1 From Paul, a ·servant [slave; bondservant] of Christ Jesus. ·God called me [^L…called] to be an ·apostle [messenger] and ·chose me [set me apart; appointed me] to tell the ·Good News [Gospel].

² God promised this ·Good News [Gospel] ·long ago [beforehand; previously] through his prophets, as it is written in the Holy Scriptures. ³ The Good News is about God’s Son. ·As a man [or With reference to his earthly life; ^LAccording to the flesh], he was born ·from the family [a descendant; ^Lof the seed] of David [2 Sam. 7:11–14]. ⁴ But through the Spirit of holiness [^Ca Jewish way of referring to the Holy Spirit] he was ·declared [or designated; appointed] to be God’s Son with great power by rising from the dead [^Cthough eternally the Son of God, Jesus was appointed such “with power” at his resurrection; see Ps. 2:7; 110:1–2]. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through ·Christ [^Lwhom], ·God gave me the special work of an apostle [^Lwe have received apostleship; ^C“we” could be a formal way of saying “I,” or could refer to Paul and the other apostles], which was to lead ·people of all nations [the Gentiles] to ·believe and obey [or the obedience that comes from faith; or the obedience that is faith]. I do this work for ·him [^Lhis name]. ⁶ And you who are in Rome are also among those [^CGentiles] called to belong to Jesus Christ.

⁷ To all of you in Rome whom God loves and has called to be ·his holy people [^Tsaints]:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

A Prayer of Thanks

⁸ First I want to say that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because people everywhere in the world are talking about your faith. ⁹ God, whom I serve ·with my whole heart [in/with my spirit] ·by telling [or for the sake of; ^Lin] the ·Good News [Gospel] about his Son, ·knows [^Lis my witness] that I ·always [continually; never cease to] mention you ¹⁰ every time I pray. I pray that now at last ·if God wants it [by God’s will] I will ·be allowed to come [succeed in coming] to you. ¹¹ I ·want very much [long] to see you, to ·give [impart to; or share with] you some spiritual gift to make you strong. ¹² I mean that I want us to ·help each other [be mutually encouraged/comforted] ·with the faith we have [by each other’s faith]. ·Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you [^L…both yours and mine]. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that I ·planned [intended] many times to come to you, but ·this has not been possible [^Lhave been hindered/ unsuccessful until now]. I wanted to come so that I could ·help you grow spiritually [^Lharvest some fruit among you] as I have ·helped the other [^Lamong the rest of the] Gentiles.

¹⁴ I have a ·duty [obligation; debt] to all people—Greeks and ·those who are not Greeks [or barbarians; ^Cthis pairing could mean (1) ethnic Greeks and other Gentiles; (2) Greek speakers (people in the Roman empire) and non-Greek speakers (those outside the Roman empire); or (3) cultured people and uncultured people], the wise and the foolish [^Cperhaps contrasting educated with uneducated, or philosophically sophisticated (1 Cor. 1:18–31) with simple-minded]. ¹⁵ That is why I ·want so much [am so eager] to preach the ·Good News [Gospel] to you in Rome.

¹⁶ [^LFor] I am not ashamed of the ·Good News [Gospel], because it is the power God uses to save everyone who believes—to save the Jews first, and then to save ·Gentiles [^Lthe Greeks; ^Chere meaning anyone who is not Jewish; contrast v. 14]. ¹⁷ The ·Good News [Gospel] shows ·how God makes people right with himself [or God’s righteous character; ^Lthe righteousness of/from God]—·that it begins and ends with faith [or that advances from one believing person to the next; or that begins with God’s faithfulness and results in people’s faith; ^Lfrom faith to faith]. As the Scripture says, “But ·those who are right with God will live by faith [or those made righteous through faith will live (eternally); Hab. 2:4].”

All People Have Sinned

¹⁸ [^LFor] God’s ·anger [wrath; retribution] is ·shown [being revealed] from heaven against all the ·evil [ungodly] and ·wrong [wicked; unrighteous] things people do. By their ·own evil lives [wickedness; unrighteousness] they ·hide [suppress] the truth. ¹⁹ God ·shows [reveals] his ·anger [wrath; retribution] because ·some knowledge of [what can be known about] him has been made ·clear [plain; evident] to them. Yes, God has ·shown himself [revealed/disclosed it] to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and ·all the things that make him God [his divine nature]—have been clearly ·seen [perceived], understood through what God has made. So people have no excuse. ²¹ They knew God, but they did not give glory to God or thank him. Their thinking became ·useless [futile; pointless]. Their ·foolish [ignorant; uncomprehending] ·minds [^Lhearts] were ·filled with darkness [darkened]. ²² They claimed to be wise, but they became fools. ²³ They ·traded [exchanged] the glory of ·God who lives forever [the immortal/imperishable God] for the worship of ·idols [images] made to look like ·earthly [mortal; perishable] people, birds, animals, and reptiles.

²⁴ Because they did these things, God ·abandoned them to [allowed them to pursue; gave them over to] ·their sinful desires [^Lthe desires of their hearts], resulting in ·sexual impurity [^Luncleanness; impurity] and the dishonoring of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They ·traded [exchanged] the truth of God for ·a lie [or the lie; see Gen. 3:4–5] and worshiped and served ·the creation [or the creature; or created things] instead of the Creator, who ·should be praised [or is blessed] forever. Amen.

²⁶ Because people did those things, God ·abandoned them to [allowed them to pursue; gave them over to] ·shameful [dishonorable; degrading] ·lusts [passions]. [^LTheir] Women ·stopped having natural sex and started having sex with other women [^Lexchanged natural (heterosexual) relations for unnatural ones]. ²⁷ In the same way, men ·stopped having [abandoned] natural ·sex [^Lrelations with women] and ·began wanting [^Lwere inflamed in their lust for] each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and in ·their bodies [^Lthemselves] they received the ·punishment [recompense; due penalty] for ·those wrongs [their error].

²⁸ [^LAnd since/just as] People did not ·think it was important [consider it worthwhile; see fit] to ·have a true knowledge of [or acknowledge] God. So God ·abandoned them to [allowed them to pursue; gave them over to] ·their own worthless thinking [a depraved/corrupted mind] to do things they should not do. ²⁹ They are filled with every kind of ·sin [unrighteousness; injustice], ·evil [wickedness], ·selfishness [greed], and ·hatred [evil; malice; depravity]. They are full of ·jealousy [envy], murder, ·fighting [strife; quarreling], ·lying [deceit; treachery], and ·thinking the worst about each other [spite; maliciousness]. They are gossips ³⁰ and ·say evil things about each other [slanderers; backstabbers]. They hate God. They are ·rude [insolent; haughty] and ·conceited [proud; arrogant] and ·brag about themselves [boastful]. They invent ways of doing evil. They do not ·obey [respect] their parents. ³¹ They are ·foolish [senseless; undiscerning], they ·do not keep their promises [or are covenant-breakers], and they show no ·kindness [love; affection] or ·mercy [pity] to others. ³² They know God’s ·law says [righteous decree; just requirement] that those who live like this should die. But they themselves not only continue to do these evil things, they ·applaud [approve of; encourage] others who do them.