Romans 1–16

Greeting

1Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, ^acalled to be an apostle, ^bseparated to the gospel of God ^2cwhich He promised before ^dthrough His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, ³concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who ¹was ^eborn of the seed of David according to the flesh, ⁴and ^fdeclared to be the Son of God with power according ^gto the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. ⁵Through Him ^hwe have received grace and apostleship for ⁱobedience to the faith among all nations ^jfor His name, ⁶among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

⁷To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, ^kcalled to be saints:

^lGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Desire to Visit Rome

⁸First, ^mI thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that ⁿyour faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. ⁹For ^oGod is my witness, ^pwhom I serve ²with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that ^qwithout ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, ¹⁰making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. ¹¹For I long to see you, that ^rI may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established—¹²that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by ^sthe mutual faith both of you and me.

¹³Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but ^twas hindered until now), that I might have some ^ufruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. ¹⁴I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. ¹⁵So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

The Just Live by Faith

¹⁶For ^vI am not ashamed of the gospel ³of Christ, for ^wit is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, ^xfor the Jew first and also for the Greek. ¹⁷For ^yin it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ^z“The just shall live by faith.”

God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

^18aFor the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and ^bunrighteousness of men, who ⁴suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹because ^cwhat may be known of God is ⁵manifest ⁶in them, for ^dGod has shown it to them. ²⁰For since the creation of the world ^eHis invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and ⁷Godhead, so that they are without excuse, ²¹because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but ^fbecame futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ^22gProfessing to be wise, they became fools, ²³and changed the glory of the ^hincorruptible ⁱGod into an image made like ⁸corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

^24jTherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, ^kto dishonor their bodies ^lamong themselves, ²⁵who exchanged ^mthe truth of God ⁿfor the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

²⁶For this reason God gave them up to ^ovile passions. For even their ⁹women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. ²⁷Likewise also the ¹men, leaving the natural use of the ²woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

²⁸And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things ^pwhich are not fitting; ²⁹being filled with all unrighteousness, ³sexual immorality, wickedness, ⁴covetousness, ⁵maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, ³⁰backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹⁶undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, ⁷unforgiving, unmerciful; ³²who, ^qknowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things ^rare deserving of death, not only do the same but also ^sapprove of those who practice them.

God’s Righteous Judgment

2Therefore you are ^ainexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, ^bfor in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. ²But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. ³And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴Or do you despise ^cthe riches of His goodness, ^dforbearance, and ^elongsuffering, ^fnot knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? ⁵But in accordance with your hardness and your ¹impenitent heart ^gyou are ²treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, ⁶who ^h“will render to each one according to his deeds”: ⁷eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; ⁸but to those who are self-seeking and ⁱdo not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, ⁹tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew ^jfirst and also of the ³Greek; ^10kbut glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹¹For ^lthere is no partiality with God.

¹²For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law ¹³(for ^mnot the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; ¹⁴for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, ¹⁵who show the ⁿwork of the law written in their hearts, their ^oconscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) ^16pin the day when God will judge the secrets of men ^qby Jesus Christ, ^raccording to my gospel.

The Jews Guilty as the Gentiles

¹⁷⁴Indeed ^syou are called a Jew, and ^trest ⁵on the law, ^uand make your boast in God, ¹⁸and ^vknow His will, and ^wapprove the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, ¹⁹and ^xare confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, ^yhaving the form of knowledge and truth in the law. ^21zYou, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? ²²You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, ^ado you rob temples? ²³You who ^bmake your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? ²⁴For ^c“the name of God is ^dblasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.

Circumcision of No Avail

^25eFor circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. ²⁶Therefore, ^fif an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? ²⁷And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, ^gjudge you who, even with your ⁶written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? ²⁸For ^hhe is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; ²⁹but he is a Jew ⁱwho is one inwardly; and ^jcircumcision is that of the heart, ^kin the Spirit, not in the letter; ^lwhose ⁷praise is not from men but from God.

God’s Judgment Defended

3What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? ²Much in every way! Chiefly because ^ato them were committed the ¹oracles of God. ³For what if ^bsome did not believe? ^cWill their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? ^4dCertainly not! Indeed, let ^eGod be ²true but ^fevery man a liar. As it is written:

^g“That You may be justified in Your words,

And may overcome when You are judged.”

⁵But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? ^h(I speak as a man.) ⁶Certainly not! For then ⁱhow will God judge the world?

⁷For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? ⁸And why not say, ^j“Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their ³condemnation is just.

All Have Sinned

⁹What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that ^kthey are all under sin.

¹⁰As it is written:

^l“There is none righteous, no, not one;

¹¹There is none who understands;

There is none who seeks after God.

¹²They have all turned aside;

They have together become unprofitable;

There is none who does good, no, not one.”

¹³“Their ^mthroat is an open ⁴tomb;

With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;

ⁿ“The poison of asps is under their lips”;

¹⁴“Whose ^omouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”

¹⁵“Their ^pfeet are swift to shed blood;

¹⁶Destruction and misery are in their ways;

¹⁷And the way of peace they have not known.”

¹⁸“There ^qis no fear of God before their eyes.”

¹⁹Now we know that whatever ^rthe law says, it says to those who are under the law, that ^severy mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become ⁵guilty before God. ²⁰Therefore ^tby the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

God’s Righteousness Through Faith

²¹But now ^uthe righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, ^vbeing witnessed by the Law ^wand the Prophets, ²²even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all ⁶and on all who believe. For ^xthere is no difference; ²³for ^yall have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴being justified ⁷freely ^zby His grace ^athrough the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God set forth ^bas a ⁸propitiation ^cby His blood, through faith,…