Romans 1

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.