Romans 4:13–25, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Romans 4:13–25
Promise Rests on Grace and Trusts the God Who Gives Life
Grace-secured promise centers faith in the God who gives life to the dead and raised Jesus.
Why this sits here
Paul moves from circumcision's timing to promise's character and Christian resurrection faith.
What helps us understand it
Later material that clarifies it
Romans 5:1–11Therefore develops Abraham's reckoned faith and Jesus's resurrection into present peace, grace, hope, and reconciliation.
Romans 5:1 in Romans 5:1–11 is the reviewed hinge that connects the two units.
How the passage moves
Inheritance rests on promise secured by grace rather than law as wage.
Abraham hopes in the life-giving God amid embodied impossibility.
The reckoning account extends to believers in the God who raised Jesus.
A needed correction
Reading Romans 4:13–25 inside Romans's whole letter rules out these uses:
Abraham's hope does not guarantee pregnancy, healing, wealth, or a selected outcome.
His example does not excuse Hagar's exploitation or silence Sarah.
Promise does not authorize modern territorial claims.
How this should shape us
How should this shape us today?
Hold hope and bodily reality together without blaming infertile or suffering people.
Teach it back
Explain Romans 4:13–25 in your own words. Include its place in Romans, its movement, one material uncertainty, and one misuse the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Read it sentence by sentenceEach line inside the larger movement
Movement 1
Inheritance rests on promise secured by grace rather than law as wage.
Movement 2
Abraham hopes in the life-giving God amid embodied impossibility.
Movement 3
The reckoning account extends to believers in the God who raised Jesus.
What the first readers would have understoodRelevant history and culture
Rome, Israel, empire, house assemblies, and reconstruction limits
Genesis 12, 15, 17, and 18-21 provide promise, age, Sarah, Hagar, birth, and nations; Paul concentrates the sequence without erasing the fuller story.
How certain? probableWhy translations sometimes differMaterial translation choices
KJV wording and material alternatives
The pinned KJV wording is retained. Older English and Greek syntax are explained from the unit's argument; disputed wording is not made to carry more certainty than the evidence permits.
How certain? probableEarlier Scripture and inherited backgroundSupported quotations, allusions, and inherited ideas
Israel's Scriptures and Jewish context
Genesis 12, 15, 17, and 18-21 provide promise, age, Sarah, Hagar, birth, and nations; Paul concentrates the sequence without erasing the fuller story.
How certain? strongHow this connects with the rest of ScriptureThe passage's own meaning remains primary
Responsible canonical connections
Later canonical connections may clarify reception, but the unit's immediate argument and Romans as a whole control its meaning.
How certain? probableTextual variantsManuscript differences only when they affect meaning
Textual, grammatical, and punctuation care
The inspected textual notes identify no variant that overturns the unit's central movement; any material punctuation, wording, or manuscript question remains visible in the disagreement.
How certain? probableWhere careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: The world promise, Abraham's unwavering faith, and delivered/raised for our justification each carry substantial interpretive debate.
How certain? probableTheology that emerges from this passageConclusions drawn after reading the complete section
Theological contribution
Promise depends on the life-giving God, not human ability to guarantee outcomes.
How certain? strongTheological contribution
This unit advances Romans from gospel and universal plight through Christ, faith, union, Spirit, Israel, mercy, embodied love, welcome, mission, and praise: Grace-secured promise centers faith in the God who gives life to the dead and raised Jesus.
How certain? strongCommon ways this passage gets misusedFair explanation, context check, and stronger reading
Abraham's hope does not guarantee pregnancy, healing, wealth, or a selected outcome.
A memorable verse can be detached from Paul's staged letter argument.
Grace-secured promise centers faith in the God who gives life to the dead and raised Jesus.
Grace-secured promise centers faith in the God who gives life to the dead and raised Jesus.
Abraham's hope does not guarantee pregnancy, healing, wealth, or a selected outcome.
His example does not excuse Hagar's exploitation or silence Sarah.
A strong claim can be enlarged beyond its rhetorical, Jewish-scriptural, or ethical limits.
Grace-secured promise centers faith in the God who gives life to the dead and raised Jesus.
Grace-secured promise centers faith in the God who gives life to the dead and raised Jesus.
His example does not excuse Hagar's exploitation or silence Sarah.
Promise does not authorize modern territorial claims.
Readers may prefer control or certainty where Romans preserves disagreement, dependence, and mercy.
Grace-secured promise centers faith in the God who gives life to the dead and raised Jesus.
Grace-secured promise centers faith in the God who gives life to the dead and raised Jesus.
Promise does not authorize modern territorial claims.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Romans 4:13–25, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, and base text for original-language discussion.
Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Rom.txt, 4:13–25
Supports: Verse-level syntax, KJV-era wording, material variants, and interpretive alternatives.
NET Bible official Romans chapter print view, 4:13–25, translation and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Supports: Complete evangelical Protestant whole-letter exposition, historical setting, argument flow, and theological synthesis.
Mathis, 'Romans,' introduction and commentary section covering 4:13–25, with bibliography and endnotes
Supports: Catholic exegetical orientation, salvation-history frame, concise verse notes, and faith-new-life synthesis.
USCCB, Romans introduction and chapter notes covering 4:13–25
Supports: Jewish historical context, Paul-within-Judaism alternatives, diatribe restraint, and anti-supersessionist controls.
Nanos, Jewish Annotated New Testament, first edition print pp. 253-286, introduction and annotations on 4:13–25
Supports: Classic New Perspective proposal about works of law, covenant identity, boasting, and Romans 2-4 and 11.
Dunn, 'The New Perspective on Paul,' BJRL 65.2 (1983), journal pp. 95-122 plus later additional note
Supports: Abstract-level apocalyptic thesis about God's rescue of creatures from Sin and Death and renewed creaturely agency.
Gaventa, 'Places of Power in Paul's Letter to the Romans,' Interpretation 76.4 (2022), public abstract only
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Romans 4:13–25, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, and base text for original-language discussion.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Rom.txt, 4:13–25
Open the Romans Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible - Romans with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level syntax, KJV-era wording, material variants, and interpretive alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible official Romans chapter print view, 4:13–25, translation and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Open NET Romans 4 notesmodern open commentary
Romans
Donny Ray Mathis II
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: Complete evangelical Protestant whole-letter exposition, historical setting, argument flow, and theological synthesis.
Exact location: Mathis, 'Romans,' introduction and commentary section covering 4:13–25, with bibliography and endnotes
Open source ↗modern catholic translation notes
The Letter to the Romans: introduction and chapter notes
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2010-2026 online edition
Supports: Catholic exegetical orientation, salvation-history frame, concise verse notes, and faith-new-life synthesis.
Exact location: USCCB, Romans introduction and chapter notes covering 4:13–25
Open source ↗modern jewish annotated new testament
Romans introduction and annotations in The Jewish Annotated New Testament
Mark D. Nanos; edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler
Oxford University Press, 2011
Supports: Jewish historical context, Paul-within-Judaism alternatives, diatribe restraint, and anti-supersessionist controls.
Exact location: Nanos, Jewish Annotated New Testament, first edition print pp. 253-286, introduction and annotations on 4:13–25
Open source ↗landmark peer reviewed lecture
The New Perspective on Paul
James D. G. Dunn
Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 65.2, 1983
Supports: Classic New Perspective proposal about works of law, covenant identity, boasting, and Romans 2-4 and 11.
Exact location: Dunn, 'The New Perspective on Paul,' BJRL 65.2 (1983), journal pp. 95-122 plus later additional note
Open source ↗peer reviewed apocalyptic reading
Places of Power in Paul's Letter to the Romans
Beverly Roberts Gaventa
Interpretation 76.4, 2022
Supports: Abstract-level apocalyptic thesis about God's rescue of creatures from Sin and Death and renewed creaturely agency.
Exact location: Gaventa, 'Places of Power in Paul's Letter to the Romans,' Interpretation 76.4 (2022), public abstract only
Open source ↗