Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Romans 10:7
ESV "or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
NIV "or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’ " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
NASB or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).'
CSB or, "Who will go down into the abyss?" that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.
NLT And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).'
KJV Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
NKJV or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

What does Romans 10:7 mean?

Paul has written in the previous verse that Israel should not attempt to bring the Messiah down from heaven when that has already happened. Christ has already come down! Paul is applying what God said to Israel about obeying His commands (Deuteronomy 30:11–14) to the idea of having faith in Christ.

Israel, in Paul's context, should not look for someone to ascend into heaven to bring the Messiah down or, now, to descend into the abyss to bring the Messiah up, as if from the dead. Christ has already come to them in the form of Jesus and walked among them. He descended to the earth, died on the cross, descended into the abyss, and then ascended back to earth before ascending to heaven.

In other words, Christ has already been near to Paul's Jewish readers. They should not continue looking for the Messiah to come down or come up. Instead, they should understand that He has been near them and that the Word of God, and faith, is right in front of them ready to be believed. This "word of faith" is a reference to the gospel: the message of God's intended plan for our salvation.
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app:
BibleRef.com is part of Got Questions Ministries

For answers to your Bible questions, please visit