Romans 1-5

New American Standard Bible 1995

The Gospel Exalted

1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, ^[a](A)called as an apostle, ^(B)set apart for ^(C)the gospel of God, ² which He ^(D)promised beforehand through His ^(E)prophets in the holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son, who was born ^(F)of a ^[b]descendant of David ^(G)according to the flesh, ⁴ who was declared ^(H)the Son of God with power ^[c]by the resurrection from the dead, according to the ^[d]Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵ through whom we have received grace and ^(I)apostleship ^[e]to bring about the ^(J)obedience of faith among ^(K)all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, ⁶ among whom you also are the ^(L)called of Jesus Christ;

⁷ 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.

⁸ First, ^(P)I thank my God through Jesus Christ ^[g]for you all, because ^(Q)your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. ⁹ 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 making request, if perhaps now at last by ^(U)the will of God I may 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)brethren, 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, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. ^14 (AA)I am ^[i]under obligation both to Greeks and to ^(AB)barbarians, 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 ^[j]from faith to faith; as it is written, “^[k](AI)But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

Unbelief and Its Consequences

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

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

²⁶ For this reason ^(AV)God gave them over to ^(AW)degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is ^[r]unnatural, ²⁷ and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, ^(AX)men with men committing ^[s]indecent acts and receiving in ^[t]their own persons the due penalty of their error.

²⁸ And just as they did not see fit ^[u]to acknowledge God any longer, ^(AY)God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, ²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are ^(AZ)gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, ^[v](BA)haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, ^(BB)disobedient to parents, ³¹ without understanding, untrustworthy, ^(BC)unloving, 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)give hearty approval to those who practice them.

The Impartiality of God

2 Therefore you have ^(BF)no excuse, ^[w](BG)everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which ^(BH)you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. ² And we know that the judgment of God ^[x]rightly falls upon those who practice such things. ³ But do you suppose this, ^(BI)O man, ^[y]when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you think lightly of ^(BJ)the riches of His ^(BK)kindness and ^(BL)tolerance and ^(BM)patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? ⁵ But ^[z]because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart ^(BN)you are storing up wrath for yourself ^(BO)in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, ^6 (BP)who will render to each person according to his deeds: ⁷ to those who by ^(BQ)perseverance in doing good seek for ^(BR)glory and honor and ^(BS)immortality, ^(BT)eternal life; ⁸ but to those who are ^(BU)selfishly ambitious and ^(BV)do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. ⁹ There will be ^(BW)tribulation and distress ^[aa]for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew ^(BX)first and also of the Greek, ¹⁰ but ^(BY)glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew ^(BZ)first and also to the Greek. ¹¹ For ^(CA)there is no partiality with God.

¹² For all who have sinned ^[ab](CB)without the Law will also perish ^[ac]without the Law, and all who have sinned ^[ad]under the Law will be judged ^[ae]by the Law; ¹³ for it is ^(CC)not the hearers ^[af]of the Law who are ^[ag]just before God, but the doers ^[ah]of the Law will be justified. ¹⁴ For when Gentiles who do not have ^[ai]the Law do ^[aj](CD)instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having ^[ak]the Law, are a law to themselves, ¹⁵ in that they show ^(CE)the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, ¹⁶ on the day when, ^(CF)according to my gospel, ^(CG)God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.

The Jew Is Condemned by the Law

¹⁷ But if you bear the name “Jew” and ^(CH)rely ^[al]upon the Law and boast in God, ¹⁸ and know His will and ^[am](CI)approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, ¹⁹ and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰ a ^[an]corrector of the foolish, a teacher of ^[ao]the immature, having in the Law ^(CJ)the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, ²¹ you, therefore, ^(CK)who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who ^[ap]preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? ²² You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you ^(CL)rob temples? ²³ You who ^(CM)boast ^[aq]in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? ²⁴ For “^(CN)the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles ^(CO)because of you,” just as it is written.

²⁵ For indeed circumcision is of value if you ^(CP)practice ^[ar]the Law; but if you are a transgressor ^[as]of the Law, ^(CQ)your circumcision has become uncircumcision. ^26 (CR)So if ^(CS)the ^[at]uncircumcised man ^(CT)keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? ²⁷ And ^(CU)he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not ^(CV)judge you who ^[au]though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor ^[av]of the Law? ²⁸ For ^(CW)he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. ²⁹ But ^(CX)he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and ^(CY)circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the ^(CZ)Spirit, not by the letter; ^(DA)and his praise is not from men, but from God.

All the World Guilty

3 Then what ^[aw]advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? ² Great in every respect. First of all, that ^(DB)they were entrusted with the ^(DC)oracles of God. ³ What then? If ^(DD)some ^[ax]did not believe, their ^[ay]unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? ^4 (DE)May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found ^(DF)a liar, as it is written,

⁵ But if our unrighteousness ^[ba](DH)demonstrates the righteousness of God, ^(DI)what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (^(DJ)I am speaking in human terms.) ^6 (DK)May it never be! For otherwise, how will ^(DL)God judge the world? ⁷ But if through my lie ^(DM)the truth of God abounded to His glory, ^(DN)why am I also still being judged as a sinner? ⁸ And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “^(DO)Let us do evil that good may come”? ^[bb]Their condemnation is just.

⁹ What then? ^[bc](DP)Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both ^(DQ)Jews and ^(DR)Greeks are ^(DS)all under sin; ¹⁰ as it is written,

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the ^(DZ)Law says, it speaks to ^(EA)those who are ^[bd]under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and ^(EB)all the world may become accountable to God; ²⁰ because ^(EC)by the works ^[be]of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for ^[bf](ED)through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

Justification by Faith

²¹ But now apart ^[bg]from the Law ^(EE)the righteousness of God has been manifested, being ^(EF)witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the ^(EG)righteousness of God through ^(EH)faith ^(EI)in Jesus Christ for ^(EJ)all those ^[bh]who believe; for ^(EK)there is no distinction; ²³ for all ^[bi](EL)have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified as a gift ^(EM)by His grace through ^(EN)the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; ²⁵ whom God displayed publicly as ^(EO)a ^[bj]propitiation ^[bk](EP)in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, ^[bl]because in the ^(EQ)forbearance of God He ^(ER)passed over the sins previously committed; ²⁶ for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who ^[bm]has faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where then is ^(ES)boasting? It is excluded. By ^(ET)what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. ^28 [bn]For ^(EU)we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works ^[bo]of the Law. ²⁹ Or ^(EV)is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰ since indeed ^(EW)God ^(EX)who will justify the ^[bp]circumcised ^[bq]by faith and the ^[br]uncircumcised through faith ^(EY)is one.

³¹ Do we then nullify ^[bs]the Law through faith? ^(EZ)May it never be! On the contrary, we ^(FA)establish the Law.

Justification by Faith Evidenced in Old Testament

4 What then shall we say that Abraham, ^[bt]our forefather ^(FB)according to the flesh, has found? ² For if Abraham was justified ^[bu]by works, he has something to boast about, but ^(FC)not ^[bv]before God. ³ For what does the Scripture say? “^(FD)Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” ⁴ Now to the one who ^(FE)works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. ⁵ But to the one who does not work, but ^(FF)believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, ⁶ just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁹ Is this blessing then on ^[bw](FJ)the circumcised, or on ^[bx]the uncircumcised also? For ^(FK)we say, “^(FL)Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” ¹⁰ How then was it credited? While he was ^[by]circumcised, or ^[bz]uncircumcised? Not while ^[ca]circumcised, but while ^[cb]uncircumcised; ¹¹ and he ^(FM)received the sign of circumcision, ^(FN)a seal of the righteousness of the faith which ^[cc]he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be ^(FO)the father of ^(FP)all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, ¹² and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which ^[cd]he had while uncircumcised.

¹³ For ^(FQ)the promise to Abraham or to his ^[ce]descendants ^(FR)that he would be heir of the world was not ^[cf]through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For ^(FS)if those who are ^[cg]of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; ¹⁵ for ^(FT)the Law brings about wrath, but ^(FU)where there is no law, there also is no violation.

¹⁶ For this reason it is ^[ch]by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with ^(FV)grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to ^(FW)all the ^[ci]descendants, not only to ^[cj]those who are of the Law, but also to ^[ck](FX)those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is ^(FY)the father of us all, ¹⁷ (as it is written, “^(FZ)A father of many nations have I made you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, ^(GA)who gives life to the dead and ^[cl](GB)calls into being ^(GC)that which does not exist. ¹⁸ In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become ^(GD)a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “^(GE)So shall your ^[cm]descendants be.” ¹⁹ Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now ^(GF)as good as dead since ^(GG)he was about a hundred years old, and ^(GH)the deadness of Sarah’s womb; ²⁰ yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, ^(GI)giving glory to God, ²¹ and ^(GJ)being fully assured that ^(GK)what God had promised, He was able also to perform. ²² Therefore ^(GL)it was also credited to him as righteousness. ²³ Now ^(GM)not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, ²⁴ but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those ^(GN)who believe in Him who ^(GO)raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ He who was ^(GP)delivered over because of our transgressions, and was ^(GQ)raised because of our justification.

Results of Justification

5 ^(GR)Therefore, having been justified by faith, ^[cn](GS)we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have ^(GT)obtained our introduction by faith into this grace ^(GU)in which we stand; and ^[co]we exult in hope of the glory of God. ^3 (GV)And not only this, but ^[cp]we also ^(GW)exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about ^(GX)perseverance; ⁴ and ^(GY)perseverance, ^(GZ)proven character; and proven character, hope; ⁵ and hope ^(HA)does not disappoint, because the love of God has been ^(HB)poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

⁶ For while we were still ^(HC)helpless, ^(HD)at the right time ^(HE)Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will hardly die for a righteous man; ^[cq]though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. ⁸ But God ^(HF)demonstrates ^(HG)His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, ^(HH)Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified ^[cr](HI)by His blood, we shall be saved ^(HJ)from the wrath of God through Him. ¹⁰ For if while we were ^(HK)enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved ^[cs](HL)by His life. ^11 (HM)And not only this, ^[ct]but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received ^(HN)the reconciliation.

¹² Therefore, just as through ^(HO)one man sin entered into the world, and ^(HP)death through sin, and ^(HQ)so death spread to all men, because all sinned— ¹³ for ^[cu]until the Law sin was in the world, but ^(HR)sin is not imputed when there is no law. ¹⁴ Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned ^(HS)in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a ^[cv](HT)type of Him who was to come.

¹⁵ But ^[cw]the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of ^(HU)the one ^(HV)the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by ^(HW)the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. ¹⁶ The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand ^(HX)the judgment arose from one transgression ^[cx]resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions ^[cy]resulting in justification. ¹⁷ For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned ^(HY)through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will ^(HZ)reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ So then as through ^(IA)one transgression ^[cz]there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one ^(IB)act of righteousness ^[da]there resulted ^(IC)justification of life to all men. ¹⁹ For as through the one man’s disobedience ^(ID)the many ^(IE)were made sinners, even so through ^(IF)the obedience of the One ^(IG)the many will be made righteous. ^20 [db](IH)The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, ^(II)grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, as ^(IJ)sin reigned in death, even so ^(IK)grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.