What Does Romans 15:21 Mean?
But as it is written, "Those to whom no message of him was carried will see, and those who have not heard will understand."
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.THE KEY
The message reaches people with no prior report, and what is new to them becomes something they can perceive and understand.
THE MEANING
The verse speaks to you now: what has never been announced within your hearing can come into view when the message reaches you, and what is new can gather into understanding. Its movement is from no prior report to perception, not from familiarity to confirmation.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that you must already know the message before you can understand it.
THE ROOT
συνήσουσιν
synēsousin
GROWS FROM
συνίημι (syniēmi), from σύν + ἵημι (syn + hiēmi)
To bring or put together; by extension, to comprehend.
“understand” in this verse is synēsousin. The word pictures understanding as pieces being brought together. What has not been heard before can still come together as understanding when the message reaches the person.
ALSO GROWS
sunesis: Comprehension or insight.
σύνεσις
It names the understanding formed by bringing things together.
synetos: Intelligent or able to understand.
συνετός
It describes someone whose perception joins the parts into meaning.
ἀκηκόασιν
akēkoasin
GROWS FROM
ἀκου-
akou-
To hear, listen, or receive what is said.
“heard” in this verse is akēkoasin. The verse names an absence of prior hearing before describing understanding. The same hearing-family can also mean a report, so the line traces movement from no received report toward comprehension.
ALSO GROWS
akoē: The act of hearing, or what is heard as a report.
ἀκοή
It shows how hearing can refer both to receiving words and to the report itself.
hypakouō: To listen attentively and respond.
ὑπακούω
It shows that hearing can extend beyond sound into a response.
ἀνηγγέλη
anēnggelē
GROWS FROM
ἀγγελ-
angel-
To carry or deliver a message; to announce.
“was carried” in this verse is anēnggelē. The Greek says that no report about him has been announced to these people. The message-bearing root links the announcement to the messenger: the unfamiliar becomes visible as news is carried to them.
ALSO GROWS
angelos: One who carries a message.
ἄγγελος
It makes the act of announcing part of the verse’s movement.
euangelion: Good news or a favorable announcement.
εὐαγγέλιον
It shows the announcement-family at work in the word for good news.
THE PATTERN
The message crosses the boundary of prior knowledge and reaches people who have not received it.
So shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths before him, for what was never recounted to them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall discern.But Isaiah dares boldly and says, I was found among those who did not seek me; I became visible to those who did not ask for me.For so the Lord commanded us, saying, "I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you may be for deliverance to the far ends of the land."THE THREAD
So then trust comes out of hearing, and hearing comes through the word of God.Both verses use the Greek hearing-family, ἀκου- (akou-, hear or listen). Romans 15:21 moves from people who have not heard to understanding; here, hearing is where trust begins to take shape.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us