Romans 10:9, 10 in High Definition

The following article is taken from the book, Top Ten Bible Verses in High Definition. To buy click here.

Low Resolution

Key: [CAP] = Should be Capitalized, [ML] = Misleading, [OD] = Outdated, [T] = Wrong Tense, [WT] = Wrong Translation, [X] = Not in Greek, [-] = Greek Word not Translated

KJV

9 That if thou[OD] shalt[OD] confess[OD] with[WT] thy[OD] mouth the[X] Lord[OD] Jesus, and shalt[OD] believe[ML] in thine[OD] heart that God hath[OD][T] raised him[CAP] from the[X] dead, thou[OD] shalt[OD] be saved[OD].

10 For[OD] with the[X] heart man[X] believeth[ML][T] unto[OD] righteousness[OD]; and with the[X] mouth confession[OD] is made unto[OD] salvation[OD].

ESV

9 because, if you confess[OD] with[WT] your mouth that Jesus is[X] Lord[OD] and believe[ML] in your heart that God raised him[CAP] from the[X] dead, you will be saved[OD].

10 For[OD] with the[X] heart one[X] believes[ML][T] and[X] is[X] justified[WT], and with the[X] mouth one[X] confesses[OD][T] and[X] is[X] saved[OD].

High Definition

BV and BKJV

9 that if you acknowledge in your mouth Master Jesus and trust in your heart that God got Him up from the dead, you will be rescued.

10 You see, with the heart, He is trusted for the right way, but with the mouth, He is acknowledged for rescue;

The Improvements

Verse 9

"Thou" is an outdated way of saying "you".

"Shalt" is outdated (three times in this verse).

"Confess" is outdated and misunderstood.

The Greek word for "confess" is homologeo (homo = the same thing, logeo = to say). It means to acknowledge, to say that something is true.

The Greek word here is en ("in"). It means "in" not "with". The Greek text says "acknowledge in your mouth", not "acknowledge with your mouth".

"Thy" is an outdated way of saying "your".

"Is" is added by the ESV. It is not in the Greek text so it should be italicized.

The KJV adds the definite article ("the") here. It is not in the Greek text. The KJV should have italicized "the" to show that it is not in the Greek text.

"Lord" is an old way of saying "master". The KJV and ESV hide the meaning of "lord" by not translating the Greek word (kurios) consistently. Usually they translate kurios as "lord" but in passages that make it obvious that kurios is "master" (Ephesians 6:5, 9; Colossians 3:22; 4:1), they translate it as "master". It should be translated as "master" all the time.

It is misleading to translate pisteuo as "believe." The English word "believe" has changed in meaning since 1395 when it was first put in an English Bible (WYC) and it is still changing. Back in 1395 "believe" meant trust. Sometimes it still has that meaning in regular speech today, but usually it doesn't. When people read "believe" in the Bible today, they think it means something other than what it means, trust.

"Thine" is an outdated way of saying "your".

"Him" is referring to Jesus and so it should be capitalized.

The tense of this verb in the Greek text is aorist, not perfect (as in the KJV - "hath raised").

"Hath" is an outdated way of saying "has".

The Greek word here is egeiro. It means to arouse from sleep (or in this case, from death). "Get Him up" is better for this than "raise Him".

Egeiro Examples
"Joe is sleeping. Raise him up." (Awkward)
"Joe is sleeping. Get him up." (Better)

The KJV and ESV add the definite article ("the") here ("the dead"). It is not in the Greek text. They should have italicized it to show that it is not in the Greek text.

"Thou" is an outdated way of saying "you".

"Saved" is outdated and has taken on a different meaning among Christians today. "Saved" used to be a common secular word with a secular meaning. It still has that meaning in a few English instances, for example, "saved by the bell" and "donating blood saves lives." But many have changed the meaning of "saved" to a meaning that only refers to spiritual conversion.

The meaning of "save" in the Bible is "rescue". It involves much more than spiritual conversion. God is a rescuer in every way, even in secular areas (like rescuing people from car accidents or from murders). To call God a savior hides this truth. He is a rescuer who rescues.

Verse 10

Using "for" to start a sentence is outdated. People do not speak that way today. Verse 10 is explaining verse 9.

The KJV and ESV add the definite article ("the") twice in this verse ("the heart", "the mouth"). They are not in the Greek text and so they should be italicized.

"Man" and "believeth" are outdated.

"Man" (KJV) and "one" (ESV) are not in the Greek text.

"Believeth" (KJV) and "believes" (ESV) are present active verbs, but this verb in the Greek text is present passive ("is believed", "is trusted").

"Unto" (KJV) is outdated.

The problems in the ESV here are 1) "and" and "is" are not in the Greek text, 2) "justified" (a verb) is a noun in the Greek text, not a verb, 3) the Greek word means "righteous" not "justified", and 4) eis in the Greek text is not translated.

The Greek text says eis (into, for) dikaiosune (the right way). Jesus is trusted for the right way (both that He knows and does the right way and that in trusting Him we will find and do the right way).

Again this verb is passive (is confessed), not active (confesses). "Confession is made" is an attempt by the KJV to make "confess" passive. But the subject should be Jesus, not confession.

"One" (ESV) is not in the Greek text.

What is acknowledged? The statement of trust in the Anointed King (verse 8). Something like: "I trust in Jesus."

The ESV again makes several mistakes here: 1) "and" and "is" are not in the Greek text, 2) "saved" (which is a verb in the ESV) is a noun in the Greek text, not a verb, and 3) eis in the Greek text is not translated.

See the comments in the previous verse for more about "saved" and "rescued".

Verse 10 is two clauses with the same simple construction: dative noun ("with heart", "with mouth"), passive verb ("He is trusted", "He is acknowledged"), and eis noun ("for the right way", "for rescue").

The Big Picture

How do you find God's right way? You don't have to go a long way or do a great thing (verses 6 and 7). It is near you. It is as near as your heart and your mouth (verse 8). It is the statement of trust, trust in the Anointed King.

If you acknowledge a statement of trust in your mouth, a trust of the Master Jesus (for example, say, "Jesus, I trust You to rescue me") and trust in your heart that God got Him up from the dead, you will be rescued.

Did you get that? Mouth and heart. With the heart, He is trusted for the right way. With the mouth, He is acknowledged for rescue.

It is as simple as that. Trust Jesus.