Romans 12–13

CHAPTER 12

A Living and Holy Sacrifice

¹Therefore ^aI exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to ^bpresent your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your ¹spiritual service of worship.

²And do not ^abe conformed to ^bthis ¹world, but be transformed by the ^crenewing of your mind, so that you may ^dapprove what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and ²perfect.

³For through ^athe grace given to me I say to each one among you ^bnot to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound thinking, as God has allotted to ^ceach a measure of faith.

⁴For ^ajust as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,

⁵so we, ^awho are many, are ^bone body in Christ, and individually members one of another,

⁶but having gifts that ^adiffer according to the grace given to us: whether ^bprophecy, ¹in agreement with the faith;

⁷or ^1aservice, in his serving; or he who ^bteaches, in his teaching;

⁸or he who ^aexhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with ^1bgenerosity; ^che who ²leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with ^dcheerfulness.

⁹Let ^alove be without hypocrisy—by ^babhorring what is evil, clinging to what is good,

¹⁰being ^adevoted to one another in brotherly love, ¹giving preference to one another ^bin honor,

¹¹not lagging behind in diligence, being ^afervent in spirit, ^bserving the Lord,

^12arejoicing in hope, ^bpersevering in affliction, being ^cdevoted to prayer,

^13acontributing to the needs of the ¹saints, ^bpursuing hospitality.

^14aBless those who persecute ¹you; bless, and do not curse.

^15aRejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep,

¹⁶by ^abeing of the same mind toward one another, ^bnot being haughty in mind, but ¹associating with the humble. ^cDo not be wise in your own mind.

^17aNever paying back evil for evil to anyone, ^1brespecting what is good in the sight of all men,

¹⁸if possible, ^aso far as it depends on you, ^bbeing at peace with all men,

^19anever taking your own revenge, beloved—instead ¹leave room for the wrath of God. For it is written, “^bVengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

²⁰“^aBut if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

CHAPTER 13

Be Subject to Government

¹Every ^1aperson is to be in ^bsubjection to the governing authorities. For ^cthere is no authority except ²from God, and those which exist have been appointed by God.

²Therefore ¹whoever resists that authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

³For ^arulers are not a cause of fear for ¹good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of that authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same;

⁴for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword in vain, for it is a minister of God, an ^aavenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.

⁵Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of that wrath, but also because of ^aconscience.

⁶For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.

^7aRender to all what is due them: ^btax to whom tax is due; ^ccustom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

⁸Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for ^ahe who loves ¹his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

⁹For this, “^aYou shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, “^bYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

¹⁰Love does not work evil against a neighbor; therefore ^alove is the fulfillment of the Law.

¹¹And do this, knowing the time, that it is ^aalready the hour for you to ^bawaken from sleep; for now ¹salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.

^12aThe night is almost gone, and ^bthe day is at hand. Therefore let us lay aside ^cthe deeds of darkness and put on ^dthe armor of light.

¹³Let us ^awalk properly as in the day, ^bnot in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.

¹⁴But ^aput on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh ^bin regard to its lusts.