Romans 10:18

But I ask, have they ¹  not heard? ²  Yes, they have: ³  Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. ⁴ 

But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have; "THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD."

But what about the Jews? Have they actually heard the message? Yes, they have: "The message of God’s creation has gone out to everyone, and its words to all the world."

But haven't there been plenty of opportunities for Israel to listen and understand what's going on? Plenty, I'd say. Preachers' voices have gone 'round the world, Their message to earth's seven seas.

But I say, Did not the word come to their ears? Yes, certainly: Their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.

But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for "Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world."

But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: "Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world."

But I ask, have they ¹  not heard? ²  Yes, they have: ³  Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. ⁴ 

¹ tn That is, Israel (see the following verse).

² tn Grk “they have not ‘not heard,’ have they?” This question is difficult to render in English. The basic question is a negative sentence (“Have they not heard?”), but it is preceded by the particle μή (mh) which expects a negative response. The end result in English is a double negative (“They have not ‘not heard,’ have they?”). This has been changed to a positive question in the translation for clarity. See BDAG 646 s.v. μή 3.a.; D. Moo, Romans (NICNT), 666, fn. 32; and C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans (ICC), 537, for discussion.

³ tn Here the particle μενοῦνγε (menounge) is correcting the negative response expected by the particle μή (mh) in the preceding question. Since the question has been translated positively, the translation was changed here to reflect that rendering.

⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 19:4.