Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Romans 4:14 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 14. 14For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse argues that law-defined heirship alone would empty faith and cancel promise.
Read It With
- Romans 4:13–25
Read Romans 4:14 with 4:13–25. This verse argues that law-defined heirship alone would empty faith and cancel promise. The complete unit establishes: Grace-secured promise centers faith in the God who gives life to the dead and raised Jesus.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Paul moves from circumcision's timing to promise's character and Christian resurrection faith. Within that movement, this verse argues that law-defined heirship alone would empty faith and cancel promise.
What Remains True
This verse argues that law-defined heirship alone would empty faith and cancel promise. This supports the unit's enduring claim: Grace-secured promise centers faith in the God who gives life to the dead and raised Jesus.
How It Can Shape Life
- Use Romans 4:14 by attending to its actual contribution: it argues that law-defined heirship alone would empty faith and cancel promise. In the complete unit, this leads to the following response: Hold hope and bodily reality together without blaming infertile or suffering people.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Romans 4:13–25 — Promise Rests on Grace and Trusts the God Who Gives LifeSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 notes