Romans 1:23 (KJV)

Passage

And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Nearby Context

Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

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

Romans 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

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

Romans 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "changed", "glory", "uncorruptible", "image", "like", "birds", and "fourfooted". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "changed" and "glory", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "Professing themselves to be wise they became..." into verse 24's "Wherefore God also gave them up to...", so "changed" and "glory" 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 "changed" and "glory" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.