Submission to the Authorities

13 Let every person ^(A)be subject to the governing authorities. For ^(B)there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you ^(C)will receive his approval, ⁴ for ^(D)he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, ^(E)an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also ^(F)for the sake of conscience. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ^7 (G)Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

^8 (H)Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for ^(I)the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, ^(J)“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ^(K)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore ^(L)love is the fulfilling of the law.

¹¹ Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you ^(M)to wake from sleep. ^(N)For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. ^12 (O)The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us ^(P)cast off ^(Q)the works of darkness and ^(R)put on the armor of light. ^13 (S)Let us walk properly as in the daytime, ^(T)not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, ^(U)not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴ But ^(V)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, ^(W)to gratify its desires.

Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another

14 As for ^(X)the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. ^2 (Y)One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. ³ Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and ^(Z)let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. ^4 (AA)Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master^[a] that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

^5 (AB)One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. ^(AC)Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since ^(AD)he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For ^(AE)none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. ⁸ For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, ^(AF)whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. ⁹ For to this end Christ ^(AG)died and lived again, that he might be Lord both ^(AH)of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰ Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For ^(AI)we will all stand before ^(AJ)the judgment seat of God; ¹¹ for it is written,

¹² So then ^(AL)each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Do Not Cause Another to Stumble

^13 (AM)Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide ^(AN)never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. ¹⁴ I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus ^(AO)that nothing is unclean in itself, ^(AP)but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. ¹⁵ For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, ^(AQ)you are no longer walking in love. ^(AR)By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. ^16 (AS)So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. ^17 (AT)For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but ^(AU)of righteousness and ^(AV)peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ Whoever thus serves Christ is ^(AW)acceptable to God and approved by men. ¹⁹ So then let us ^(AX)pursue what makes for peace and for ^(AY)mutual upbuilding.

^20 (AZ)Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. ^(BA)Everything is indeed clean, but ^(BB)it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. ^21 (BC)It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.^{[c] 22} The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. ^(BD)Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. ²³ But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.^[d]

The Example of Christ

15 ^(BE)We who are strong ^(BF)have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ^2 (BG)Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ³ For ^(BH)Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ^(BI)“The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” ⁴ For ^(BJ)whatever was written in former days was written for our ^(BK)instruction, that through endurance and through ^(BL)the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ⁵ May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you ^(BM)to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, ⁶ that together you may with one voice glorify ^(BN)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

⁸ For I tell you that Christ ^(BO)became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order ^(BP)to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, ⁹ and in order ^(BQ)that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

¹⁰ And again it is said,

¹¹ And again,

¹² And again Isaiah says,

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all ^(BX)joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

^14 (BY)I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,^[e] that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with ^(BZ)all knowledge and able to instruct one another. ¹⁵ But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, ^(CA)because of the grace given me by God ¹⁶ to be ^(CB)a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles ^(CC)in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that ^(CD)the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷ In Christ Jesus, then, I have ^(CE)reason to be proud of ^(CF)my work for God. ¹⁸ For I will not venture to speak of anything except ^(CG)what Christ has accomplished through me ^(CH)to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, ^19 (CI)by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that ^(CJ)from Jerusalem and all the way around ^(CK)to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; ²⁰ and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, ^(CL)lest I build on someone else's foundation, ²¹ but as it is written,

Paul's Plan to Visit Rome

²² This is the reason why ^(CN)I have so often been hindered from coming to you. ²³ But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and ^(CO)since I have longed for many years to come to you, ²⁴ I hope to see you in passing as I go ^(CP)to Spain, and ^(CQ)to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. ²⁵ At present, however, ^(CR)I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. ²⁶ For ^(CS)Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. ²⁷ For they were pleased to do it, and indeed ^(CT)they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. ²⁸ When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,^[f] I will leave ^(CU)for Spain by way of you. ²⁹ I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing^[g] of Christ.

³⁰ I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by ^(CV)the love of the Spirit, ^(CW)to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, ^31 (CX)that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that ^(CY)my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, ³² so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and ^(CZ)be refreshed in your company. ³³ May ^(DA)the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Personal Greetings

16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant^[h] of the church at ^(DB)Cenchreae, ² that you ^(DC)may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

³ Greet ^(DD)Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, ⁴ who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. ⁵ Greet also ^(DE)the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was ^(DF)the first convert^[i] to Christ in Asia. ⁶ Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. ⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia,^[j] my kinsmen and my ^(DG)fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles,^[k] and they were in Christ before me. ⁸ Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. ⁹ Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. ¹⁰ Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those ^(DH)who belong to the family of Aristobulus. ¹¹ Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. ¹² Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. ¹³ Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. ¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers^[l] who are with them. ¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. ^16 (DI)Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

Final Instructions and Greetings

¹⁷ I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles ^(DJ)contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; ^(DK)avoid them. ¹⁸ For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but ^(DL)their own appetites,^[m] and ^(DM)by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. ¹⁹ For ^(DN)your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you ^(DO)to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. ^20 (DP)The God of peace ^(DQ)will soon crush Satan under your feet. ^(DR)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

^21 (DS)Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

²² I Tertius, ^(DT)who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

^23 (DU)Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.^[n]

Doxology

^25 (DV)Now to him who is able to strengthen you ^(DW)according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, ^(DX)according to the revelation of the mystery ^(DY)that was kept secret for ^(DZ)long ages ²⁶ but ^(EA)has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, ^(EB)to bring about the obedience of faith— ²⁷ to ^(EC)the only wise God ^(ED)be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.