Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.

ROMANS 11:10KJV
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Romans 11:10 (KJV)

What does Romans 11:10 mean?

Romans 11:10 describes a wish or declaration that certain people’s eyes would be darkened so they cannot see, and that their backs would be bent down continually. This is a picture of spiritual blindness and ongoing hardship, expressing a serious consequence for rejecting God.

In Romans 11:10, Paul is quoting from the Old Testament (specifically Psalm 69:23) as he talks about Israel’s response to Jesus. Paul is explaining how some people’s refusal to accept God’s message leads to a kind of spiritual dullness and difficulty. This verse is part of Paul’s larger discussion about why many Israelites did not believe in Jesus and how that fits into God’s bigger plan.

The Greek behind Romans 11:10

  • σκοτισθήτω (skotisthetō, "be darkened"): This Greek word means "to be made dark" or "to be unable to see clearly." Here, it is used for the eyes, showing a loss of spiritual understanding, not just physical sight.
  • ὀφθαλμοὶ (ophthalmoi, "eyes"): This word refers to physical eyes, but in this context, it is often understood as a metaphor for spiritual perception or insight.
  • διαπαντός (diapantos, "alway"): This word means "continually" or "at all times," emphasizing that the hardship or burden is not temporary but ongoing.

Why Romans 11:10 matters

  • Romans 11:10 helps clear up that Paul is not talking about random punishment, but about the result of persistent rejection of God’s message, using language from Israel’s own scriptures.
  • This verse highlights the seriousness of spiritual blindness, showing it as both a consequence and a warning.
  • Romans 11:10 connects Paul’s argument to the Old Testament, showing that what is happening in his time fits into a long-standing pattern in Israel’s history.

Where else these words appear

“alway” Greek G1275 · used in 7 verses

  • Mark 5:5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
  • Acts 10:2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.
  • Hebrews 9:6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.

“Let” Greek G4654 · used in 8 verses

  • Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
  • Luke 23:45 And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
  • Ephesians 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

“eyes” Greek G3788 · used in 86 verses

  • Matthew 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
  • Luke 6:42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.
  • Acts 9:40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

“may” Greek G991 · used in 119 verses

  • Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
  • Luke 10:23 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:
  • 1 Corinthians 8:9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.