The Gospel Exalted

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, [a](A)called as an apostle, (B)set apart for (C)the gospel of God, which He (D)promised beforehand through His (E)prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born (F)of a [b]descendant of David (G)according to the flesh, who was declared (H)the Son of God with power according to the [c]Spirit of holiness [d]by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and (I)apostleship [e]to bring about the (J)obedience of faith among (K)all the Gentiles in behalf of His name, among whom you also are the (L)called of Jesus Christ;

to all who are (M)beloved of God in Rome, called as [f](N)saints: (O)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, (P)I thank my God through Jesus Christ [g]for you all, because (Q)your faith is being proclaimed throughout the world. For (R)God, whom I (S)serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly (T)I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers requesting if perhaps now, at last by (U)the will of God, I will succeed in coming to you. 11 For (V)I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be [h]established; 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 (W)I do not want you to be unaware, (X)brothers and sisters, that often I (Y)have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some (Z)fruit among you also just as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 (AA)I am [i]under obligation both to Greeks and to the [j](AB)uncultured, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So, for my part, I am eager to (AC)preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

16 For I am not (AD)ashamed of the gospel, for (AE)it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the (AF)Jew first and also to (AG)the Greek. 17 For in it (AH)the righteousness of God is revealed [k]from faith to faith; as it is written: “[l](AI)But the righteous one will live by faith.”

Unbelief and Its Consequences

18 For (AJ)the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who (AK)suppress the truth [m]in unrighteousness, 19 because (AL)that which is known about God is evident [n]within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For (AM)since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, (AN)being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not [o]honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became (AO)futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 (AP)Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and they (AQ)exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and [p]crawling creatures.

24 Therefore (AR)God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be (AS)dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for [q](AT)falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, (AU)who is blessed [r]forever. Amen.

26 For this reason (AV)God gave them over to (AW)degrading passions; for their women exchanged natural relations for that which is contrary to nature, 27 and likewise the men, too, abandoned natural relations [s]with women and burned in their desire toward one another, (AX)males with males committing [t]shameful acts and receiving in [u]their own persons the due penalty of their error.

28 And just as they did not see fit [v]to acknowledge God, (AY)God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper, 29 people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are (AZ)gossips, 30 slanderers, [w](BA)haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, (BB)disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, (BC)unfeeling, and unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of (BD)death, they not only do the same, but also (BE)approve of those who practice them.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 1:1 Lit a called apostle
  2. Romans 1:3 Lit seed
  3. Romans 1:4 Or spirit
  4. Romans 1:4 Or as a result of
  5. Romans 1:5 Lit for obedience
  6. Romans 1:7 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
  7. Romans 1:8 Or concerning you all, that...
  8. Romans 1:11 Or strengthened
  9. Romans 1:14 Lit debtor
  10. Romans 1:14 I.e., non-Hellenes
  11. Romans 1:17 Or by
  12. Romans 1:17 Or But the one who is righteous by faith shall live
  13. Romans 1:18 Or by
  14. Romans 1:19 Or among
  15. Romans 1:21 Lit glorify
  16. Romans 1:23 Or reptiles
  17. Romans 1:25 Lit the lie
  18. Romans 1:25 Lit unto the ages
  19. Romans 1:27 Lit of the female
  20. Romans 1:27 Lit shamelessness
  21. Romans 1:27 Lit themselves
  22. Romans 1:28 Lit to have God in knowledge
  23. Romans 1:30 Or hateful to God

Salutation

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,(A) the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh(B) 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) 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) including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

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)

Prayer of Thanksgiving

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world.(F) For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel[b] of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers,(G) 10 asking that by God’s will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift so that you may be strengthened— 12 or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you, as I have among the rest of the gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish, 15 hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

The Power of the Gospel

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is God’s saving power for everyone who believes,[c] for the Jew first and also for the Greek.(H) 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith, as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”[d](I)

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.(J) 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,(K) 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.(L) 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.(M)

24 Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.(N) 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.(O)

26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Their females exchanged natural intercourse[e] for unnatural,(P) 27 and in the same way also the males, giving up natural intercourse[f] with females, were consumed with their passionate desires for one another. Males committed shameless acts with males and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.(Q)

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind and to do things that should not be done.(R) 29 They were filled with every kind of injustice, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters,[g] insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents,(S) 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.(T) 32 They know God’s decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die, yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them.(U)

Footnotes

  1. 1.4 Or Spirit
  2. 1.9 Gk my spirit in the gospel
  3. 1.16 Or trusts
  4. 1.17 Or The one who is righteous through faith will live
  5. 1.26 Gk use
  6. 1.27 Gk use
  7. 1.30 Or God-hated