Romans 1
Christian Standard Bible
The Gospel of God for Rome
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle[a](A) and set apart(B) for the gospel of God(C)— 2 which he promised beforehand(D) through his prophets(E) in the Holy Scriptures— 3 concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David[b](F) according to the flesh(G) 4 and was appointed to be the powerful(H) Son of God(I) according to the Spirit of holiness[c] by the resurrection of the dead. 5 Through him we have received grace and apostleship(J) to bring about[d] the obedience(K) of faith for the sake of his name among all the Gentiles,[e](L) 6 including you who are also called by Jesus Christ.(M)
7 To all who are in Rome, loved by God,(N) called(O) as saints.(P)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s Desire to Visit Rome
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faith[f] is being reported in all the world.(Q) 9 God is my witness,(R) whom I serve with my spirit(S) in telling the good news about his Son—that I constantly mention you,(T) 10 always asking in my prayers that if it is somehow in God’s will, I may now at last succeed in coming to you.(U) 11 For I want very much to see you,(V) so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, 12 that is, to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.
13 Now I don’t want you to be unaware,(W) brothers and sisters, that I often planned to come to you (but was prevented until now(X)) in order that I might have a fruitful ministry[g] among you,(Y) just as I have had among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians,[h](Z) both to the wise and the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel(AA) to you also who are in Rome.
The Righteous Will Live by Faith
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel,[i](AB) because it is the power of God for salvation(AC) to everyone who believes, first to the Jew,(AD) and also to the Greek.(AE) 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith,[j](AF) just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.[k][l](AG)
The Guilt of the Gentile World
18 For God’s wrath(AH) is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth,(AI) 19 since what can be known[m] about God is evident among them,(AJ) because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world,(AK) being understood through what he has made.(AL) As a result, people are without excuse. 21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened.(AM) 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools(AN) 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.(AO)
24 Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts(AP) to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie,(AQ) and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever.(AR) Amen.
From Idolatry to Depravity
26 For this reason God delivered them over to disgraceful passions.(AS) Their women[n] exchanged natural sexual relations[o] for unnatural ones. 27 The men[p] in the same way also left natural relations with women and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men(AT) and received in their own persons[q] the appropriate penalty of their error.
28 And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right. 29 They are filled with all unrighteousness,[r] evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,(AU) 30 slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful,(AV) inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,(AW) 31 senseless, untrustworthy, unloving,[s](AX) and unmerciful. 32 Although they know God’s just sentence—that those who practice such things deserve to die[t](AY)—they not only do them, but even applaud[u](AZ) others who practice them.
Footnotes
- 1:1 Or Jesus, a called apostle
- 1:3 Lit was of the seed of David
- 1:4 Or the spirit of holiness, or the Holy Spirit
- 1:5 Or him for; lit him into
- 1:5 Or nations, also in v. 13
- 1:8 Or because your faith
- 1:13 Lit have some fruit
- 1:14 Or non-Greeks
- 1:16 Other mss add of Christ
- 1:17 Or revealed out of faith into faith
- 1:17 Or The one who is righteous by faith will live
- 1:17 Hab 2:4
- 1:19 Or what is known
- 1:26 Lit females, also in v. 27
- 1:26 Lit natural use, also in v. 27
- 1:27 Lit males, also later in v.
- 1:27 Or in themselves
- 1:29 Other mss add sexual immorality
- 1:31 Other mss add unforgiving
- 1:32 Lit things are worthy of death
- 1:32 Lit even take pleasure in
Romans 1
New Living Translation
Greetings from Paul
1 This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. 2 God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. 3 The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4 and he was shown to be[a] the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.[b] He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through Christ, God has given us the privilege[c] and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.
6 And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people.
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
God’s Good News
8 Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world. 9 God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart[d] by spreading the Good News about his Son.
10 One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. 11 For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. 12 When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.
13 I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters,[e] that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. 14 For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world,[f] to the educated and uneducated alike. 15 So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.
16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.[g] 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”[h]
God’s Anger at Sin
18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.[i] 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.
28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
Footnotes
- 1:4a Or and was designated.
- 1:4b Or by the Spirit of holiness; or in the new realm of the Spirit.
- 1:5 Or the grace.
- 1:9 Or in my spirit.
- 1:13 Greek brothers.
- 1:14 Greek to Greeks and barbarians.
- 1:16 Greek also the Greek.
- 1:17 Or “The righteous will live by faith.” Hab 2:4.
- 1:18 Or who, by their wickedness, prevent the truth from being known.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
