Romans 1-3 (Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition)

Romans 1

 ¹Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

    ²Which he had promised before, by his prophets, in the holy scriptures,

    ³Concerning his Son, who was made to him of the seed of David, according to the flesh,

    ⁴Who was predestinated the Son of God in power, according to the spirit of sanctification, by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead;

    ⁵By whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith, in all nations, for his name;

    ⁶Among whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ:

    ⁷To all that are at Rome, the beloved of God, called to be saints. Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

    ⁸First I give thanks to my God, through Jesus Christ, for you all, because your faith is spoken of in the whole world.

    ⁹For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make a commemoration of you;

    ¹⁰Always in my prayers making request, if by any means now at length I may have a prosperous journey, by the will of God, to come unto you.

    ¹¹For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual grace, to strengthen you:

    ¹²That is to say, that I may be comforted together in you, by that which is common to us both, your faith and mine.

    ¹³And I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that I have often purposed to come unto you, (and have been hindered hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

    ¹⁴To the Greeks and to the barbarians, to the wise and to the unwise, I am a debtor;

    ¹⁵So (as much as is in me) I am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are at Rome.

    ¹⁶For I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and to the Greek.

    ¹⁷For the justice of God is revealed therein, from faith unto faith, as it is written: The just man liveth by faith.

    ¹⁸For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those men that detain the truth of God in injustice:

    ¹⁹Because that which is known of God is manifest in them. For God hath manifested it unto them.

    ²⁰For the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; his eternal power also, and divinity: so that they are inexcusable.

    ²¹Because that, when they knew God, they have not glorified him as God, or given thanks; but became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened.

    ²²For professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.

    ²³And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man, and of birds, and of fourfooted beasts, and of creeping things.

    ²⁴Wherefore God gave them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness, to dishonour their own bodies among themselves.

    ²⁵Who changed the truth of God into a lie; and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

    ²⁶For this cause God delivered them up to shameful affections. For their women have changed the natural use into that use which is against nature.

    ²⁷And, in like manner, the men also, leaving the natural use of the women, have burned in their lusts one towards another, men with men working that which is filthy, and receiving in themselves the recompense which was due to their error.

    ²⁸And as they liked not to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them up to a reprobate sense, to do those things which are not convenient;

    ²⁹Being filled with all iniquity, malice, fornication, avarice, wickedness, full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity, whisperers,

    ³⁰Detractors, hateful to God, contumelious, proud, haughty, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

    ³¹Foolish, dissolute, without affection, without fidelity, without mercy.

    ³²Who, having known the justice of God, did not understand that they who do such things, are worthy of death; and not only they that do them, but they also that consent to them that do them.

   

Romans 2

 ¹Wherefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. For wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself. For thou dost the same things which thou judgest.

    ²For we know that the judgment of God is, according to truth, against them that do such things.

    ³And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them who do such things, and dost the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

    ⁴Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and patience, and longsuffering? Knowest thou not, that the benignity of God leadeth thee to penance?

    ⁵But according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou treasurest up to thyself wrath, against the day of wrath, and revelation of the just judgment of God.

    ⁶Who will render to every man according to his works.

    ⁷To them indeed, who according to patience in good work, seek glory and honour and incorruption, eternal life:

    ⁸But to them that are contentious, and who obey not the truth, but give credit to iniquity, wrath and indignation.

    ⁹Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek.

    ¹⁰But glory, and honour, and peace to every one that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

    ¹¹For there is no respect of persons with God.

    ¹²For whosoever have sinned without the law, shall perish without the law; and whosoever have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law.

    ¹³For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

    ¹⁴For when the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature those things that are of the law; these having not the law are a law to themselves:

    ¹⁵Who shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness to them, and their thoughts between themselves accusing, or also defending one another,

    ¹⁶In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.

    ¹⁷But if thou art called a Jew and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,

    ¹⁸And knowest his will, and approvest the more profitable things, being instructed by the law,

    ¹⁹Art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them that are in darkness,

    ²⁰An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, having the form of knowledge and of truth in the law.

    ²¹Thou therefore that teachest another, teachest not thyself: thou that preachest that men should not steal, stealest:

    ²²Thou that sayest, men should not commit adultery, committest adultery: thou that abhorrest idols, committest sacrilege:

    ²³Thou that makest thy boast of the law, by transgression of the law dishonourest God.

    ²⁴(For the name of God through you is blasphemed among the Gentiles, as it is written.)

    ²⁵Circumcision profiteth indeed, if thou keep the law; but if thou be a transgressor of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

    ²⁶If, then, the uncircumcised keep the justices of the law, shall not this uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

    ²⁷And shall not that which by nature is uncircumcision, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of the law?

    ²⁸For it is not he is a Jew, who is so outwardly; nor is that circumcision which is outwardly in the flesh:

    ²⁹But he is a Jew, that is one inwardly; and the circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

   

Romans 3

 ¹What advantage then hath the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision?

    ²Much every way. First indeed, because the words of God were committed to them.

    ³For what if some of them have not believed? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid.

    ⁴But God is true; and every man a liar, as it is written, That thou mayest be justified in thy words, and mayest overcome when thou art judged.

    ⁵But if our injustice commend the justice of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust, who executeth wrath?

    ⁶(I speak according to man.) God forbid: otherwise how shall God judge this world?

    ⁷For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie, unto his glory, why am I also yet judged as a sinner?

    ⁸And not rather (as we are slandered, and as some affirm that we say) let us do evil, that there may come good? whose damnation is just.

    ⁹What then? Do we excel them? No, not so. For we have charged both Jews, and Greeks, that they are all under sin.

    ¹⁰As it is written: There is not any man just.

    ¹¹There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

    ¹²All have turned out of the way; they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good, there is not so much as one.

    ¹³Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have dealt deceitfully. The venom of asps is under their lips.

    ¹⁴Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

    ¹⁵Their feet swift to shed blood:

    ¹⁶Destruction and misery in their ways:

    ¹⁷And the way of peace they have not known:

    ¹⁸There is no fear of God before their eyes.

    ¹⁹Now we know, that what things soever the law speaketh, it speaketh to them that are in the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be made subject to God.

    ²⁰Because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified before him. For by the law is the knowledge of sin.

    ²¹But now without the law the justice of God is made manifest, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.

    ²²Even the justice of God, by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe in him: for there is no distinction:

    ²³For all have sinned, and do need the glory of God.

    ²⁴Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption, that is in Christ Jesus,

    ²⁵Whom God hath proposed to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to the shewing of his justice, for the remission of former sins,

    ²⁶Through the forbearance of God, for the shewing of his justice in this time; that he himself may be just, and the justifier of him, who is of the faith of Jesus Christ.

    ²⁷Where is then thy boasting? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.

    ²⁸For we account a man to be justified by faith, without the works of the law.

    ²⁹Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also.

    ³⁰For it is one God, that justifieth circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

    ³¹Do we, then, destroy the law through faith? God forbid: but we establish the law.