But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The verse highlights that true hope isn't passive wishing, but an active endurance. Because what we hope for is unseen, our waiting for it isn't just about being still, but about persevering through present difficulties.
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Paul is building on the idea that creation groans in anticipation of its full redemption. He extends this to believers, who, even with the "firstfruits" of the Spirit, also groan, awaiting the full adoption and redemption of their bodies. This verse explains that this patient waiting is the natural outflow of genuine hope for unseen, future realities.
We often think of hope as wishing for something we don't have. But the Bible uses 'hope' in a way that's more like a confident expectation, especially for things we can't even see yet.
Paul here connects our present reality with our future hope. He says that if our hope is truly fixed on what is unseen—like our final redemption and glorification—then this kind of hope naturally leads to patience.
Ever felt impatient waiting for something good? The Bible shows that hope and patience aren't just related – one naturally flows from the other.
This verse doesn't just state a fact; it explains a vital connection. If we truly hope for the unseen future God has promised, then patience becomes our inevitable response.
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Understand the original words
hypomonē · Greek Noun
Endurance, constancy, or steadfastness. It refers to the character trait of remaining patient and faithful while waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled, especially under trial.
This passage directly connects Jesus' patience and endurance to the joy set before him, mirroring how our hope for unseen future realities motivates our own patient endurance through present difficulties.
1 Thessalonians 1:3This verse speaks of the 'work of faith, the toil of love, and the steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ,' directly linking the endurance Christians show to the hope they possess for what is unseen.
Colossians 1:5The 'hope laid up for you in heaven' is presented as the foundation for the steadfastness and patience believers are called to exhibit in their earthly walk.
Romans 5:3-4This passage explains how suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope, showing the very process by which hoping in the unseen cultivates the patience mentioned in Romans 8:25.
meyerRomans 8:25: "But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."
Romans 8:25 . Διʼ ὑπομ .] With patience , perseveringly. Hebrews 12:1 ; Kühner, II. 1, p. 418. The indicative ἀπεκδεχ ., which is not, with Estius, Koppe, Köllner, and others, to be taken as exspectare debemus , does not announce the virtuous operation (Grotius), but simply the situation , which the circumstance that we hope without seeing involves. The ethical position assigned to us is, that we patiently…
clarkeRomans 8:25: "But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."
But if we hope for that we see not - If we have a well-grounded expectation of our resurrection and final glorification, knowing that such things are necessarily future, and must for a certain time be delayed; then do we patiently wait for them, continue patiently to endure the common ills of life, and whatever tribulations we may be exposed to in consequence of our Christian profession; for we know, Faithf…
The verse highlights that true hope isn't passive wishing, but an active endurance. Because what we hope for is unseen, our waiting for it isn't just about being still, but about persevering through present difficulties.
Paul is building on the idea that creation groans in anticipation of its full redemption. He extends this to believers, who, even with the "firstfruits" of the Spirit, also groan, awaiting the full adoption and redemption of their bodies. This verse explains that this patient waiting is the natural outflow of genuine hope for unseen, future realities.
Paul is building on the idea that creation groans in anticipation of its full redemption. He extends this to believers, who, even with the "firstfruits" of the Spirit, also groan, awaiting the full adoption and redemption of their bodies. This verse explains that this patient waiting is the natural outflow of genuine hope for unseen, future realities.
"But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." — The verse highlights that true hope isn't passive wishing, but an active endurance. Because what we hope for is unseen, our waiting for it isn't just about being still, but about persevering through…
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Last reviewed October 2026