Romans 3:11 (WEB)

Passage

There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks after God.

Nearby Context

Romans 3:9 What then? Are we better than they? No, in no way. For we previously warned both Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin.

Romans 3:10 As it is written, “There is no one righteous; no, not one.

Romans 3:11 There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks after God.

Romans 3:12 They have all turned away. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not so much as one.”Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Ecclesiastes 7:20

Romans 3:13 “Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit.”Psalm 5:9 “The poison of vipers is under their lips”;Psalm 140:3

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 "As it is written There is no..." into verse 12's "They have all turned away They have...", 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.