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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. 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

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] For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. 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] If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; 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

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.

A Living and Holy Sacrifice

12 Therefore (A)I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to (B)present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your [a]spiritual service of worship. And do not (C)be conformed to (D)this [b]world, but be transformed by the (E)renewing of your mind, so that you may (F)approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and [c]perfect.

For through (G)the grace given to me I say to each one among you (H)not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound thinking, as God has allotted to (I)each a measure of faith. For (J)just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, (K)who are many, are (L)one body in Christ, and individually members one of another, but having gifts that (M)differ according to the grace given to us: whether (N)prophecy, [d]in agreement with the faith; or [e](O)service, in his serving; or he who (P)teaches, in his teaching; or he who (Q)exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with [f](R)generosity; (S)he who [g]leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with (T)cheerfulness.

Let (U)love be without hypocrisy—by (V)abhorring what is evil, clinging to what is good, 10 being (W)devoted to one another in brotherly love, [h]giving preference to one another (X)in honor, 11 not lagging behind in diligence, being (Y)fervent in spirit, (Z)serving the Lord, 12 (AA)rejoicing in hope, (AB)persevering in affliction, being (AC)devoted to prayer, 13 (AD)contributing to the needs of the [i]saints, (AE)pursuing hospitality.

14 (AF)Bless those who persecute [j]you; bless, and do not curse. 15 (AG)Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep, 16 by (AH)being of the same mind toward one another, (AI)not being haughty in mind, but [k]associating with the humble. (AJ)Do not be wise in your own mind. 17 (AK)Never paying back evil for evil to anyone, [l](AL)respecting what is good in the sight of all men, 18 if possible, (AM)so far as it depends on you, (AN)being at peace with all men, 19 (AO)never taking your own revenge, beloved—instead [m]leave room for the wrath of God. For it is written, “(AP)Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 (AQ)But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 12:1 Or rational
  2. Romans 12:2 Or age
  3. Romans 12:2 Or complete
  4. Romans 12:6 Or according to the proportion of his faith
  5. Romans 12:7 Or office of service
  6. Romans 12:8 Or simplicity; without false motives
  7. Romans 12:8 Or gives aid
  8. Romans 12:10 Or outdo one another in showing honor
  9. Romans 12:13 Or holy ones
  10. Romans 12:14 Two early mss omit you
  11. Romans 12:16 Or accommodate yourself to lowly things
  12. Romans 12:17 Lit take thought for
  13. Romans 12:19 Lit give a place