Romans 1:26

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural,

Romans 1:26 Meaning and Commentary

Romans 1:26

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections
Because of their idolatrous practices, God left them to very dishonourable actions, sodomitical ones, both among the men and women:

for even the women did change the natural use into that which is
against nature;
either by prostituting themselves to, and complying with the "sodomitical" embraces of men, in a way that is against nature F8; or by making use of such ways and methods with themselves, or other women, to gratify their lusts, which were never designed by nature for such an use: of these vicious women, and their practices, Seneca F9 speaks, when he says,

``libidine veto nec maribus quidem cedunt, pati natae; Dii illas Deoeque, male perdant; adeo perversum commentae, genus impudicitiae, viros ineunt:''

also Clemens Alexandrinus F11 has respect to such, saying,

``(gunaikev andrizontai para fusin, gamou men ai te kai) (gamousai gunaikev) ''

and such there were among the Jews, whom they call (wzb wz twllwomx) (Myvn) F12, and whom the priests were forbidden to marry.


FOOTNOTES:

F8 Vid. R. Sol Jarchi in Gen. xxiv. 16.
F9 Epist. 95.
F11 Paedagog. l. 3. p. 226.
F12 T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 65. 2. Piske Tosaph. ib. artic. 266. Yevamot, fol. 76. 1. & Piske Tosaph. ib. art. 141. Maimonides in Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 4. & Hilchot Issure Bia, c. 21. sect. 8, 9.

Romans 1:26 In-Context

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural,
27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.