Romans 13
New King James Version
Submit to Government
13 Let every soul be (A)subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists (B)the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will [a]bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? (C)Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore (D)you must be subject, not only because of wrath (E)but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 (F)Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Love Your Neighbor(G)
8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for (H)he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, (I)“You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” [b]“You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, (J)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore (K)love is the fulfillment of the law.
Put on Christ
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time (L)to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. (M)Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and (N)let us put on the armor of light. 13 (O)Let us walk [c]properly, as in the day, (P)not in revelry and drunkenness, (Q)not in lewdness and lust, (R)not in strife and envy. 14 But (S)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and (T)make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Footnotes
- Romans 13:2 Lit. receive
- Romans 13:9 NU omits “You shall not bear false witness,”
- Romans 13:13 decently
Romans 13
Holman Christian Standard Bible
A Christian’s Duties to the State
13 Everyone must submit to the governing authorities,(A) for there is no authority except from God,(B) and those that exist are instituted by God. 2 So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror(C) to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. 4 For government is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger(D) that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. 5 Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of your conscience.(E) 6 And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s public servants, continually attending to these tasks.[a] 7 Pay your obligations(F) to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes,(G) tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect,(H) and honor to those you owe honor.
Love, Our Primary Duty
8 Do not owe anyone anything,[b] except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.(I) 9 The commandments:
and whatever other commandment—all are summed up by this: Love your neighbor as yourself.(K)[e]
10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.
Put On Christ
11 Besides this, knowing the time, it is already the hour(L) for you[f] to wake up from sleep,(M) for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.(N) 12 The night is nearly over, and the daylight is near,(O) so let us discard the deeds of darkness(P) and put on the armor of light.(Q) 13 Let us walk with decency,(R) as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness;(S) not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,(T) and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires.(U)
Footnotes
- Romans 13:6 Lit to this very thing
- Romans 13:8 Or Leave no debt outstanding to anyone
- Romans 13:9 Other mss add you shall not bear false witness
- Romans 13:9 Ex 20:13-17; Dt 5:17-21
- Romans 13:9 Lv 19:18
- Romans 13:11 Other mss read for us
Romans 13
New Life Version
13 Every person must obey the leaders of the land. There is no power given but from God, and all leaders are allowed by God. 2 The person who does not obey the leaders of the land is working against what God has done. Anyone who does that will be punished.
3 Those who do right do not have to be afraid of the leaders. Those who do wrong are afraid of them. Do you want to be free from fear of them? Then do what is right. You will be respected instead. 4 Leaders are God’s servants to help you. If you do wrong, you should be afraid. They have the power to punish you. They work for God. They do what God wants done to those who do wrong.
5 You must obey the leaders of the land, not only to keep from God’s anger, but so your own heart will have peace. 6 It is right for you to pay taxes because the leaders of the land are servants for God who care for these things. 7 Pay taxes to whom taxes are to be paid. Be afraid of those you should fear. Respect those you should respect.
8 Do not owe anyone anything, but love each other. Whoever loves his neighbor has done what the Law says to do. 9 The Law says, “You must not do any sex sin. You must not kill another person. You must not steal. You must not tell a lie about another person. You must not want something someone else has.” The Law also says that these and many other Laws are brought together in one Law, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Anyone who loves his neighbor will do no wrong to him. You keep the Law with love.
11 There is another reason for doing what is right. You know what time it is. It is time for you to wake up from your sleep. The time when we will be taken up to be with Christ is not as far off as when we first put our trust in Him. 12 Night is almost gone. Day is almost here. We must stop doing the sinful things that are done in the dark. We must put on all the things God gives us to fight with for the day. 13 We must act all the time as if it were day. Keep away from wild parties and do not be drunk. Keep yourself free from sex sins and bad actions. Do not fight or be jealous. 14 Let every part of you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not allow your weak thoughts to lead you into sinful actions.
Romans 13
The Message
To Be a Responsible Citizen
13 1-3 Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.
3-5 Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you’ll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you’re breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren’t there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it. That’s why you must live responsibly—not just to avoid punishment but also because it’s the right way to live.
6-7 That’s also why you pay taxes—so that an orderly way of life can be maintained. Fulfill your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay your bills, respect your leaders.
* * *
8-10 Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code—don’t sleep with another person’s spouse, don’t take someone’s life, don’t take what isn’t yours, don’t always be wanting what you don’t have, and any other “don’t” you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.
11-14 But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!
Romans 13
New American Standard Bible
Be Subject to Government
13 Every [a](A)person is to be (B)subject to the governing authorities. For (C)there is no authority except [b]from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore [c]whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For (D)rulers are not a cause of fear for [d]good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a servant of God, an (E)avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also (F)for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 (G)Pay to all what is due them: (H)tax to whom tax is due; (I)custom to whom custom; [e]respect to whom [f]respect; honor to whom honor.
8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for (J)the one who loves [g]his neighbor has fulfilled the Law. 9 For this, “(K)You 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 saying, “(L)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love [h]does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore (M)love is the fulfillment of the Law.
11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is (N)already the hour for you to (O)awaken from sleep; for now [i]salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. 12 (P)The night is almost gone, and (Q)the day is near. Therefore let’s rid ourselves of (R)the deeds of darkness and put on (S)the armor of light. 13 Let’s [j](T)behave properly as in the day, (U)not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and debauchery, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But (V)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh (W)in regard to its lusts.
Footnotes
- Romans 13:1 Or soul
- Romans 13:1 Lit by
- Romans 13:2 Lit the one who
- Romans 13:3 Lit good work
- Romans 13:7 I.e., for authority; lit fear
- Romans 13:7 I.e., for authority; lit fear
- Romans 13:8 Lit the other
- Romans 13:10 Lit works no evil
- Romans 13:11 Or our salvation is nearer than when
- Romans 13:13 Lit walk
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
