Romans 10:17 (DBY)

Passage

So faith then [is] by a report, but the report by God's word.

Nearby Context

Romans 10:15 and how shall they preach unless they have been sent? according as it is written, How beautiful the feet of them that announce glad tidings of peace, of them that announce glad tidings of good things!

Romans 10:16 But they have not all obeyed the glad tidings. For Esaias says, Lord, who has believed our report?

Romans 10:17 So faith then [is] by a report, but the report by God's word.

Romans 10:18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yea, surely, Their voice has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the extremities of the habitable world.

Romans 10:19 But I say, Has not Israel known? First, Moses says, *I* will provoke you to jealousy through [them that are] not a nation: through a nation without understanding I will anger you.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "report", "god's", and "word". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "report", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "But they have not all obeyed the..." into verse 18's "But I say Have they not heard...", so "faith" and "report" 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 "report" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.