The Gospel Exalted

1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, ^[a](A)called as an apostle, having been ^(B)set apart for ^(C)the gospel of God, ² which He ^(D)promised beforehand through His ^(E)prophets in the holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son, who was born ^(F)of the seed of David ^(G)according to the flesh, ⁴ who was designated as ^(H)the Son of God in power, according to the ^[b]Spirit of holiness, ^[c]by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵ through whom we received grace and ^(I)apostleship for the ^(J)obedience of faith among ^(K)all the Gentiles for the sake of His name, ⁶ among whom you also are the ^(L)called of Jesus Christ;

⁷ to all who are ^(M)beloved of God in Rome, called as ^[d](N)saints: ^(O)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁸ First, ^(P)I thank my God through Jesus Christ ^[e]for you all, because ^(Q)your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. ⁹ For ^(R)God, whom I ^(S)serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how without ceasing ^(T)I make mention of you, ¹⁰ always in my prayers earnestly asking, if perhaps now at last by ^(U)the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. ¹¹ For ^(V)I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be strengthened; ¹² that is, to be mutually encouraged, while among you, by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. ^13 (W)I do not want you to be unaware, ^(X)brothers, that often I ^(Y)have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may have some ^(Z)fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. ^14 (AA)I am ^[f]under obligation both to Greeks and to ^(AB)barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵ In this way, for my part, I am eager to ^(AC)proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

¹⁶ For I am not ^(AD)ashamed of the gospel, for ^(AE)it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the ^(AF)Jew first and also to ^(AG)the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it ^(AH)the righteousness of God is revealed ^[g]from faith to faith; as it is written, “^[h](AI)But the righteous will live by faith.”

God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

¹⁸ For ^(AJ)the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who ^(AK)suppress the truth ^[i]in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because ^(AL)that which is known about God is evident ^[j]within them; for God made it evident to them. ²⁰ For ^(AM)since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, both His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, ^(AN)being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. ²¹ For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became ^(AO)futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. ^22 (AP)Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and ^(AQ)exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

²⁴ Therefore ^(AR)God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be ^(AS)dishonored among them. ²⁵ For they exchanged the truth of God for ^[k]a ^(AT)lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ^(AU)who is blessed ^[l]forever. Amen.

²⁶ For this reason ^(AV)God gave them over to ^(AW)dishonorable passions; for their ^(AX)females exchanged the natural function for that which is ^[m]unnatural, ²⁷ and in the same way also the ^(AY)males abandoned the natural function of the female and burned in their desire toward one another, ^(AZ)males with males committing ^[n]indecent acts and receiving in ^[o]their own persons the due penalty of their error.

²⁸ And just as they did not see fit ^[p]to acknowledge God, ^(BA)God gave them over to an unfit mind, to do those things which are not proper, ²⁹ having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are ^(BB)gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, ^[q](BC)haters of God, violent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, ^(BD)disobedient to parents, ³¹ without understanding, untrustworthy, ^(BE)unloving, unmerciful; ³² and although they know the righteous requirement of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of ^(BF)death, they not only do the same, but also ^(BG)give hearty approval to those who practice them.