Romans 1:20

20 invisibilia enim ipsius a creatura mundi per ea quae facta sunt intellecta conspiciuntur sempiterna quoque eius virtus et divinitas ut sint inexcusabiles

Romans 1:20 Meaning and Commentary

Romans 1:20

For the invisible things of him
Not the angels, the invisible inhabitants of heaven: nor the unseen glories of another world; nor the decrees of God; nor the persons in the Godhead; but the perfections of God, or his "properties", as the Arabic version reads it; and which are explained by "his eternal power and Godhead": these,

from the creation of the world are clearly seen;
this is no new discovery, but what men have had, and might, by the light of nature, have enjoyed ever since the world was created; these

being understood,
in an intellectual way, by the discursive faculty of the understanding,

by the things that are made;
the various works of creation; all which proclaim the being, unity, and perfections of God their Creator,

so that they are without excuse;
the very Heathens, who have only the light of nature, and are destitute of a revelation, have no colour or pretext for their idolatrous practices, and vicious lives; nor have they, nor will they have anything to object to God's righteous judgment against them, or why they should not be condemned.

Romans 1:20 In-Context

18 revelatur enim ira Dei de caelo super omnem impietatem et iniustitiam hominum eorum qui veritatem in iniustitiam detinent
19 quia quod notum est Dei manifestum est in illis Deus enim illis manifestavit
20 invisibilia enim ipsius a creatura mundi per ea quae facta sunt intellecta conspiciuntur sempiterna quoque eius virtus et divinitas ut sint inexcusabiles
21 quia cum cognovissent Deum non sicut Deum glorificaverunt aut gratias egerunt sed evanuerunt in cogitationibus suis et obscuratum est insipiens cor eorum
22 dicentes enim se esse sapientes stulti facti sunt
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.