<p>10:17 <i>So belief comes of hearing, and hearing by the word of God</i>- &quot;Hearing&quot; is the same Greek word translated &quot;report&quot; in :16. It refers more to our preaching than to their hearing. We can play a part in the faith of others; our preaching is their hearing, and without it, they cannot believe. God has delegated His purpose and the progress of His work to us. The responsibility is huge. Faith comes by hearing God&rsquo;s word. But we can hear (or in our generation, read) God&rsquo;s word without faith (2 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 4:2). Bible reading, like every other spiritual exercise, can become a mere formality. &quot;The word of God&quot; here as often in the New Testament refers to the message of God in Christ, the Gospel, rather than every verse in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, including the Chronicles genealogies. Our reporting / preaching NEV &quot;hearing&quot; is <i>dia </i>the word of God. This is not quite the same as saying that we preach the word of God; that would be phrased differently in Greek. Our preaching is on account of the word; it is motivated by the wonder of the word we have ourselves heard.</p>