Romans 10:8

Rom 10:8. Ἀλλὰ, but) The particle here either has an augmentative [ἐπιτατικήν: end. on Epitasis] meaning as in Mat 11:8-9, or falls upon ἐγγὺς, nigh thee.—ἐγγὺς, nigh) We ought not to seek Christ at a distance, but within us. For while faith is beginning to believe, Christ dwells in the heart. This seeking for Christ [at a distance, instead of within one’s own heart] is found not only in those who are merely beginning, but even in those who are making progress in faith, Son 3:1; Psa 105:3-4. For he is here speaking, as if the righteousness of faith were itself conversing with itself.—ἐν τῷ στόματί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου) so it is in the Hebrew, but the LXX. add καὶ ἐν ταῖς χερσί σου τοῦτʼ ἔστι) The word, that is, the word of faith is nigh thee.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom 10:8 . ἐγγύς σου τὸ ῥῆμά ἐστιν … τοῦτʼ ἔστιν τὸ ῥῆμα τῆς πίστεως ὃ κηρύσσομεν . What is in the lips of the preacher is near to all who hear. In Deut. the word is of course the Mosaic law; here it is the Gospel, the word which deals with that πίστις on which the righteousness of God depends. τῆς πίστεως is objt. gen [1] The whole idea of the verses is that righteousness has not to be achieved, but only appropriated.

[1] genitive case.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vv. 8. “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart. Now, that is the word of faith which we preach.”

In the passage quoted, Moses said: “Believe on him who is revealed to thee in the law. With Him in the heart and on the lips thou shalt understand it, and thou shalt certainly fulfil it.” This saying was in the ancient economy a relative truth. It becomes in Christ absolute truth. In these words Moses had in a sense, without suspecting it, given the exact formula of the righteousness of faith; and it is because the apostle was conscious of this fundamental identity of feeling between Moses and the gospel on this point, that he could venture, as he does here, to apply the saying of the one to the teaching of the other. There is therefore in this passage neither a simple imitation of the words of Moses, nor a false Rabbinical pretence to interpret it correctly. Paul has done what we do or should do in every sermon: 1st. Disentangle from the temporary application, which is the strict sense of the text, the fundamental and universal principle which it contains; 2d. Apply freely this general principle to the circumstances in which we are ourselves speaking.

Nigh thee signifies (in the mouth of Moses): of possible, and even easy accomplishment. The term is explained by the two expressions: in thy mouth and in thy heart, the former of which means: easy to be learned and repeated; the second: easy to be loved; of course: in communion with Jehovah and by the aid of His Spirit both promised to faithful Israelites. “Such expressions, says Paul, are exactly those which find their full reality when they are applied to the word of faith, which forms the subject of gospel preaching.” If faith is an emotion of the heart, and its profession a word of invocation: Jesus Lord! is it possible to realize this formula of Moses: in thy mouth and in thy heart, better than is done by the word of faith?

Salvation thus appears to us as a perfectly ripe fruit which divine grace places before us, and on which we have only to put the hand of faith. To Christ belongs the doing; to us the believing. This idea of the absolute nearness of the finished salvation is analyzed in Rom 10:9-10 (starting from the expressions of Rom 10:8), and justified once more by a scriptural quotation (Rom 10:11), which contains at the same time the transition to the following passage.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_10:8

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is, the word of faith which we preach. As the expressions to be hidden, to be far off, imply that the thing to which they refer is inaccessible or difficult, so to be near, to be in the mouth and in the heart, mean to be accessible, easy and familiar. They are frequently thus used; see Jos_1:8, This law shall not depart out of thy mouth, i.e. it shall be constantly familiar to thee; Exo_13:9, That the law may be in thy mouth; Psa_37:31; Psa_40:8. The meaning of this passage then is, The gospel, instead of directing us to ascend into heaven, or to go down to the abyss, tells us the thing required is simple and easy. Believe with thy heart and thou shalt be saved. The word is nigh thee, i.e. the doctrine or truth contemplated, and by implication, what that doctrine demands. Paul, therefore, represents the gospel as speaking of itself. The method of justification by faith says, The word is near thee, in thy mouth, i.e. the word or doctrine of faith is thus easy and familiar. This is Pauls own explanation. The expression, word of faith, may mean the word or doctrine concerning faith, or the word to which faith is due, which should be believed. In either case, it is the gospel, or doctrine of justification, which is here intended.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By the word, Moses understood the Law which the Lord published with his own voice: and Paul applied it to the preaching of the Gospel which was the perfection of the Law.

Vocation cometh by the word preached.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

But what saith it? It saith--continuing the quotation from Deu 30:14.

The word is nigh thee--easily accessible.

in thy mouth--when thou confessest Him.

and in thine heart--when thou believest on Him. Though it is of the law which Moses more immediately speaks in the passage quoted, yet it is of the law as Israel shall be brought to look upon it when the Lord their God shall circumcise their heart "to love the Lord their God with all their heart" (Rom 10:6); and thus, in applying it, the apostle (as OLSHAUSEN truly observes) is not merely appropriating the language of Moses, but keeping in the line of his deeper thought.

that is, the word of faith, which we preach--that is, the word which men have to believe for salvation (compare Ti1 4:6).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 8. But what saith it? The word is nigh thee] There is no occasion to seek high or low for the saving power; the word of reconciliation is nigh. The way of salvation is now both plain and easy. The law is magnified and made honourable by the death of Christ; and the doctrine of faith in his death and resurrection is fully proclaimed, and amply proved to be effectual to the purpose for which it was revealed. By the preaching of the Gospel the doctrine of salvation is nigh thee, and the saving influence is at hand: it is in thy mouth, easy to be understood, easy to be professed: and in thy heart, if thou art upright before God, sincerely desiring to be saved on his own terms, not striving to establish thy own method of justification by the law, which must for ever be ineffectual, but submitting to the method of justification which God has devised.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. What does it say? For the purpose of removing the impediments of faith, he has hitherto spoken negatively: but now in order to show the way of obtaining righteousness, he adopts an affirmative mode of speaking. Though the whole might have been announced in one continuous sentence, yet a question is interposed for the sake of exciting attention: and his object at the same time was to show how great is the difference between the righteousness of the law and that of the gospel; for the one, showing itself at a distance, restrains all men from coming nigh; but the other, offering itself at hand, kindly invites us to a fruition of itself, Nigh thee is the word

It must be further observed, that lest the minds of men, being led away by crafts, should wander from the way of salvation, the limits of the word are prescribed to them, within which they are to keep themselves: for it is the same as though he had bidden them to be satisfied with the word only, and reminded them, that in this mirror those secrets of heaven are to be seen, which would otherwise by their brightness dazzle their eyes, and would also stun their ears and overpower the mind itself.

Hence the faithful derive from this passage remarkable consolation with regard to the certainty of the word; for they may no less safely rest on it, than on what is actually present. It must also be noticed, that the word, by which we have a firm and calm trust as to our salvation, had been set forth even by Moses:

This is the word of faith. Rightly does Paul take this as granted; for the doctrine of the law does by no means render the conscience quiet and calm, nor supply it with what ought to satisfy it. He does not, however, exclude other parts of the word, no, not even the precepts of the law; but his design is, to show that remission of sins stands for righteousness, even apart from that strict obedience which the law demands. Sufficient then for pacifying minds, and for rendering certain our salvation, is the word of the gospel; in which we are not commanded to earn righteousness by works, but to embrace it, when offered gratuitously, by faith.

The word of faith is to be taken for the word of promise, that is, for the gospel itself, because it bears a relation to faith. The contrast, by which the difference between the law and the gospel appears, is indeed to be understood: and from this distinction we learn, — that as the law demands works, so the gospel requires nothing else, but that men bring faith to receive the grace of God. The words, which we preach, are added, that no one might have the suspicion that Paul differed from Moses; for he testifies, that in the ministration of the gospel there was complete consent between him and Moses; inasmuch as even Moses placed our felicity in nothing else but in the gratuitous promise of divine favor.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

8. The word] More precisely, the utterance; i.e. of the terms of the covenant. Alike the elder and later Covenants were not obscure enigmas, but could be recited by human lips and assented to as “just and good” by human hearts.

that is, &c.] See last note but one on Rom_10:6. Here again St Paul sees in the words of Moses a divinely-meant adaptation to the case of the New Covenant as well as to that of the Old.

the word of faith] the utterance of faith; or, to expand the brief phrase, “the statement of terms of justification by faith;” the message whose burden is Faith.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But what saith it,.... The Scripture; so some copies, and the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic version read, "what saith the Scripture?" the Arabic version, "what dost thou say?" or "what saith he", Moses? for what follow are manifestly his words, in Deu 30:14,

the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; which is to be understood not of the law, for Moses himself is not speaking of the law only, but either of the whole word of God, both law and Gospel; or particularly of the Gospel, which holds forth those special blessings and promises of grace, pardon of sin, and circumcision of the heart, which are mentioned in the context, as what should be bestowed upon the people of the Jews in the latter days; and so is rightly applied by the apostle to the then dispensation, and is to be understood of the Gospel; which was nigh both in the ministration of it, by the apostles, to Jews and Gentiles, and in the application and experience of it; it was not only "in the mouth" of the preachers, but also of the hearers of it, by a hearty and sincere confession; and "in their hearts", being attended with the power of God, and received in the love of it, was truly believed in, and cordially embraced;

that is, the word of faith. This phrase, , "the word of faith", may be seen in the Jewish writings (z); and this shows what word is here meant, even the Gospel so called, because it contains doctrines which are to be believed upon the testimony of God, and particularly the doctrine of justification by the righteousness of Christ received by faith; and because it proposes Christ as the object of faith, and encourages souls to believe in him for life and salvation; and is also the means of begetting and implanting faith in the heart, and without it the preaching of it is of no avail: and it is further described by the ministration of it,

which we preach; being sent, commissioned, qualified, and assisted by Christ thereunto; which shows the agreement between Moses and the apostles of Christ; for the word which he spoke of, they preached, and indeed said no other things than what the prophets and Moses said should come, that Christ should suffer in the stead of his people, and rise again for their justification; the sum of which is delivered in Rom 10:9.

(z) Zohar. in Gen. fol. 45. 4.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

Ver. 8. The word is nigh thee] Moses meant it of the law, but it more fitly agreeth to the gospel. The babe of Bethlehem is swathed up in the bands of both Testaments: he is author, object, matter, and mark of both. Therefore if we will profit in hearing, teaching, reading, we must have the eye of our minds turned toward Christ, as the faces of the cherubims were toward the mercy seat.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But what saith it? - That is, what is the language of the doctrine of justification by faith? Or what is to be done according to that doctrine?

The word is nigh thee - This is still a use of the language of Moses. Deu 30:14. The meaning is, the doctrine is not difficult to be understood and embraced. What is nigh us may be easily obtained. What is remote, with difficulty. The doctrine of Moses and of the gospel was nigh; that is, it was easily obtained, embraced, and understood.

In thy mouth - This is taken from the Septuagint. Deu 30:14. The meaning is, that the doctrine was already so familiar, and so well understood, that it was actually in their mouth, that is, their language, their common conversation. Moses had so often inculcated it, that it was understood and talked about by the people, so that there was no need to search in distant climes to obtain it. The same was true of the gospel. The facts were so well known by the preaching of the apostles, that they might be said to be “in every man’s mouth.”

In thy heart - The word “heart” is very variously used in the sacred Scriptures. As used by Moses in this place, it evidently means that his doctrines were in their mind, or were a subject of meditation and reflection. They already possessed them, and talked and thought about them: so that there was no need of going to distant places to learn them. The same was true of the doctrine requiring faith in Christ. It was already among them by the preaching of the apostles, and was a subject of conversation and of thought.

That is - This is the use which the apostle makes of it; not that Moses referred to the gospel. His language conveys the main idea which Paul wished to do, that the doctrine was plain and intelligible.

The word of faith - The doctrine which requires faith, that is, the gospel; compare 1Ti 4:6. The gospel is called the Word of faith, the Word of God, as being what was spoken, or communicated by God to man. Rom 10:17; Heb 6:5; Heb 11:3.

Which we preach - Which is proclaimed by the apostles, and made known to Jews and Gentiles. As this was now made known to all, as the apostles preached it everywhere, it could be said to be nigh them; there was no need of searching other lands for it, or regarding it as a hidden mystery, for it was plain and manifest to all. Its simplicity and plainness he proceeds immediately to state.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The word is near thee, is near to every one, who to be justified and saved, need but believe, and comply with the doctrine of the gospel which we preach, and make a confession or profession of it with his mouth; and then whether he hath been Jew or Gentile, he shall not be confounded. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

But what saith it? i.e. what saith the text in Deu 30:14? or what saith the righteousness of faith? What is its style and language? In the Rom 10:6,7 he did but tell us what it said not, but here he tells us what it saith.

The word is nigh thee; i.e. the matter required of thee, in order to life and salvation. He seems in these words to declare the readiness and easiness of the way of salvation, as taught us in the gospel, and by the righteousness of faith. God requires no hard thing of us, to cross the seas, to climb the mountains, to take long and painful journeys, to find it out. The way of salvation under the gospel hath but a short cut; it requires not so much the labour of the hand, as the confession of the mouth, and the belief of the heart: or, The word that teacheth it is at hand, it is as if it were in thy mouth and heart: a proverbial speech, (as some think), to show the readiness of it.

That is, the word of faith, which we preach: by the word of faith, he means the gospel, and the doctrine of it: and the gospel is so called, either effectively, because it works faith; or objectively, because it is a received faith, and is the proper object of it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. The word… heart—This entire clause is quotation.

That is—The apostle now identifies the word of Moses with the gospel word. The word of faith is in its utterance in the mouth, in its power within the heart. Whether Christ be in the heavens or in the deep, the power of faith in him is salvation in our soul. It is more than nigh us, it is in us.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 8-10. The word of faith.

Men are quick to excuse their non-acceptance of Christianity. In order to obviate the pretence of the gospel being a system complicated to examine and conform to, the apostle quotes from Deuteronomy (using the passage in a justifiable, though altered signification) to exhibit the simplicity and brevity of the gospel requirements. Nothing impracticable is demanded of would-be converts. The "word of faith" is close at hand and intelligible, ready to be uttered and trusted.

I THE TWO ESSENTIALS TO ENJOYMENT OF THE BENEFITS OF THE GOSPEL. Belief and confession.

1. Belief naturally precedes confession, if the latter is not hypocrisy. Speech on religious questions that is not the utterance of a deep-seated conviction is like Ahimaaz running without tidings to deliver. An untimely avowal should be deprecated; the confession should stream forth from the fountain of belief; otherwise the want of correspondence between the outward declaration and the inward assurance will work deadly mischief. Let not the child"s Catechism be heavily laden. To sensitive minds the gap will seem to widen with growing intelligence, and they will deem the alienation from the early standard greater than it is, leading perhaps to a position of ultimate antagonism.

2. The essentials are few in number. Unlike the minute details of the Mosaic ritual, the law of Christ is short and easily comprehended. This apostolic declaration judges our own preaching and creed, showing that we are in danger of making the gate narrower and the road longer to the kingdom than Christ ordained them. The tendency of hoary Christianity is to multiply the requisite articles of doctrine and observance, making the initiation burdensome, the novitiate cumbrous.

3. On the other hand, less than the apostle insists on cannot prove a bond of Christian fellowship. Occasional communion there may be between those who differ respecting the fact of Christ"s resurrection, each recognizing the other"s sincerity and desire to press forward to the light; but experience attests the impossibility of enduring religious co-operation on a slighter basis than that laid down in the text. Fundamental divergence of opinion curbs free utterance, checks the fervour of prayer, makes all parties uncomfortable in their association.

II THE PRODUCT OF FAITH. "Righteousness." Distinguish between the assent of the understanding and the trust of the heart. "Believing with" or "in the heart" not only accepts the resurrection of Christ as a historical fact, but sees in this a spiritual truth, that Christ is the Mediator, the Redeemer, able and willing to work an ethical resurrection in all who commit themselves to his care and tuition. Such a faith rejoices in the great verity; the will gladly submits to Jesus Christ as God"s approved Agent of reconciliation. And thus faith imparts righteousness, connecting the sinner with the Saviour, the weak with the Strong One, the ignorant with the All-wise.

III THE RESULT OF CONFESSION. "Salvation" As human nature is constituted, the expression of a sentiment in word or deed lends it distinctness and potency. What the orator does for the multitude, when he translates into growing language their vague aspirations and inarticulate feelings, clothing, fixing, clarifying, and intensifying them, is what an open avowal of his religious faith often effects for the individual. It discloses what was wrapped up in the inner being, and the embodiment gives place and form to the idea. Sentiment unexpressed is liable to fade away like vapour uncondensed. Confession is a real act; it makes the man commit himself definitely to a certain course of behaviour, and assists him to realize his ideal. Most are deficient in moral courage, and all that strengthens determination makes for salvation, it is easier for an avowed than for a secret disciple of Christ to refuse to yield to the solicitations of the worldly, to join them in unprofitable amusements and practices. Then, too, confession redounds to the glory of God, who honours them that honour him. In heaven it will be no signal tribute to own him, for all there sing his praise. On earth is a sphere of distinction possible by standing up for the true, the right, the good. And so Christ promises to confess those who have confessed him. A manly declaration may confirm the faith of wavering brethren, and thus save ourselves and others. Timidity which seals the lips is a sower retaining the seed in his bag, and allowing the waiting soil to go unblessed with golden crops. S.R.A.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But what saith he - Moses. Even these words, so remarkably applicable to the subject before us. All is done ready to thy hand. The word is nigh thee - Within thy reach; easy to be understood, remembered, practiced. This is eminently true of the word of faith - The gospel. Which we preach - The sum of which is, If thy heart believe in Christ, and thy life confess him, thou shalt be saved.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

8. “But what saith the Scripture? The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But what saith it? [Here Paul interrupts the gospel with a question. If the word of life is not in these places (heaven and Hades), where, then, is it? Where does the gospel say it is? He now resumes the gospel's personification, and lets it answer the question.] T he word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart [Here end the words spoken by the gospel. Their import is similar to that of the second meaning of Moses' words found above. The gospel is the fully prepared gift of God ( Joh_3:16 ), and, being once accepted and possessed by the believer, he is not called upon to scale the heavens to procure a Christ and bring him down to see the needs of man and devise a gospel (for the Word has already become incarnate, and has dwelt among us-- Joh_1:14 --and seeing what sacrifice was needed for man's forgiveness and cleansing, he has provided it-- Heb 10:3-9); neither is it demanded of him that he descend into the abyss (Hades, the abode of the dead) to find there a Christ who has died for our sins, and to raise thence a Christ whose resurrection shall be for our justification (for God has already provided the Christ who died for our sins-- 1Co_15:3 ; Isa_53:5-6 ; Rom_3:25 ; Rom_5:6 ; Rom_8:32 ; 2Co_5:21 ; Gal_1:4 ; 1Pe_2:24 ; 1Pe_3:18 -- thus making an end of sins, and making reconciliation for iniquity-- Dan_9:24 --and who also was raised for our justification-- Rom_4:24-25 ; 1Co_15:17 ; 1Pe_1:21 --thus bringing in everlasting righteousness-- Dan_9:24 ). Thus far the apostle's argument runs thus: As the sources whence a law might be found were questions about which the Jew needed not to trouble himself, since God provided it; so the sources whence a Christ-gospel might be procured were also questions about which the Christian need feel no care, for the all-sufficient wisdom and might of God which provided the law had likewise perfected and supplied the gospel, so that men need only to accept it by faith. In either case His was the provision and theirs the acceptance; and what the apostle makes particularly emphatic was that the gospel was as easily accepted as the law, for it, too, could be familiarly discussed with the lips and meditated upon with the heart, being as nigh as the law. Nearness represents influence, power over us; remoteness, the lack of it ( Rom_7:18 ; Rom_7:21 ). As the words of Moses were spoken about the type of the gospel (the law), they were of course prophetically applicable to the Christ who is the sum of the gospel, and likewise the living embodiment of the law. But to make plain their prophetic import, Paul gave them a personal application to Christ, and changed the search among the distant living (where law might be found) to search among the farther distant dead (where Christ must be found to have been in order to give life). Thus Paul's variations from Moses constitute what Luther calls "a holy and lovely play of God's Spirit in the Lord's word"]: that is, the word of faith, which we preach [At this point the apostle begins again to speak for himself and his fellow-ministers, and shows that the "word" of which Moses spoke is the gospel or "word of faith" preached by Christians. He also shows that the words "mouth" and "heart," as used by Moses, have prophetic reference to the gospel terms of salvation]:

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. But what saith it? What does God's righteousness demand? It replies that we do not have to go either to heaven or to hades to lay hold of salvation, but that the word is nigh thee. The gospel is at hand. Faith in it, nourished in the heart and openly confessed, will secure salvation. This is more fully explained in the next verse.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

But what does it say?

The word "it" refers to "the righteousness" of Romans 10:6. Here Paul describes "righteousness" as a person who can speak. Paul uses a question to emphasize the answer he is about to give. AT: "But this is what Moses says" (See: Personification and Rhetorical Question)

The word is near you

Paul speaks of God's message as if it were a person who can move. AT: "You have heard the message" (See: Personification)

The word is ... in your mouth

The word "mouth" is a metonym that refers to what a person says. AT: "You know how to speak ... God's message" (See: Metonymy)

The word is ... in your heart

The phrase "in your heart" is metonym that refers to what a person thinks and believes. AT: "You know what ... God's message means" (See: Metonymy)

the word of faith

"God's message that tells us that we must believe in him"

if with your mouth you acknowledge Jesus as Lord

"if you confess that Jesus is Lord"

believe in your heart

Here "heart" is a metonym for a person's mind or inner person. AT: "believe in your mind" or "truly believe" (See: Metonymy)

raised him from the dead

"Raised" here is an idiom for "caused to live again." AT: "caused him to live again" (See: Idiom)

you will be saved

You can translate this in an active form. AT: "God will save you" (See: Active or Passive)

For with the heart man believes for righteousness, and with the mouth he acknowledges for salvation

Here "heart" is a metonym that represents the mind or will. AT: "For it is with the mind that a person trusts and is right before God, and it is with the mouth that a person confesses and God saves him" (See: Metonymy)

with the mouth

Here "mouth" is a synecdoche that represents a person's capacity to speak. (See: Synecdoche)

translationWords

heart

word

faith

preach

lord

believe

save

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

8. τὸ ῥῆμα τῆς πίστεως = the word in which faith, as the principle of righteousness, expresses itself. The actual ῥῆμα is Κύριος Ἰησοῦς: it is the expression of a faith which believes with the whole heart that GOD raised Him from death. The resurrection is the proof of the Lordship. This faith and confession is the demand of the Gospel righteousness. For the subj. gen. with ῥῆμα cf. Act 26:25. Other explanations are—the message which has faith for its subject, cf. Joh 6:68; Act 5:20 (S. H., Giff.), the message which appeals to faith (Lid.), the Gospel message (Oltramare ap. S. H.).

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8.] But what says it? The word is near thee, in thy mouth (to confess), and in thine heart (to believe): that is (see above), the word of faith (which forms the substratum and object of faith, see Gal 3:2; 1Ti 4:6) which we (ministers of Christ: or perhaps, I Paul) preach. This verse has been explained in dealing with vv. 6 and 7.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. τὸ ῥῆμα τῆς πίστεως. ‘The message, the subject of which is faith’; πίστις does not mean ‘the faith,’ i. e. ‘the Gospel message’ (Oltramare), but, as elsewhere in this chapter, faith as the principle of righteousness. Nor does the phrase mean the Gospel message which appeals to faith in man (Lid.), but the Gospel which preaches faith, cf. 10:17. On ῥῆμα cf. 1Pe 1:25 τὸ δὲ ῥῆμα Κυρίου μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. τοῦτο δέ ἐστι τὸ ῥῆμα τὸ εὐαγγελισθὲν εἰς ὑμᾶς.

ὃ κηρύσσομεν. This gives the reason why the new way of righteousness is easy to attain, being as it is brought home to every one, and suggests a thought which is worked out more fully in ver. 14 f.

In what sense does St. Paul use the O. T. in vv. 6-8? The difficulty is this. In the O. T. the words are used by Moses of the Law: how can St. Paul use them of the Gospel as against the Law?

The following considerations will suggest the answer to be given:

(1) The context of the passage shows that there is no stress laid on the fact that the O. T. is being quoted. The object of the argument is to describe the characteristics of δικαιοσύνη ἐκ πίστεως, not to show how it can be proved from the O. T.

(2) The Apostle carefully and pointedly avoids appealing to Scripture, altering his mode of citation from that employed in the previous verse. Mosen non citat, quia sensum Mosis non sequitur, sed tantum ab illo verba mutuatur, Vatablus, ap. Crit. Sacr. ad loc.

(3) The quotation is singularly inexact. An ordinary reader fairly well acquainted with the O. T. would feel that the language had a familiar ring, but could not count it as a quotation.

(4) The words had certainly become proverbial, and many instances of them so used have been quoted. Philo, Quod omn. prob. lib. § 10 (quoted by Gifford), ‘And yet what need is there either of long journeys over the land, or of long voyages for the sake of investigating and seeking out virtue, the roots of which the Creator has laid not at any great distance, but so near, as the wise law-giver of the Jews says, “They are in thy mouth, and in thy heart, and in thy hands,” intimating by these figurative expressions the words and actions and designs of men?’ Bava Mezia, f. 94. 1 (quoted by Wetstein) Si quis dixerit mulieri, Si adscenderis in firmamentum, aut descenderis in abyssum, eris mihi desponsata, haec conditio frustranea est; 4 Ezr 4:8 dicebas mihi fortassis: In abyssum non descendi, neque in infernum adhuc, neque in coelis unquam ascendi; Baruch 3:29, 30 τίς ἀνέβη εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἔλαβεν αὐτήν, καὶ κατεβίβασεν αὐτὴν ἐκ τῶν νεφελῶν; τίς διέβη πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης καὶ εὗρεν αὐτήν (of Wisdom); Jubilees xxiv. 32 ‘For even if he had ascended to heaven, they would bring him down from there … and even if he descends into Sheôl, there too shall his judgement be great’; cp. also Amo 9:2.

(5) St. Paul certainly elsewhere uses the words of Scripture in order to express his meaning in familiar language, cf. ver. 18; 11:1.

For these reasons it seems probable that here the Apostle does not intend to base any argument on the quotation from the O. T., but only selects the language as being familiar, suitable, and proverbial, in order to express what he wishes to say.

It is not necessary therefore to consider that St. Paul is interpreting the passage of Christ by Rabbinical methods (with Mey. Lid. and others), nor to see in the passage in Deuteronomy a prophecy of the Gospel (Fri.) or a reference to the Messiah, which is certainly not the primary meaning. But when we have once realized that no argument is based on the use of the O. T., it does not follow that the use of its language is without motive. Not only has it a great rhetorical value, as Chrysostom sees with an orator’s instinct: ‘he uses the words which are found in the O. T., being always at pains to keep quite clear of the charges of love of novelties and of opposition to it’; but also there is to St. Paul a correspondence between the O. T. and N. T.: the true creed is simple whether Law on its spiritual side or Gospel (cf. Aug. De Natura et Gratia, § 83).

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The word is nigh thee. Septuagint, Very nigh thee is the word. The word is the whole subject - matter of the Gospel. See ver. 9. Moses used it of the law. See on Luk 1:37. The whole quotation in the Hebrew is as follows : "It (the commandment) is not in heaven, that ye should say, Who will ascend for us to heaven, and bring it to us, and make us hear it that we may do it? And it is not beyond the sea, that ye should say, Who will go over for us beyond the sea, and bring it to us, and make us hear it that we may do it? But the word is very near thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, to do it." The object of the passage is to contrast the system of faith with the system of law, and that, especially, with reference to the remoteness and difficulty of righteousness. Moses says that the commandment of God to Israel is not incapable of accomplishment, nor is it a distant thing to be attained only by long and laborious effort. The people, on the contrary, carries it in its mouth, and it is stamped upon its heart. Compare Exo 13:9; Deu 6:6 - 9. In applying these words to the system of faith, Paul, in like manner, denies that this system involves any painful search or laborious work. Christ has accomplished the two great things necessary for salvation. He has descended to earth and has risen from the dead. All that is necessary is to accept by faith the incarnate and risen Christ, instead of having recourse to the long and painful way of establishing one's own righteousness by obedience to the law.

Word of faith. The phrase occurs only here. "Which forms the substratum and object of faith" (Alford). Others, the burden of which is faith.

We preach [κηρυσσομεν] . See on Mt 4:17, and preacher, 2Pe 2:5.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.