Romans

Paul Greets the Saints in Rome

1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—

2the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,

3regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh,

4and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

5Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

6And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

7To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Unashamed of the Gospel

8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed all over the world.

9God, whom I serve with my spiritin preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you

10in my prayers at all times, asking that now at last by God’s will I may succeed in coming to you.

11For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,

12that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

13I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, how often I planned to come to you (but have been prevented from visitinguntil now), in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

14I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks,both to the wise and the foolish.

15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.

17For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish,just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

God’s Wrath against Sin

18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

19For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.

20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.

21For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.

22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,

23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

24Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another.

25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise!Amen.

26For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.

27Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,

30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents.

31They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless.

32Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.

1Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

2Which he had promised before, by his prophets, in the holy scriptures,

3Concerning his Son, who was made to him of the seed of David, according to the flesh,

4Who was predestinated the Son of God in power, according to the spirit of sanctification, by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead;

5By whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith, in all nations, for his name;

6Among whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ:

7To all that are at Rome, the beloved of God, called to be saints. Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

8First I give thanks to my God, through Jesus Christ, for you all, because your faith is spoken of in the whole world.

9For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make a commemoration of you;

10Always in my prayers making request, if by any means now at length I may have a prosperous journey, by the will of God, to come unto you.

11For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual grace, to strengthen you:

12That is to say, that I may be comforted together in you, by that which is common to us both, your faith and mine.

13And I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that I have often purposed to come unto you, (and have been hindered hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

14To the Greeks and to the barbarians, to the wise and to the unwise, I am a debtor;

15So (as much as is in me) I am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are at Rome.

16For I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and to the Greek.

17For the justice of God is revealed therein, from faith unto faith, as it is written: The just man liveth by faith.

18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those men that detain the truth of God in injustice:

19Because that which is known of God is manifest in them. For God hath manifested it unto them.

20For the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; his eternal power also, and divinity: so that they are inexcusable.

21Because that, when they knew God, they have not glorified him as God, or given thanks; but became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22For professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.

23And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man, and of birds, and of fourfooted beasts, and of creeping things.

24Wherefore God gave them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness, to dishonour their own bodies among themselves.

25Who changed the truth of God into a lie; and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

26For this cause God delivered them up to shameful affections. For their women have changed the natural use into that use which is against nature.

27And, in like manner, the men also, leaving the natural use of the women, have burned in their lusts one towards another, men with men working that which is filthy, and receiving in themselves the recompense which was due to their error.

28And as they liked not to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them up to a reprobate sense, to do those things which are not convenient;

29Being filled with all iniquity, malice, fornication, avarice, wickedness, full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity, whisperers,

30Detractors, hateful to God, contumelious, proud, haughty, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31Foolish, dissolute, without affection, without fidelity, without mercy.

32Who, having known the justice of God, did not understand that they who do such things, are worthy of death; and not only they that do them, but they also that consent to them that do them.