Romans 3:15

Romans 3:15, in plain English

People are quick to hurt and destroy others—their feet are fast to shed blood, because violence comes naturally when sin rules us.

Why it's here

Paul is continuing to paint the portrait of human nature without God's grace. He's not exaggerating; history confirms this. Left to ourselves, humans have always been capable of horrific violence.

Who's speaking

Paul, quoting Isaiah

Where it sits in the story

This connects to why the gospel is necessary. Humans aren't basically good; we're capable of genuine evil. Only power outside ourselves—God's power—can truly change that.

The scholarly reading

Their feet rush eagerly toward bloodshed.

Language and setting

Paul shifts from the domain of speech to the domain of action, quoting Isaiah 59:7. The Greek 'oxus' ('swift,' 'quick') suggests not accidental harm but a kind of zealous haste toward violence. The imagery moves from the corruption of communication (verses 13-14) to the corruption of will and action, showing how sin manifests across all dimensions of human agency—cognition, speech, and deed.

Voice

Paul, citing Isaiah

Significance

This recalls Cain's violence against Abel and the bloodshed that has marked human history from Genesis 4 onward, showing how violence is not aberrant but endemic to the human condition apart from grace.

13“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”

14“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

15“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16ruin and misery lie in their wake,

17and the way of peace they have not known.”

Read all of Romans 3 — The courtroom falls silent. Every mouth is stopped. Then Paul introduces a righteousness that comes not from the law but through faith.