Romans 10:7 (LSB)

Passage

or ‘Who will go down into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”

Nearby Context

Romans 10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of law: “The man who does these things shall live by them.”

Romans 10:6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down),

Romans 10:7 or ‘Who will go down into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”

Romans 10:8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,

Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "down", "abyss", "bring", "christ", and "dead". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "down" and "abyss", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "But the righteousness of faith speaks in..." into verse 8's "But what does it say The word...", so "down" and "abyss" 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 "down" and "abyss" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.