Romans 10:6 (ASV)

Passage

But the righteousness which is of faith saith thus, Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down:)

Nearby Context

Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law unto righteousness to every one that believeth.

Romans 10:5 For Moses writeth that the man that doeth the righteousness which is of the law shall live thereby.

Romans 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith saith thus, Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down:)

Romans 10:7 or, Who shall descend into the abyss? (That is, to bring Christ up from the dead.)

Romans 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "righteousness", "saith", "thus", "heart", "shall", "ascend", and "heaven". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "righteousness", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "For Moses writeth that the man that..." into verse 7's "or Who shall descend into the abyss...", so "faith" and "righteousness" 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 "faith" and "righteousness" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.