Romans 1:17–3:20
17 For in it athe righteousness of God is revealed 1from faith to faith; as it is written, “2bBut the righteous man shall live by faith.”
18 For athe wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who bsuppress the truth 1in unrighteousness,
19 because athat which is known about God is evident 1within them; for God made it evident to them.
20 For asince the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, bbeing understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
21 For even though they knew God, they did not 1honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became afutile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 aProfessing to be wise, they became fools,
23 and aexchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and 1crawling creatures.
24 Therefore aGod gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be bdishonored among them.
25 For they exchanged the truth of God for 1a alie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, bwho is blessed 2forever. Amen.
26 For this reason aGod gave them over to bdegrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is 1unnatural,
27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, amen with men committing 1indecent acts and receiving in 2their own persons the due penalty of their error.
28 And just as they did not see fit 1to acknowledge God any longer, aGod gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,
29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are agossips,
30 slanderers, 1ahaters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, bdisobedient to parents,
31 without understanding, untrustworthy, aunloving, unmerciful;
32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of adeath, they not only do the same, but also bgive hearty approval to those who practice them.
1 Therefore you have ano excuse, 1beveryone of you who passes judgment, for in that which cyou judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
2 And we know that the judgment of God 1rightly falls upon those who practice such things.
3 But do you suppose this, aO man, 1when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?
4 Or do you think lightly of athe riches of His bkindness and ctolerance and dpatience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
5 But 1because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart ayou are storing up wrath for yourself bin the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
6 awho will render to each person according to his deeds:
7 to those who by aperseverance in doing good seek for bglory and honor and cimmortality, deternal life;
8 but to those who are aselfishly ambitious and bdo not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.
9 There will be atribulation and distress 1for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew bfirst and also of the Greek,
10 but aglory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew bfirst and also to the Greek.
11 For athere is no partiality with God.
12 For all who have sinned 1awithout the Law will also perish 1without the Law, and all who have sinned 2under the Law will be judged 3by the Law;
13 for it is anot the hearers 1of the Law who are 2just before God, but the doers 1of the Law will be justified.
14 For when Gentiles who do not have 1the Law do 2ainstinctively the things of the Law, these, not having 1the Law, are a law to themselves,
15 in that they show athe work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,
16 on the day when, aaccording to my gospel, bGod will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
The Jew Is Condemned by the Law
17 But if you bear the name “Jew” and arely 1upon the Law and boast in God,
18 and know His will and 1aapprove the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law,
19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,
20 a 1corrector of the foolish, a teacher of 2the immature, having in the Law athe embodiment of knowledge and of the truth,
21 you, therefore, awho teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who 1preach that one shall not steal, do you steal?
22 You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you arob temples?
23 You who aboast 1in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?
24 For “athe name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles bbecause of you,” just as it is written.
25 For indeed circumcision is of value if you apractice 1the Law; but if you are a transgressor 2of the Law, byour circumcision has become uncircumcision.
26 aSo if bthe 1uncircumcised man ckeeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?
27 And ahe who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not bjudge you who 1though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor 2of the Law?
28 For ahe is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.
29 But ahe is a Jew who is one inwardly; and bcircumcision is that which is of the heart, by the cSpirit, not by the letter; dand his praise is not from men, but from God.
1 Then what 1advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision?
2 Great in every respect. First of all, that athey were entrusted with the boracles of God.
3 What then? If asome 1did not believe, their 2unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it?
4 aMay it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found ba liar, as it is written,
“cThat You may be justified in Your words,
And prevail when You 1are judged.”
5 But if our unrighteousness 1ademonstrates the righteousness of God, bwhat shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (cI am speaking in human terms.)
6 aMay it never be! For otherwise, how will bGod judge the world?
7 But if through my lie athe truth of God abounded to His glory, bwhy am I also still being judged as a sinner?
8 And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “aLet us do evil that good may come”? 1Their condemnation is just.
9 What then? 1aAre we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both bJews and cGreeks are dall under sin;
“aThere is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
13 “aTheir throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“bThe poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “aWhose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “aTheir feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “aThere is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the aLaw says, it speaks to bthose who are 1under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and call the world may become accountable to God;
20 because aby the works 1of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for 2bthrough the Law comes the knowledge of sin.