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Romans 12
Lexham English Bible

A Life Dedicated to God

12 Therefore I exhort you, brothers, through the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may approve what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God.

A Variety of Gifts in the Body of Christ

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone who is among you not to think more highly of yourself than what one ought to think, but to think sensibly[a], as God has apportioned a measure of faith to each one. 4 For just as in one body we have many members, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually[b] members of one another, 6 but having different gifts according to the grace given to us: if it is prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if it is service, by service; if it is one who teaches, by teaching; 8 if it is one who exhorts, by exhortation; one who gives, with sincerity; one who leads, with diligence; one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Living in Love

9 Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; be attached to what is good, 10 being devoted to one another in brotherly love, esteeming one another more highly in honor, 11 not lagging in diligence, being enthusiastic in spirit, serving the Lord, 12 rejoicing in hope, enduring in affliction, being devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute,[c] bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Think the same thing toward one another; do not think arrogantly[d], but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own sight[e]. 17 Pay back no one evil for evil. Take thought for what is good in the sight of all people. 18 If it is possible on your part, be at peace with all people. 19 Do not take revenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,”[f] says the Lord. 20 But “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by[g] doing this, you will heap up coals of fire upon his head.”[h] 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 12:3 Literally “so as to be sensible”
  2. Romans 12:5 Literally “with respect to one”
  3. Romans 12:14 Some manuscripts have “who persecute you”
  4. Romans 12:16 Literally “think not the arrogant”
  5. Romans 12:16 Literally “in the sight of yourselves”
  6. Romans 12:19 A quotation from Deut 32:35
  7. Romans 12:20 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“doing”) which is understood as means
  8. Romans 12:20 A quotation from Prov 25:21–22
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Romans 12
Christian Standard Bible

A Living Sacrifice

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you(A) to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,(B) holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.[a] 2 Do not be conformed(C) to this age,(D) but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,(E) so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will(F) of God.

Many Gifts but One Body

3 For by the grace(G) given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think.(H) Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith(I) to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body,(J) and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many(K) are one body in Christ(L) and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts:(M) If prophecy,(N) use it according to the proportion of one’s[b] faith; 7 if service,(O) use it in service; if teaching,(P) in teaching; 8 if exhorting,(Q) in exhortation; giving, with generosity;(R) leading,(S) with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.(T)

Christian Ethics

9 Let love be without hypocrisy.(U) Detest evil;(V) cling to what is good. 10 Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters.(W) Take the lead in honoring one another.(X) 11 Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit;[c](Y) serve the Lord.(Z) 12 Rejoice in hope;(AA) be patient in affliction;(AB) be persistent in prayer.(AC) 13 Share with the saints in their needs;(AD) pursue hospitality.(AE) 14 Bless those who persecute you;(AF) bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice;(AG) weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another.(AH) Do not be proud;(AI) instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.(AJ) 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil.(AK) Give careful thought to do what is honorable(AL) in everyone’s eyes. 18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.(AM) 19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,[d](AN) says the Lord. 20 But

If your enemy is hungry, feed him.(AO)
If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
For in so doing
you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.[e](AP)

21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

Footnotes

  1. 12:1 Or your reasonable service
  2. 12:6 Or the, also in v. 19
  3. 12:11 Or in spirit
  4. 12:19 Dt 32:35
  5. 12:20 Pr 25:21–22
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Romans 12
New English Translation

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters,[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God[b]—which is your reasonable service. 2 Do not be conformed[c] to this present world,[d] but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve[e] what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Conduct in Humility

3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you[f] a measure of faith.[g] 4 For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, 5 so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. 6 And we have different gifts[h] according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith.[i] 7 If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; 8 if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

Conduct in Love

9 Love must be[j] without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.[k] Do not be conceited.[l] 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people.[m] 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.[n] 19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath,[o] for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,”[p] says the Lord. 20 Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head.[q] 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 12:1 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
  2. Romans 12:1 tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.sn Taken as predicate adjectives, the terms alive, holy, and pleasing are showing how unusual is the sacrifice that believers can now offer, for OT sacrifices were dead. As has often been quipped about this text, “The problem with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar.”
  3. Romans 12:2 tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschēmatizesthe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.
  4. Romans 12:2 tn Grk “to this age.”
  5. Romans 12:2 sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazō) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”
  6. Romans 12:3 tn The words “of you” have been supplied for clarity.
  7. Romans 12:3 tn Or “to each as God has distributed a measure of faith.”
  8. Romans 12:6 tn This word comes from the same root as “grace” in the following clause; it means “things graciously given,” “grace-gifts.”
  9. Romans 12:6 tn The last part of this verse has no verb; either an indicative or imperative is implied. Most likely an imperative is intended because of the general tenor of this section of the epistle as exhortation and because of the particular flow of this verse, which seems to imply how to use spiritual gifts.
  10. Romans 12:9 tn The verb “must be” is understood in the Greek text.
  11. Romans 12:16 tn Or “but give yourselves to menial tasks.” The translation depends on whether one takes the adjective “lowly” as masculine or neuter.
  12. Romans 12:16 tn Grk “Do not be wise in your thinking.”
  13. Romans 12:17 tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.
  14. Romans 12:18 tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.
  15. Romans 12:19 tn Grk “the wrath,” referring to God’s wrath as the remainder of the verse shows.
  16. Romans 12:19 sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.
  17. Romans 12:20 sn A quotation from Prov 25:21-22.
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