Romans 1:31 (YLT)

Passage

unintelligent, faithless, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful;

Nearby Context

Romans 1:29 having been filled with all unrighteousness, whoredom, wickedness, covetousness, malice; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil dispositions; whisperers,

Romans 1:30 evil-speakers, God-haters, insulting, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

Romans 1:31 unintelligent, faithless, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful;

Romans 1:32 who the righteous judgment of God having known--that those practising such things are worthy of death--not only do them, but also have delight with those practising them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "unintelligent", "faithless", "without", "natural", "affection", "implacable", and "unmerciful". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "unintelligent", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 30's "evil-speakers God-haters insulting proud boasters inventors of..." into verse 32's "who the righteous judgment of God having...", so "faith" and "unintelligent" 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 "unintelligent" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.