Salutation

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, ² which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,^{(A) 3} the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh^{(B) 4} and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit^[a] of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,^{(C) 5} through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the gentiles for the sake of his name,^{(D) 6} including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

⁷ To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.^(E)

The Guilt of Humankind

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those who by their injustice suppress the truth.^{(A) 19} For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ Ever since the creation of the world God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been seen and understood through the things God has made. So they are without excuse,^{(B) 21} for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless hearts were darkened.^{(C) 22} Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.^(D)