Romans 1:30

30 fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way.

Romans 1:30 Meaning and Commentary

Romans 1:30

Backbiters
Who more publicly defamed the characters of their neighbours, and hurt their good name, credit and reputation, though behind their backs:

haters of God;
some read it, "hated of God"; as all workers of iniquity are; but rather this expresses their sin, that they were deniers of the being and providence of God, and showed themselves to be enemies to him by their evil works:

despiteful;
both by opprobrious words, and injurious actions:

proud;
of their natural knowledge, learning, eloquence and vain philosophy:

boasters:
of their parts, abilities, wisdom and works; all which they attributed to themselves, and to the sharpness of their wit, their sagacity and industry:

inventors of evil things;
of evil schemes of morality and philosophy, and of evil practices, as well as principles:

disobedient to parents;
which was acting contrary to the light of nature.

Romans 1:30 In-Context

28 Since they didn't bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose.
29 And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous,
30 fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way.
31 Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded.
32 And it's not as if they don't know better. They know perfectly well they're spitting in God's face. And they don't care - worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.