which you judge." This is the third time that we find set down by the Apostle: "God handed them over." And for the first handing-over he gave the causes, namely, "Because, when they had known God, they did not glorify him as God, nor give thanks; but they became empty in their thoughts, and their senseless heart was darkened. […]
"Without natural affection, implacable." For this Christ Himself also pronounces to be the cause of wickedness, saying, "When iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." (Matt. xxiv. 12). This too St. Paul here says, calling them "covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful," and showing that they were traitors even to the gift of nature. For we have a sort of family feeling even by nature towards one another, which even beasts have got towards each other. "For every beast," it says, "loveth his like, and every man his neighbor." (Ecclus. xiii. 15.) But these became more ferocious even than they. The disorder then which resulted to the world by evil doctrines, he proves to us by these witnesses, and clearly shows that the malady in either case came of the negligence of them that were disordered. He shows besides, what he did in the case of the doctrines, that they were here also deprived of all excuse...
They were foolish and faithless and had no feelings either for God or for men. That is why they were heartless and ruthless. For someone who is cruel to his own family will be that much more cruel to others!
The Medieval Church1 voice
Then the omissions are mentioned: first, in regard to authority; hence, in regard to parents he says disobedient to parents, contrary to what is commanded in Ephesians: children, obey your parents in the Lord (Eph 6:1). In regard to God's authority he says, foolish, i.e., …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Without understanding,.... Of God, of his nature and worship, of things divine and even moral, being given up to a reprobate mind: covenant breakers; had no regard to private or public contracts: without natural affection; to their parents, children, relations and friends: implacable; when once offended there was no reconciling of them: unmerciful; had no pity and compassion to persons in distress.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Covenant-breakers - It is well known, the Romans, as a nation, from the very beginning of their commonwealth, never made any scruple of vacating altogether the most solemn engagement, if they did not like it, though made by their supreme magistrate, in the name of the whole people.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Without understanding - Inconsiderate, or foolish; see Rom 1:21-22. Covenant breakers - Perfidious; false to their contracts. Without natural affections - This expression denotes the lack of affectionate regard toward their children. The attachment of parents to children is one of the strongest in nature, and nothing can overcome it but the most confirmed and established wickedness. And yet the apostle charges on the pagan generally the lack of this affection. He doubtless refers here to the practice so common among pagans of exposing their children, or putting them to death.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
gave them over--or "up" (see on Ro 1:24). to do those things which are not convenient--in the old sense of that word, that is, "not becoming," "indecorous," "shameful."
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Without understanding - Ασυνετους, from α, negative, and συνετος, knowing; persons incapable of comprehending what was spoken; destitute of capacity for spiritual things. Covenant-breakers - Ασυνθετους, from α, negative, and συντιθημυι, to make an agreement; persons who could be bound by no oath, because, properly speaking, they had no God to witness or avenge their misconduct. As every covenant, or agreement, is made as in the presence of God, so he that opposes the being and doctrine of God is incapable of being bound by any covenant; he can give no pledge for his conduct. Without natural affection - Αστοργους; without that attachment which nature teaches the young of all animals to have to their mothers, and the mothers to have for their young. The heathens, in general, have made no scruple to expose the children they did not think proper to bring up, and to despatch their parents when they were grown old or past labor. Implacable - Ασπονδους, from α, negative; and σπονδη, A Libation. It was customary among all nations to pour out wine as a libation to their gods, when making a treaty. This was done to appease the angry gods, and reconcile them to the contracting parties. The word here shows a deadly enmity; the highest pitch of an unforgiving spirit; in a word, persons who would not make reconciliation either to God or man. Unmerciful - Ανελεημονας; those who were incapable, through the deep-rooted wickedness of their own nature, of showing mercy to an enemy when brought under their power, or doing any thing for the necessitous, from the principle of benevolence or commiseration.
The words behind it
4 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀσυνέτους, | asunetous | foolish, | G801 → | 5 times |
| ἀσυνθέτους, | asunthetous | untrustworthy, | G802 → | |
| ἀστόργους | astorgous | heartless | G794 → | |
| ἀνελεήμονας, | aneleemonas | unmerciful, | G415 → |
ἀσυνέτους,foolish,
asunetousG801 →5 times
ἀσυνθέτους,untrustworthy,
asunthetousG802 →
ἀστόργουςheartless
astorgousG794 →
ἀνελεήμονας,unmerciful,
aneleemonasG415 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 3:11There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
it leads to
- Psalms 14:2–4
The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.
- Psalms 53:2
God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.
- Psalms 14:2–4
Through
Jeremiah 4:22“For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”
it leads to
- Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 14:20
Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
- Romans 16:19
Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil.
- Jeremiah 5:21
“Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.
- Romans 3:11
There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
- Hosea 4:6
Through
Proverbs 18:2A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in airing his opinions.
it leads to
- Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
- Proverbs 1:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Romans
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Epistle to the Romans; John Chrysostom, Homily on Romans 5; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Romans and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Romans.