Bible Strands
Romans 2:17
Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses a Jewish interlocutor in the middle of a broader argument about divine judgment, contrasting external religious identity with the reality of God’s coming assessment of human secrets.
The words — ἐπαναπαύῃ (epanapauē) means you rely on, and Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaios) means a Jew, anchoring the verse in the specific claim of ethnic and covenantal privilege.
The thread — The same pattern of claiming covenant identity while failing to live it out appears in Romans 2:23, Micah 3:11, and Isaiah 48:1.
Why it lands — The text forces a reader to examine whether their religious labels and trust in the law correspond to actual obedience rather than mere self-identification.
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
Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
Cross-references
- Romans 2:23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?
- Micah 3:11 Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”
- Isaiah 48:1 “Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, who have descended from the line of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD, who invoke the God of Israel—but not in truth or righteousness—
- Revelation 2:9 I know your affliction and your poverty—though you are rich! And I am aware of the slander of those who falsely claim to be Jews, but are in fact a synagogue of Satan.
- Matthew 3:9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
- John 5:45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, in whom you have put your hope.
- Romans 2:28 A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical.
- Romans 9:4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.
- Romans 9:32 Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,
- Psalms 135:4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob as His own, Israel as His treasured possession.