Romans 10:17 (WEB)

Passage

So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Nearby Context

Romans 10:15 And how will they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Good News of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”Isaiah 52:7

Romans 10:16 But they didn’t all listen to the glad news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”Isaiah 53:1

Romans 10:17 So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10:18 But I say, didn’t they hear? Yes, most certainly, “Their sound went out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”Psalm 19:4

Romans 10:19 But I ask, didn’t Israel know? First Moses says, “I will provoke you to jealousy with that which is no nation, with a nation void of understanding I will make you angry.”Deuteronomy 32:31

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "But they didn t all listen to..." into verse 18's "But I say didn t they hear...", so "faith" and "comes" 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 "comes" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.