Romans 1:1–17

Greeting

1Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, ²which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy scriptures, ³concerning his Son, who was born a descendant^a of David according to the flesh, ⁴who was declared Son of God in power according to the Holy Spirit^b by the resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵through whom we have received grace and apostleship for the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles^c on behalf of his name, ⁶among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ. ⁷To all those in Rome who are loved by God, called to be saints. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul Wants to Visit Rome

⁸First, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed in the whole world. ⁹For God, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, is my witness, how constantly I make mention of you, ¹⁰always asking in my prayers if somehow now at last I may succeed to come to you in the will of God. ¹¹For I desire to see you, in order that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, in order to strengthen you, ¹²that is, to be encouraged together with you through our mutual faith^d, both yours and mine. ¹³Now I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that often I intended to come to you, and was prevented until now, in order that I might have some fruit among you also, just as also among the rest of the Gentiles.^{e 14}I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵Thus I am eager^f to proclaim the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

The Gospel’s Power for Salvation

¹⁶For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷For the righteousness of God is revealed in it from faith to faith, just as it is written, “But the one who is righteous by faith will live.”^g