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Romans 10:2
ESV For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
NIV For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.
NASB For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.
CSB I can testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
NLT I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal.
KJV For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
NKJV For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

What does Romans 10:2 mean?

In the previous verse, Paul revealed his desire and prayer that the Jewish people would be saved by coming to faith in Christ. He has expressed great compassion and sadness for them in this and the previous chapter.

Now Paul writes of his respect for their zeal or enthusiasm. They love God and seek to honor Him and obey Him. The Jewish people of Paul's day were especially passionate in their worship of God. Paul himself demonstrated that kind of fervor—in a tragic way—before his conversion to Christianity, as a persecutor of the church (Philippians 3:4–7).

Paul is saddened, though, that Israel's zeal is not driven by a true understanding of who God is or what He wants from them. Paul knows from experience the traditions the Jewish religious leaders have and their exhaustive knowledge of the Scriptures. To know all of that, however, and to not know Christ is to know far too little.
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