Romans 3:11 (DBY)

Passage

there is not the [man] that understands, there is not one that seeks after God.

Nearby Context

Romans 3:9 What then? are we better? No, in no wise: for we have before charged both Jews and Greeks with being all under sin:

Romans 3:10 according as it is written, There is not a righteous [man], not even one;

Romans 3:11 there is not the [man] that understands, there is not one that seeks after God.

Romans 3:12 All have gone out of the way, they have together become unprofitable; there is not one that practises goodness, there is not so much as one:

Romans 3:13 their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; asps' poison [is] under their lips:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "understands", "seeks", and "after". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "understands" and "seeks", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "according as it is written There is..." into verse 12's "All have gone out of the way...", so "understands" and "seeks" 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 "understands" and "seeks" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.