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Romans 13
New Matthew Bible
Romans 13
New Matthew Bible
The obedience of people to governing powers. Love fulfils the law. It is now no time to follow the works of darkness.
13 Let every soul submit himself to the authority of the higher powers. For there is no power except from God. The powers that be are ordained by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority, resists the ordinance of God. And those who resist will bring retribution on themselves, 3 for rulers and authorities are not to be feared for good works, but for bad. Would you be without fear of the authority? Do well then, and you will be commended by the same. 4 For he is the minister of God for your welfare. But if you do wrong, then fear. For he does not bear a sword for nothing, but is the minister of God to take vengeance on those who do evil. 5 Therefore you must obey – not for fear of vengeance only, but also because of conscience. 6 And also for this reason, pay tribute. For the Roman authorities are God’s ministers, serving for the same purpose.
7 Give to all persons therefore that which is due to them: tribute to whom tribute belongs, custom to whom custom is due, fear to whom fear belongs, honour to whom honour pertains. 8 Owe nothing to anyone, but to love one another. For he who loves another, fulfils the law. 9 For these commandments – you shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not covet, and so forth (if there be any other commandment) – are all comprehended in this saying: Love your neighbour as yourself. 10 Love does no harm to his neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
11 This also we know – I mean the season, that it is time now to awake out of sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night has passed, and the day has come near. Let us therefore cast away the deeds of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk honourably, as in the daylight: not in revelry and drunkenness, nor in sleeping around and wantonness, nor in strife and envying, 14 but put on the Lord Jesus Christ. And do not make provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts.
Romans 13
Evangelical Heritage Version
Romans 13
Evangelical Heritage Version
Governments Are Established by God
13 Everyone must submit to the governing authorities. For no authority exists except by God, and the authorities that do exist have been established by God. 2 Therefore the one who rebels against the authority is opposing God’s institution, and those who oppose will bring judgment on themselves.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to evil. Would you like to have no fear of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will receive praise from him, 4 because he is God’s servant for your benefit. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because he does not carry the sword without reason. He is God’s servant, a punisher to bring wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore it is necessary to submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of conscience.
6 For this reason you also pay taxes, because the authorities are God’s ministers, who are employed to do this very thing. 7 Pay what you owe to all of them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, and honor to whom honor is owed.
Love One Another
8 Do not owe anyone anything except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments—do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal,[a] do not covet[b] (and if there is any other commandment)—are summed up in this statement: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[c] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor, so love is the fulfillment of the law.
The End of the World Is Approaching
11 And do this since you understand the present time. It is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is almost over, and the day is drawing near. So let us put away the deeds of darkness and put on the weapons of light. 13 Let us walk decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual sin and wild living, not in strife and jealousy. 14 Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not give any thought to satisfying the desires of your sinful flesh.
Footnotes
- Romans 13:9 Some witnesses to the text add do not give false testimony.
- Romans 13:9 Exodus 20:13-15,17; Deuteronomy 5:17-19,21
- Romans 13:9 Leviticus 19:18
Romans 13
New King James Version
Romans 13
New King James Version
Submit to Government
13 Let every soul be (A)subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists (B)the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will [a]bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? (C)Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore (D)you must be subject, not only because of wrath (E)but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 (F)Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Love Your Neighbor(G)
8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for (H)he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, (I)“You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” [b]“You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, (J)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore (K)love is the fulfillment of the law.
Put on Christ
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time (L)to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. (M)Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and (N)let us put on the armor of light. 13 (O)Let us walk [c]properly, as in the day, (P)not in revelry and drunkenness, (Q)not in lewdness and lust, (R)not in strife and envy. 14 But (S)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and (T)make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Footnotes
- Romans 13:2 Lit. receive
- Romans 13:9 NU omits “You shall not bear false witness,”
- Romans 13:13 decently
Romans 13
New International Version
Romans 13
New International Version
Submission to Governing Authorities
13 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities,(A) for there is no authority except that which God has established.(B) The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted,(C) and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.(D) 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.(E) 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.(F)
6 This is also why you pay taxes,(G) for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes;(H) if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Love Fulfills the Law
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.(I) 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a](J) and whatever other command there may be, are summed up(K) in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b](L) 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.(M)
The Day Is Near
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come(N) for you to wake up from your slumber,(O) because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.(P) So let us put aside the deeds of darkness(Q) and put on the armor(R) of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness,(S) not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.(T) 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,(U) and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.[c](V)
Footnotes
- Romans 13:9 Exodus 20:13-15,17; Deut. 5:17-19,21
- Romans 13:9 Lev. 19:18
- Romans 13:14 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.
New Matthew Bible (NMB)
Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.