Their voice has gone out to all the earth
means
the global missionary effort of the apostles has already reached the majority of the Jews in the Roman Empire; or
the kingdom of God now encompasses the whole world, including the Gentiles.
In Romans 10:18 Paul asks whether the Jews have heard the gospel before answering that indeed they have. He then quotes Psalm 19:4, Their voice has gone out to all the earth.
What does he mean?
Likely, he means that the gospel has been preached to most of the Jews living in the Roman Empire. He says this because he is responding to a possible defence from the Jews who might claim the reason they do not believe the gospel is that they have not heard it preached. Paul quotes Psalm 19:4 to say that just as the heavens declare the glory of God, so their voice extends to all the earth, so the gospel has been preached to all the earth. In other words, many preachers have been proclaiming the gospel to the Jews, so there is no excuse for unbelief.
We can detect that this is Paul’s meaning because it is supported by the immediate context. For in Romans 10:17 Paul says that faith comes from hearing the word of Christ, which is the gospel. He then asked whether they have heard, before answering indeed
and quoting Psalm 19:4. Clearly, he wants to make it clear that the gospel has been preached to the Jews. Further, we know that practically speaking, Paul and the other apostles have been preaching the gospel for twenty years. And they had a plan which included preaching to both the Jews and the Gentiles. Likely, by the time Paul wrote Romans, it was generally true that the gospel had reached most of the Jews in the Roman Empire.
Some contend that when Paul quotes Psalm 19:4, he means that the extent of the gospel now includes the Gentiles. The argument here is that the Jews knew from Old Testament prophecies that one day all the peoples of the earth would be included in the kingdom of God. Of course, the Jews now noticed that the gospel was being proclaimed to the Gentiles, which means the kingdom had extended to all the people of the earth.
The problem with this view is that it does not make sense given the immediate context. In Romans 10:17 Paul writes that faith comes from hearing the word of Christ. He then asks in Romans 10:18 whether they—referring to Israel—have heard. In other words, have they heard the gospel preached? Paul answers, Yes, their voice has gone out to all the earth.
It would be very strange for Paul to say that yes, the Israelites have heard the gospel in the sense that they have noticed that the kingdom of God extends to all people. It is much more intuitive that the Israelites have heard the gospel in the sense that it has been preached to them.
So when Paul quotes Psalm 19:4, his point is that the gospel has been preached to most of the Jews in the Roman Empire.
Interpretation 1:
The global missionary effort of the apostles has already reached the majority of the Jews in the Roman Empire.
Summary:
Paul is explaining that salvation comes through faith, and faith through the preaching of the gospel. He also reflects on the fact that not all of Israel believes, which raises the question of whether or not Israel heard the preaching. Paul explains here that the preaching has gone to all the earth, including the majority of the Jews, so they cannot claim a lack of preaching as an excuse for unbelief.
God provides preachers to share the gospel and gather his children. He does this by motivating human beings who believe in his Son to take up this important and unique task. And God has been sending preaching swiftly since the beginning, ensuring his plan of salvation reaches all nations and people. If you are being called to preach the gospel, take up this mantle with confidence and zeal.
Advocates:
Brendan Byrne
James Dunn
Craig Keener
Douglas Moo
Leon Morris
Frank Thielman
Minor differences:
Our authors agree that when Paul writes that the word has gone out into all the earth, he quotes Psalm 19:4 and means that the gospel has generally been proclaimed to the majority of the Israelites. Of course, Paul will also explain in Romans 15:20–24 that he has yet to bring the gospel to Spain, so how can he say that the gospel has reached the ends of all the world?
James Dunn answers this question in a technical manner. When we look at the date of Romans compared to Christ’s death and resurrection, we can deduce that the gospel has been preached in the Roman Empire for twenty years. Further, we know that Paul made an agreement with James, Peter, and John that he would go to the Gentiles and they to the Jews. So, there was a systematic effort to preach the gospel to the Jews.1 All of this makes it plausible that the gospel had been widely preached to the Jews across much of the Roman Empire. In other words, the gospel had gone out to the ends of the earth.
Douglas Moo takes a less technical approach. He considers the interpretation that Paul is reflecting on the fact that the gospel has been preached to a large portion of Jews across the Roman Empire, but ultimately endorses what he refers to as a simpler interpretation.2 That is, Paul uses hyperbole to say that by the time he wrote Romans, nearly all people had heard the gospel.3 It is not exactly clear what makes Moo’s preferred interpretation simpler,
for in either case Paul implies that the gospel has been preached through most of the Roman Empire.
Arguments
Possible weaknesses
Interpretation 2:
The kingdom of God now encompasses the whole world, including the Gentiles.
Summary:
After explaining that faith comes through hearing and preaching, Paul addresses Jewish unbelief. He does this by affirming that Israel has heard the gospel. The proof that Israel has heard the gospel is that the kingdom of God has been proclaimed to the Gentiles. Israel knows from the prophets that once the kingdom of God is extended to all people, the age of fulfillment has dawned.
Advocates:
John MacArthur
Thomas Schreiner
Minor differences:
Our authors seem to agree that when Paul quotes Psalm 19:4 to say that the word has gone out to the ends of the earth, he has in mind that the kingdom of God has been extended to the Gentiles.
Thomas Schreiner offers this interpretation most clearly. He contends that the prophets announced that the age of fulfillment would dawn when the kingdom of God was proclaimed to all the nations. Since the gospel is preached to the Gentiles, the age of fulfilment has dawned, so Israel has heard the gospel.9 It is not easy to understand Schreiner’s logic here. Paul does not say that Israel has seen the prophecy of the dawn of the new age fulfilled. Rather, he says that the word, which is the gospel, has gone to all the earth. It is not easy to see how the gospel being preached to the Gentiles implies that Israel has heard the gospel.
John MacArthur’s view is even less clear but seems to align with Schreiner's. He contends that just as the heavens declare the glory of God to all people, so now the gospel is available and extends to all people. He goes on to say that while the preaching had already reached part of the world, the benefits of the gospel were available to the ends of the earth.10 Of course, the benefits of the gospel being theoretically available to all the earth is not the same as the gospel actually being preached to all the earth. But the notion that the word has reached the ends of the earth seems to be about actual preaching, not the universal applicability of Christ’s work.
Arguments
18 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.”