Romans 1:18-2:29

Disciples’ Literal New Testament

God’s Wrath Is Upon All Sin

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness^[a] and unrighteousness^[b] of people holding-down^[c] the truth in^[d] unrighteousness.

Because God Revealed Enough of Himself In Creation For The World To Be Without Excuse

¹⁹ Because the thing known of God is evident^[e] in^[f] them, for God made it evident to them. ²⁰ For His invisible things— both His eternal power and divine-nature— are clearly-seen, being understood since the creation of the world in the things made, so that they are without-excuse.

And Having Known This Truth About God, The World Did Not Honor Him As God

²¹ Because having known God, they did not glorify Him as God or give-thanks, but became futile in their thoughts, and their senseless heart was darkened.

They Turned From The Glory of The Immortal God To Their Crafted Images of God

²² While claiming to be wise, they became-foolish ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for a likeness— an image of a mortal person and of birds and of four-footed-animals and of reptiles. ²⁴ Therefore God handed them over^[g] in the desires of their hearts to impurity so that ^[h] their bodies are dishonored among them.

They Turned From The Truth To Worship The Creation Rather Than The Creator

²⁵ Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie^[i], and worshiped and served the creation^[j] rather than the One having created— Who is blessed forever, amen. ²⁶ For this reason God handed them over to passions of ^[k] dishonor. For both their females exchanged the natural [sexual] function for the one contrary to nature, ²⁷ and likewise also the males, having left the natural [sexual] function of the female, were inflamed by their craving for one another— males with males committing the indecent-act^[l] and receiving-back in themselves the return^[m] which was due their error^[n].

They Disapproved of Keeping God In Mind

²⁸ And as they did not approve to have^[o] God in their knowledge, God handed them over to a disapproved mind, to do the things not being proper— ²⁹ having been filled with all unrighteousness, evilness, greed, badness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; whisperers^[p], ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters^[q], violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evils, disobedient to parents, ³¹ senseless, unfaithful^[r], unaffectionate^[s], unmerciful; ³² who, having known the regulation of God that the ones practicing such things are worthy of death, not only are doing them, but are also giving-approval to the ones practicing them.

You Who Know More Truth And Judge Others By It Are Also Without Excuse

2 Therefore you are without-excuse, O human— everyone judging. For in what^[t] you are judging the other person, you are condemning yourself; for you, the one judging, are practicing the same things! ² And we know that the judgment of God is according to truth upon^[u] the ones practicing such things.

Do You Think You Will Escape God’s Judgment When You Do The Same Things?

³ But are you thinking this, O human— the one judging the ones practicing such things and doing them [yourself]— that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or are you disregarding the riches of His goodness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the good thing of God is leading you to repentance? ⁵ But in-accordance-with your hardness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing-up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous-judgment of God, ⁶ Who will render to each one according to his works— ⁷ to the ones seeking glory and honor and immortality in accordance with endurance in good work, He will render eternal life; ⁸ but to the ones indeed disobeying the truth and obeying unrighteousness out of selfish-interest^[v], there will be wrath and fury.

There Is No Respect of Persons With God Regarding Sin And Judgment

⁹ There will be affliction and distress upon every soul of the person^[w] committing evil— both of the Jew first and of the Greek. ¹⁰ But there will be glory and honor and peace to everyone working good— both to the Jew first and to the Greek. ¹¹ For there is no respect-of-persons with God. ¹² For all who sinned without-Law will also perish without-Law, and all who sinned under^[x] the Law will be judged by the Law. ¹³ For not the hearers of law^[y] are righteous before God, but the doers of law will be declared-righteous.

For Gentiles Will Be Judged By Their Own Standards Insofar As They Agree With God’s

¹⁴ For whenever Gentiles, the ones not having the Law, are doing by nature the things of the Law, these ones not having the Law are a law to themselves, ¹⁵ who are demonstrating^[z] the work of the Law written in their hearts— their conscience bearing co-witness and their thoughts accusing or even defending between one another ¹⁶ on the day when God judges the hidden things of people according to my good-news, through Christ Jesus.

And Jews Will Be Judged By The Law They Rely Upon

¹⁷ But if you call-yourself a Jew, and rely upon the Law, and boast in God, ¹⁸ and know His will, and approve the things mattering^[aa]— being instructed out of the Law— ¹⁹ and are confident as to yourself that you are a guide of blind ones, a light of the ones in darkness, ²⁰ a corrector of foolish ones, a teacher of children, one having the embodiment of knowledge and truth in the Law, ²¹ then— the one teaching another, are you not teaching yourself ? The one proclaiming not to steal, do you steal? ²² The one saying not to commit-adultery, do you commit-adultery? The one detesting idols, do you rob-temples?

Their Transgression of The Law Dishonors God

²³ You who are boasting in the Law are dishonoring God through transgression of the Law. ²⁴ For “the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you”, just as it has been written [in Isa 52:5].

Circumcision Will Not Help Transgressors

²⁵ For circumcision profits if you practice the Law— but if you are a transgressor of the Law your circumcision has become uncircumcision. ²⁶ So if the uncircumcised one keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? ²⁷ And the uncircumcised one by nature who is fulfilling the Law will judge you, the transgressor of the Law with the letter^[ab] and circumcision! ²⁸ For the Jew in the visible thing is not a Jew, nor is the circumcision in the visible^[ac] thing in the flesh circumcision, ²⁹ but the Jew in the hidden thing is a Jew, and circumcision is of the heart, by^[ad] the Spirit not the letter— whose praise is not from people, but from God.