Romans 10:16

The fact remains, however, in spite of this universal preaching, that there has not been a universal surrender to the Gospel. οὐ πάντες : the Jews are present to the writer's mind here, though the words might apply more widely; hence the compassionate mode of statement. Cf. Romans 3:3 : εἰ ἠπίστησάν τινες. Yet this quantum of unbelief does not discomfit the Apostle; for it also, as well as the proclamation of the Gospel, is included in the prophecy. τίς ἐπίστευσεν τῇ ἀκοῇ ἡμῶν is a lament over practically universal unbelief. ἡ ἀκοὴ ἡμῶν in Isaiah means “that which we heard,” but who the “we” are is not clear. If a representative prophet speaks, ἀκοὴ will mean that which he and other prophets heard from God: = Who hath believed the revelation made to us? Cf. Isaiah 28:9; Isaiah 28:19. If a representative of repenting Israel speaks, ἀκοὴ will mean that which he and his countrymen have heard from the prophets: = Who hath believed the message delivered to us? Assuming that Paul as a preacher instinctively used the words to express his own thought and experience in his vocation, they will mean here, Who has believed the message delivered by us Apostles?