Romans 13:4

New International Version

⁴For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.^(A)

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Romans 13:4

English Standard Version

⁴for ^(A)he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, ^(B)an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

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Romans 13:4

New American Standard Bible

⁴for 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 ^(A)avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.

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Romans 13:4

Common English Bible

⁴It is God’s servant given for your benefit. But if you do what’s wrong, be afraid because it doesn’t have weapons to enforce the law for nothing. It is God’s servant put in place to carry out his punishment on those who do what is wrong.

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Romans 13:4

Contemporary English Version

⁴After all, they are God's servants, and it is their duty to help you.

If you do something wrong, you ought to be afraid, because these rulers have the right to punish you. They are God's servants who punish criminals to show how angry God is.

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