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New Living Translation

Romans 10:15

And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, "How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!"

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Gospel;   Justification;   Minister, Christian;   Peace;   Quotations and Allusions;   Thompson Chain Reference - Church;   Leaders;   Ministers;   Missions, World-Wide;   Religious;   The Topic Concordance - Evangelism;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Faith;   Gospel, the;   Ministers;   Missionary Work by Ministers;   Peace, Spiritual;   Salvation;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Gospel;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Church;   Evangelist;   Mission;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Beauty;   Evangelize, Evangelism;   Gospel;   Mission;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Church;   Ministry, Gospel;   Ordinances of the Gospel;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Faith;   Gospels;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Sandal;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Glad Tidings;   Gospel;   Human Free Will;   Romans, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Nahum;   Paul the Apostle;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Ear;   Feet;   Goodness (Human);   Gospel (2);   Isaiah ;   Law;   Numbers;   Paul (2);   Pre-Existence;   Predestination;   Quotations;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Gospel;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Feet;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Vocation;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Glad Tidings;   Peace;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for November 27;  

Parallel Translations

Simplified Cowboy Version
And how will anyone go talk about him unless they are sent? That is why the Good Book says, "Look at those who aren't afraid to ride out and gather!"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"
Legacy Standard Bible
And how will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim good news of good things!"
Bible in Basic English
And how will there be preachers if they are not sent? As it is said, How beautiful are the feet of those who give the glad news of good things.
Darby Translation
and how shall they preach unless they have been sent? according as it is written, How beautiful the feet of them that announce glad tidings of peace, of them that announce glad tidings of good things!
Christian Standard Bible®
And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things!
World English Bible
And how will they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!"
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But how shall they preach, unless they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them who bring the good tidings of peace, who bring the glad tidings of good things!
Weymouth's New Testament
And how are men to preach unless they have been sent to do so? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good!"
King James Version (1611)
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written: How beautifull are the feete of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Literal Translation
And how may they preach if they are not sent? Even as it has been written, "How beautiful" "the feet of those preaching the gospel of peace, of those preaching the gospel of good things." Isa. 52:7
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But how shal they preach, excepte they be sent? As it is wrytte: How beutyfull are the fete of the yt preach peace, yt brynge good tidinges?
Mace New Testament (1729)
and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach except they be sent? as it is written , "how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"
Amplified Bible
And how will they preach unless they are commissioned and sent [for that purpose]? Just as it is written and forever remains written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"
American Standard Version
and how shall they preach, except they be sent? even as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things!
Revised Standard Version
And how can men preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!"
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written: how beautifull are the fete of them which bringe glad tydynges of peace and bringe glad tydynges of good thinges.
Update Bible Version
and how shall they preach, except they be sent? according to as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things!
Webster's Bible Translation
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things?
Young's Literal Translation
and how shall they preach, if they may not be sent? according as it hath been written, `How beautiful the feet of those proclaiming good tidings of peace, of those proclaiming good tidings of the good things!'
New Century Version
and before someone can go and tell them, that person must be sent. It is written, "How beautiful is the person who comes to bring good news."
New English Translation
And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, " How timely is the arrival of those who proclaim the good news ."
Berean Standard Bible
And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Contemporary English Version
And how can anyone tell them without being sent by the Lord? The Scriptures say it is a beautiful sight to see even the feet of someone coming to preach the good news.
Complete Jewish Bible
And how can people proclaim him unless God sends them? — as the Tanakh puts it, "How beautiful are the feet of those announcing good news about good things!"
English Standard Version
And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"
Geneva Bible (1587)
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, Howe beautifull are the feete of them which bring glad tidings of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
George Lamsa Translation
Or how can they preach, if they are not sent forth? As it is written, How becoming are the feet of those who preach peace, and of those who bring good tidings.
Hebrew Names Version
And how will they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Good News of shalom, Who bring glad tidings of good things!"
International Standard Version
And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written,Isaiah 52:7; Nahum 1:15;">[xr] "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!"Isaiah 52:7">[fn]
Etheridge Translation
Or how shall they preach if they are not sent ? As it is written, How beautiful the feet of them who evangelize peace, And who evangelize good things !
Murdock Translation
Or, how shall they preach, if they are not sent forth? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of the heralds of peace, and of the heralds of good things?
New King James Version
And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, [fn] Who bring glad tidings of good things!" Isaiah 52:7; Nahum 1:15 ">[fn]
New Life Bible
And how can someone tell them if he is not sent? The Holy Writings say, "The feet of those who bring the Good News are beautiful."
English Revised Version
and how shall they preach, except they be sent? even as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things!
New Revised Standard
And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And how shall they proclaim, except they be sent? Even as it is written - How beautiful the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things!
Douay-Rheims Bible
And how shall they preach unless they be sent, as it is written: How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things?
King James Version
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Lexham English Bible
And how will they preach, unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How timely are the feet of those who bring good news of good things."
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And howe shall they preache, except they be sent? As it is written: Howe beautifull are the feete of them whiche bryng good tydynges of peace, & bryng good tydynges of good thynges.
Easy-to-Read Version
And before anyone can go and tell them, they must be sent. As the Scriptures say, "How wonderful it is to see someone coming to tell good news!"
New American Standard Bible
But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"
Good News Translation
And how can the message be proclaimed if the messengers are not sent out? As the scripture says, "How wonderful is the coming of messengers who bring good news!"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and hou schulen thei preche, but thei be sent? As it is writun, Hou faire ben the feet of hem that prechen pees, of hem that prechen good thingis.

Contextual Overview

12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, "How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!" 16 But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, " Lord , who has believed our message?" 17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. 18 But I ask, have the people of Israel actually heard the message? Yes, they have: "The message has gone throughout the earth, and the words to all the world." 19 But I ask, did the people of Israel really understand? Yes, they did, for even in the time of Moses, God said, "I will rouse your jealousy through people who are not even a nation. I will provoke your anger through the foolish Gentiles." 20 And later Isaiah spoke boldly for God, saying, "I was found by people who were not looking for me. I showed myself to those who were not asking for me." 21 But regarding Israel, God said, "All day long I opened my arms to them, but they were disobedient and rebellious."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

And how: Jeremiah 23:32, Matthew 9:38, Matthew 10:1-6, Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 10:1, John 20:21, Acts 9:15, Acts 13:2-4, Acts 22:21, 1 Corinthians 12:28, 1 Corinthians 12:29, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, Ephesians 3:8, Ephesians 4:11, Ephesians 4:12, 1 Peter 1:12

How beautiful: Isaiah 52:7, Nahum 1:15

the gospel: Isaiah 57:19, Luke 2:14, Acts 10:36, Ephesians 2:17, Ephesians 6:15

and bring: Isaiah 40:9, Isaiah 61:1, Luke 2:10, Luke 8:1, Acts 13:26

Reciprocal: Genesis 8:11 - an olive Deuteronomy 30:13 - Who shall 2 Samuel 18:27 - He is a good Psalms 89:15 - know Proverbs 9:3 - sent Proverbs 18:21 - Death Proverbs 20:15 - but Proverbs 25:25 - so Isaiah 35:2 - and rejoice Isaiah 41:27 - I will give Jeremiah 23:21 - General Ezekiel 2:3 - I send Matthew 4:23 - the gospel John 10:1 - He Acts 5:9 - the feet Acts 13:3 - they sent Acts 13:32 - we Acts 16:9 - Come Romans 5:1 - we have 1 Corinthians 3:5 - ministers Philippians 2:29 - with 2 Timothy 4:2 - Preach Titus 1:3 - manifested

Cross-References

Genesis 10:2
The descendants of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
Genesis 10:3
The descendants of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
Genesis 10:8
Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, who was the first heroic warrior on earth.
Genesis 10:15
Canaan's oldest son was Sidon, the ancestor of the Sidonians. Canaan was also the ancestor of the Hittites,
Genesis 10:18
Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. The Canaanite clans eventually spread out,
Genesis 10:20
These were the descendants of Ham, identified by clan, language, territory, and national identity.
Genesis 10:21
Sons were also born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth. Shem was the ancestor of all the descendants of Eber.
Genesis 10:24
Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah was the father of Eber.
Genesis 23:3
Then, leaving her body, he said to the Hittite elders,
Genesis 49:13
"Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And how shall they preach, except they be sent,.... There is no proper, rightful, regular, and lawful preaching of the word without a mission, which is either extraordinary, or ordinary; extraordinary mission was such as the apostles themselves had; who, as they were called to extraordinary service, had extraordinary qualifications, and were sent forth in an extraordinary manner, with a power of doing miracles, and immediately by Christ himself. Ordinary mission is of men to be pastors and teachers, which includes qualifications for the ministerial work; for whom Christ sends forth into such service, he bestows gifts on them, fitting them for it, some more, some less, but all have some; and it also includes a call unto it, which is either internal, and by the Spirit of God, and lies partly in the furniture he gives, and the inclination of the heart to this good work which he forms; and which arises not from a vanity of mind, and a desire of popular applause, and worldly views, and sinister ends; but from a real concern for the good of souls, and the glory of Christ, being willing to deny themselves, and forsake all for Christ, to suitor reproach for his name's sake, and to forego all worldly interest, and secular views: or is external, which is given by the churches of Christ, after due trial and examination of gifts, and a serious consideration of the matter, and that in the most solemn manner; and this is what may be properly called a preacher's mission, and none but such who are in this way sent out ought to preach the Gospel: and to such well agrees, and may be applied, that passage in Isaiah 52:7, where

it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things; which words are not to be understood of the messengers that brought the tidings of deliverance from the Babylonish captivity, but of the ministers of the Gospel. In Isaiah 52:7 it is expressed in the singular number, "how beautiful are the feet of him", c. and is by some understood of Christ, as it is also by many Jewish writers: thus interpreting the "turtle's voice" in Song of Solomon 2:12

"this (say they a) is the voice of the King Messiah, proclaiming and saying, "how beautiful on the mountains", c.''

And elsewhere b it is observed, that the

"Rabbins say, great is peace, for when the King Messiah comes, he does not open but with peace, as it is said, "how beautiful upon the mountains", c.''

And says c another,

"one verse says, "how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings", פירש המלך המשיח, "the explanation", or meaning is, the King Messiah:''

and some of the more, modern ones d of them, own these words are,

מענין הגאולה וביאת המשיח, "concerning the redemption, and the coming of the Messiah": and so the worlds, however they may principally regard the Messiah and his ministry, are property applied to the apostles of Christ and may be rightly understood of any minister of the Gospel, whose business it is to "preach the Gospel of peace": which is so called from the subject matter of it, peace made by the blood of Christ, which it proclaims from the effect of it, producing, peace and tranquillity in distressed minds, and making men of peaceable dispositions; and from the use of it, which is to direct men to the way of peace, to guide their feet in it, lead them to eternal peace: their work is also to "bring glad tidings of good things"; such as reconciliation, righteousness, pardon, life, and eternal salvation, by a crucified Christ; and the preaching of such a Gospel, and bringing such news, make their "feet beautiful": one should have thought rather their lips than their feet would be took notice of; the reason of this is, partly because of the agreeableness of their walk and conversation to the doctrine they preach; and partly because of their readiness to preach it everywhere, though they run the utmost risk in so doing; and also because of their swiftness, particularly of the apostles, in going through the cities of Israel, and running over the Gentile world with the Gospel of peace, in so short a time as they did; and more especially because of the acceptableness of their message, with which they were sent and ran; see 2 Samuel 18:27. And so this passage is pertinently alleged to prove, that mission is necessary to preaching; since these words declare the character of Gospel ministers, as publishers of peace, and messengers of good tidings; and express the message itself, and the nature of it; both which suppose them to be sent by another, even the Lord, under whose authority, and by whose warrant they act; just as ambassadors, heralds, and messengers do, by virtue of a commission they receive from their prince.

a Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 11. 4. b Vajikra Rabba Parash, c. 9. fol. 153. 2. Perek Shalom, fol. 20. 1. c Raziel, fol. 23. 2. d Menasseh ben Israel Nishmath Chayim, fol. 41. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And how shall they preach - In what way shall there be preachers, unless they are commissioned by God? The word “how” does not refer to the manner of preaching, but to the fact that there would be no preachers at all unless they were sent forth. To preach means to proclaim in a public manner, as a crier does. In the Scriptures it means to proclaim the gospel to people.

Except they be sent - That is, except they are divinely commissioned, and sent forth by God. This was an admitted doctrine among the Jews, that a proclamation of a divine message must be made by one who was commissioned by God for that purpose; Jeremiah 23:21; Jeremiah 1:7; Jeremiah 14:14-15; Jeremiah 7:25. He who sends a message to people can alone designate the proper persons to bear it. The point of the objection, therefore, was this: People could not believe unless the message was sent to them; yet God had not actually sent it to all people: it could not, therefore, be just to make eternal life depend on so impracticable a thing as faith, since people had not the means of believing.

As it is written - In Isaiah 52:7.

How beautiful ... - The reason why this passage is introduced here is, that it confirms what had just been advanced in the objection - the “importance and necessity” of there being messengers of salvation. That importance is seen in the high encomium which is passed on them in the Sacred Scriptures. They are regarded as objects especially attractive; their necessity is fully recognised; and a distinguished rank is given to them in the oracles of God - How beautiful. How attractive, how lovely. This is taken from the Hebrew, with a slight variation. In the Hebrew, the words “upon the mountains” occur, which makes the passage more picturesque, though the sense is retained by Paul. The image in Isaiah is that of a herald seen at first leaping or running on a distant hill, when he first comes in sight, with tidings of joy from a field of battle, or from a distant land. Thus, the appearance of such a man to those who were in captivity, would be an image full of gladness and joy.

Are the feet - Many have supposed that the meaning of this expression is this: The feet of a herald, naked and dusty from traveling, would be naturally objects of disgust. But what would be naturally disagreeable is thus made pleasant by the joy of the message. But this explanation is far fetched, and wants parallel instances. Besides, it is a violation of the image which the apostle had used. That was a distant object - a herald running on the distant hills; and it supposes a picture too remote to observe distinctly the feet, whether attractive or not. The meaning of it is clearly this: “how beautiful is the coming or the running of such a herald.” The feet are emblematic of his coming. Their rapid motion would be seen; and their rapidity would be beautiful from the desire to hear the message which he brought. The whole meaning of the passage, then, as applied to ministers of the gospel, is, that their coming is an attractive object, regarded with deep interest, and productive of joy - an honored and a delightful employment.

That preach ... - Literally, “that evangelize peace. That proclaim the good news of peace; or bring the glad message of peace.

And bring glad tidings ... - Literally, “and evangelize good things;” or that bring the glad message of good things. Peace here is put for good of any kind; and as the apostle uses it, for the news of reconciliation with God by the gospel. Peace, at the end of the conflicts, distresses, and woes of war, is an image of all blessings. Thus, it is put to denote the blessings when a sinner ceases to be the enemy of God, obtains pardon, and is admitted to the joys of those who are his children and friends. The coming of those messengers who proclaim it is joyful to the world. It fills the bosom of the anxious sinner with peace; and they and their message will be regarded with deep interest, as sent by God, and producing joy in an agitated bosom, and peace to the world. This is an illustration of the proper feeling with which we should regard the ministers of religion. This passage in Isaiah is referred by the Jews themselves to the times of the gospel (Rosenmuller).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Romans 10:15. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach — Dr. Taylor remarks on this quotation, which is taken from Isaiah 52:7, that "feet are variously used in Scripture, and sometimes have respect to things internal and spiritual. For as the life of man and the practice of piety are compared to walking, Psalms 1:1, so his feet may signify the principles on which he acts, and the dispositions of his mind. Ecclesiastes 5:1: Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God. Agreeably to this, the feet of the messengers in Isaiah and of the apostles in this verse, may signify the validity of their mission-the authority upon which they acted, and any character or qualifications with which they were invested."


 
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