Romans 1:22 (DBY)

Passage

professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Nearby Context

Romans 1:20 for from [the] world's creation the invisible things of him are perceived, being apprehended by the mind through the things that are made, both his eternal power and divinity, so as to render them inexcusable.

Romans 1:21 Because, knowing God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but fell into folly in their thoughts, and their heart without understanding was darkened:

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

Romans 1:23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into [the] likeness of an image of corruptible man and of birds and quadrupeds and reptiles.

Romans 1:24 Wherefore God gave them up [also] in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, to dishonour their bodies between themselves:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "professing", "themselves", "wise", "became", and "fools". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "professing" and "themselves", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "Because knowing God they glorified him not..." into verse 23's "and changed the glory of the incorruptible...", so "professing" and "themselves" 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 "professing" and "themselves" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.