Bible Strands
Romans 1:22
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Roman church, documenting the next stage of human decline after describing how people knew God yet refused to glorify Him or give thanks (Romans 1:21).
The words — φάσκοντες (phaskontes) translates as claiming or professing, and ἐμωράνθησαν (emōranthēsan) denotes the passive result of becoming fools.
The thread — This pattern of claimed wisdom yielding actual folly runs through Proverbs 26:12, Paul’s declaration in 1 Corinthians 1:19 that God will frustrate human intelligence, and his instruction in Romans 11:25 against conceit regarding the mystery of Israel’s hardening and Gentile inclusion.
Why it lands — The text states that self-proclaimed wisdom directly produces foolishness, requiring readers to measure their understanding against God’s standard rather than their own assessment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 1:19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
- Proverbs 26:12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
- Romans 11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
- Proverbs 25:14 Like clouds and wind without rain is the man who boasts of gifts never given.
- Jeremiah 8:8 How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the Law of the LORD is with us,’ when in fact the lying pen of the scribes has produced a deception?
- Jeremiah 10:14 Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
- 1 Corinthians 3:18 Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.
- Isaiah 47:10 You were secure in your wickedness; you said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray; you told yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
- Matthew 6:23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!