Chapter 27

Paul Is Sent to Rome

1 When it was decided that awe bwould sail for cItaly, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan 1dcohort named Julius.

2 And embarking in an Adramyttian ship, which was about to sail to the regions along the coast of 1aAsia, we put out to sea accompanied by bAristarchus, a cMacedonian of dThessalonica.

3 The next day we put in at aSidon; and Julius btreated Paul with consideration and callowed him to go to his friends and receive care.

4 From there we put out to sea and sailed under the shelter of aCyprus because bthe winds were contrary.

5 When we had sailed through the sea along the coast of aCilicia and bPamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.

6 There the centurion found an aAlexandrian ship sailing for bItaly, and he put us aboard it.

7 When we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, asince the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of bCrete, off Salmone;

8 and with difficulty asailing past it we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

9 When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even athe 1fast was already over, Paul began to admonish them,

10 and said to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with adamage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”

11 But the centurion was more persuaded by the apilot and the 1captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul.

12 Because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of aCrete, facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

13 1When a moderate south wind came up, supposing that they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began asailing along bCrete, close inshore.

Shipwreck

14 But before very long there arushed down from 1the land a violent wind, called 2Euraquilo;

15 and when the ship was caught in it and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be driven along.

16 Running under the shelter of a small island called Clauda, we were scarcely able to get the ship’s 1boat under control.

17 After they had hoisted it up, they used 1supporting cables in undergirding the ship; and fearing that they might arun aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the 2sea anchor and in this way let themselves be driven along.

18 The next day as we were being violently storm-tossed, 1they began to ajettison the cargo;

19 and on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands.

20 Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned.

21 1When they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, “aMen, you ought to have 2followed my advice and not to have set sail from bCrete and 3incurred this adamage and loss.

22 “Yet now I urge you to akeep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.

23 “For this very night aan angel of the God to whom I belong and bwhom I serve cstood before me,

24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; ayou must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you ball those who are sailing with you.’

25 “Therefore, akeep up your courage, men, for I believe God that 1it will turn out exactly as I have been told.

26 “But we must arun aground on a certain bisland.”

27 But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to surmise that 1they were approaching some land.

28 They took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms.

29 Fearing that we might arun aground somewhere on the 1rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and 2wished for daybreak.

30 But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down athe ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow,

31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.”

32 Then the soldiers cut away the aropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.

33 Until the day was about to dawn, Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken nothing.

34 “Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your preservation, for anot a hair from the head of any of you will perish.”

35 Having said this, he took bread and agave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat.

36 All aof them 1were encouraged and they themselves also took food.

37 All of us in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six 1apersons.

38 When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by athrowing out the wheat into the sea.

39 When day came, athey 1could not recognize the land; but they did observe a bay with a beach, and they resolved to drive the ship onto it if they could.

40 And casting off athe anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders; and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for the beach.

41 But striking a 1reef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves.

42 The soldiers’ plan was to akill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape;

43 but the centurion, awanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention, and commanded that those who could swim should 1jump overboard first and get to land,

44 and the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that athey all were brought safely to land.

Chapter 28

Safe at Malta

1 When athey had been brought safely through, bthen we found out that cthe island was called 1Malta.

2 aThe 1natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and breceived us all.

3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out 1because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.

4 When athe 1natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “bUndoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, 2justice has not allowed him to live.”

5 However ahe shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.

6 But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and abegan to say that he was a god.

7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us courteously three days.

8 And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had aprayed, he blaid his hands on him and healed him.

9 After this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and getting cured.

10 They also honored us with many 1marks of respect; and when we were setting sail, they 2supplied us with 3all we needed.

Paul Arrives at Rome

11 At the end of three months we set sail on aan Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which had 1the Twin Brothers for its figurehead.

12 After we put in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days.

13 From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium, and a day later a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli.

14 1There we found some abrethren, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and thus we came to Rome.

15 And the abrethren, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the 1Market of Appius and 2Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

16 When we entered Rome, Paul was aallowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.

17 After three days 1Paul called together those who were athe leading men of the Jews, and when they came together, he began saying to them, “bBrethren, cthough I had done nothing against our people or dthe customs of our 2fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

18 “And when they had aexamined me, they bwere willing to release me because there was cno ground 1for putting me to death.

19 “But when the Jews 1objected, I was forced to aappeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation against my nation.

20 “For this reason, therefore, I 1requested to see you and to speak with you, for I am wearing athis chain for bthe sake of the hope of Israel.”

21 They said to him, “We have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of athe brethren come here and reported or spoken anything bad about you.

22 “But we desire to hear from you what 1your views are; for concerning this asect, it is known to us that bit is spoken against everywhere.”

23 When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at ahis lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly btestifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, cfrom both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.

24 aSome were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe.

25 And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers,

26 saying,

‘aGo to this people and say,

“1bYou will keep on hearing, 2but will not understand;

And 3you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;

27 aFor the heart of this people has become dull,

And with their ears they scarcely hear,

And they have closed their eyes;

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

And hear with their ears,

And understand with their heart and return,

And I would heal them.” ’

28 “Therefore let it be known to you that athis salvation of God has been sent bto the Gentiles; they will also listen.”

29 [1When he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.]

30 And he stayed two full years 1in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him,

31 1apreaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ bwith all openness, unhindered.

The Letter of Paul to the

ROMANS

Chapter 1

The Gospel Exalted

1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, 1acalled as an apostle, bset apart for cthe gospel of God,

2 which He apromised beforehand through His bprophets in the holy Scriptures,

3 concerning His Son, who was born aof a 1descendant of David baccording to the flesh,

4 who was declared athe Son of God with power 1by the resurrection from the dead, according to the 2Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,

5 through whom we have received grace and aapostleship 1to bring about the bobedience of faith among call the Gentiles for His name’s sake,

6 among whom you also are the acalled of Jesus Christ;

7 to all who are abeloved of God in Rome, called as 1bsaints: cGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

8 First, aI thank my God through Jesus Christ 1for you all, because byour faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.

9 For aGod, whom I bserve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly cI make mention of you,

10 always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by athe will of God I may succeed in coming to you.

11 For aI long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be 1established;

12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.

13 aI do not want you to be unaware, bbrethren, that often I chave planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some dfruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.

14 aI am 1under obligation both to Greeks and to bbarbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

15 So, for my part, I am eager to apreach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

16 For I am not aashamed of the gospel, for bit is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the cJew first and also to dthe Greek.

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.”

Unbelief and Its Consequences

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.

Chapter 2

The Impartiality of God

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.

Chapter 3

All the World Guilty

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;

10 as it is written,

“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.

Justification by Faith

21 But now apart 1from the Law athe righteousness of God has been manifested, being bwitnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

22 even the arighteousness of God through bfaith cin Jesus Christ for dall those 1who believe; for ethere is no distinction;

23 for all 1ahave sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24 being justified as a gift aby His grace through bthe redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

25 whom God displayed publicly as aa 1propitiation 2bin His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, 3because in the cforbearance of God He dpassed over the sins previously committed;

26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who 1has faith in Jesus.

27 Where then is aboasting? It is excluded. By bwhat kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.

28 1For awe maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works 2of the Law.

29 Or ais God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,

30 since indeed aGod bwho will justify the 1circumcised 2by faith and the 3uncircumcised through faith cis one.

31 Do we then nullify 1the Law through faith? aMay it never be! On the contrary, we bestablish the Law.