Romans 1:21 (ASV)

Passage

because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened.

Nearby Context

Romans 1:19 because that which is known of God is manifest in them; for God manifested it unto them.

Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, [even] his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse:

Romans 1:21 because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened.

Romans 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Romans 1:23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "glorified", "knowing", "neither", "gave", "thanks", "became", "vain", and "reasonings". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "glorified" and "knowing", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "For the invisible things of him since..." into verse 22's "Professing themselves to be wise they became...", so "glorified" and "knowing" belong inside that flow. In Romans context, the local focus is righteousness by faith, union with Christ, life in the Spirit, and God's covenant faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "glorified" and "knowing" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.