Romans 3:15

My Notes

What Does Romans 3:15 Mean?

Paul continues his catalogue of human sinfulness by quoting Isaiah 59:7: "Their feet are swift to shed blood." The focus shifts from speech (verses 13-14 — lying, cursing, bitterness) to action. The feet — instruments of movement, direction, purpose — are directed toward violence. The swiftness implies eagerness: they don't reluctantly arrive at bloodshed; they run toward it.

The word "swift" (oxys — sharp, quick, eager) describes not just speed but readiness. The feet are prepared for violence; they lean toward it; they're inclined in the direction of harm. This isn't about occasional lapses into violence but about a directional tendency in human nature.

Paul's chain of Old Testament quotations builds a body-part indictment: throat (open sepulchre), tongue (deceit), lips (poison), mouth (cursing), and now feet (swift to violence). The entire body — from head to foot — is implicated in sin. Every organ serves corruption.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Where do you see the 'swiftness' toward harm in your own impulses or reactions?
• 2.How does the body-part indictment (throat to feet) illustrate the comprehensiveness of human sinfulness?
• 3.What effort is required to redirect feet that are naturally swift toward violence?
• 4.How does Isaiah 52:7 ('beautiful feet bringing good tidings') redeem the image of feet swift to shed blood?

Devotional

Their feet are swift to shed blood. Not slow, not reluctant, not dragged toward violence. Swift. The human body leans toward harm the way water runs downhill — naturally, quickly, with a momentum that requires effort to resist.

Paul has been building a body-part indictment throughout this passage: the throat is an open grave, the tongue practices deceit, the lips carry poison, the mouth pours out curses. And now the feet — swift to shed blood. From throat to feet, the whole body is oriented toward destruction.

The word "swift" doesn't just mean fast. It means eager. Ready. Inclined. The feet don't have to be convinced to go toward violence; they lean that way naturally. Think about how quickly anger escalates to aggression, how rapidly disagreement turns to hostility, how easily the impulse to harm outpaces the impulse to heal. The swiftness is the evidence of the inclination.

This verse confronts the myth of human moral neutrality. We like to think we're basically peaceful beings who occasionally fall into violence. Paul says the feet are already pointed in that direction. The default trajectory is toward bloodshed, not away from it. Peace requires effort; violence is what happens when effort stops.

The good news (which is coming in verse 24) is that the same feet that run toward blood can be redirected by grace. The gospel doesn't deny the swiftness; it redirects it. Isaiah 52:7 — "how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings" — the same feet that were swift to shed blood can become beautiful in their eagerness to carry the gospel.

Which direction are your feet swift toward today?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture