---
title: Romans 10:13
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/romans-10-13/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/romans-10-13.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Romans 10:13
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Romans 10:13

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (1984 edition): "For 'everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.'"
- NWT (2013 revision): "For 'everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.'"

## JW Usage

The NWT renders this verse as "everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved," inserting "Jehovah" in place of the Greek kyrios. Since the verse quotes Joel 2:32, where the Hebrew has the Tetragrammaton, Jehovah's Witnesses argue the insertion is a legitimate restoration of the divine name. They use this verse to reinforce that salvation comes through Jehovah, not Jesus, and that calling on Jehovah's name is essential for deliverance. The effect is to sever the verse from its immediate christological context in Romans 10:9-12.

## Protestant Usage

Paul's argument in Romans 10:9-13 forms a carefully constructed christological chain. Verse 9 declares "Jesus is Lord" (kyrios); verse 12 says "the same Lord [kyrios] is Lord of all"; verse 13 then quotes Joel 2:32, "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [kyrios] will be saved." The same Greek word — kyrios — runs through the entire passage, and its referent throughout is Jesus. Paul is identifying Jesus as the YHWH of Joel's prophecy. The Septuagint (translated by Jewish scholars ~250 BC) had already rendered YHWH as kyrios in Joel 2:32, and Paul deliberately applied that divine title to Jesus. This is the "call upon the name" worship phrase that in the Old Testament belonged exclusively to Jehovah (Psalm 116:4, Joel 2:32) — and the NT authors transferred it to Christ, as 1 Corinthians 1:2 confirms ("those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"). The NWT breaks Paul's argument by switching terms mid-paragraph: "Lord" in verses 9 and 12 but "Jehovah" in verse 13, severing the chain Paul carefully constructed.

## NWT Issue

The NWT inserts "Jehovah" at Romans 10:13 (quoting Joel 2:32) but retains "Lord" at verses 9 and 12, where the same Greek word kyrios refers to Jesus. Paul's argument flows from "Jesus is Lord" (v.9) through "the same Lord is Lord of all" (v.12) to "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (v.13). The NWT breaks this christological chain by switching "Lord" to "Jehovah" only at the OT quotation — the precise point where the identification of Jesus with YHWH becomes explicit. The insertion separates Jesus from YHWH in a passage where Paul is deliberately identifying them.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [The New World Translation — Anonymous and Unqualified](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/nwt-reliability.md) — Can you trust a Bible translated by unnamed, untrained scholars? [NWT Translation]
- [Call Upon the Name of the Lord Jesus](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/call-upon-name.md) — The OT worship phrase applied to Jesus [Deity of Christ]
- [The 237 Additions — Zero Manuscript Evidence](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/tetragrammaton-insertion.md) — Not one Greek NT manuscript contains Jehovah's name — so why does the NWT insert it 237 times? [NWT Translation]
- [Christ Is Already Reigning](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/christ-reigning-now.md) — Acts 2:30-36 / Ephesians 1:20-22 / 1 Corinthians 15:25 [Eschatology]
- [No New Testament Command to Use 'Jehovah'](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/jehovah-name-no-NT-mandate.md) — The NT's only command about the saving name redirects it to Jesus [Deity of Christ]
- [The Salvation-Name Dilemma](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/salvation-name-dilemma.md) — Old Testament — only Jehovah's name saves. New Testament — only Jesus' name saves. [Deity of Christ]