Romans 13
Legacy Standard Bible
Be Subject to Government
13 Every [a](A)person is to be in (B)subjection to the governing authorities. For (C)there is no authority except [b]from God, and those which exist have been appointed by God. 2 Therefore [c]whoever resists that authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For (D)rulers are not a cause of fear for [d]good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of that authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword in vain, for it is a minister of God, an (E)avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of that wrath, but also because of (F)conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 (G)Render to all what is due them: (H)tax to whom tax is due; (I)custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for (J)he who loves [e]his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For this, “(K)You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, “(L)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does not work evil against a neighbor; therefore (M)love is the fulfillment of the Law.
11 And do this, knowing the time, that it is (N)already the hour for you to (O)awaken from sleep; for now [f]salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12 (P)The night is almost gone, and (Q)the day is at hand. Therefore let us lay aside (R)the deeds of darkness and put on (S)the armor of light. 13 Let us (T)walk properly as in the day, (U)not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But (V)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh (W)in regard to its lusts.
Footnotes
- Romans 13:1 Or soul
- Romans 13:1 Lit by
- Romans 13:2 Lit he who
- Romans 13:3 Lit good work
- Romans 13:8 Lit the other
- Romans 13:11 Or our salvation is nearer than when
Romans 13
English Standard Version
Submission to the Authorities
13 Let every person (A)be subject to the governing authorities. For (B)there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you (C)will receive his approval, 4 for (D)he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, (E)an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also (F)for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 (G)Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Fulfilling the Law Through Love
8 (H)Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for (I)the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, (J)“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: (K)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore (L)love is the fulfilling of the law.
11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you (M)to wake from sleep. (N)For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 (O)The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us (P)cast off (Q)the works of darkness and (R)put on the armor of light. 13 (S)Let us walk properly as in the daytime, (T)not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, (U)not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But (V)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, (W)to gratify its desires.
Romans 13
King James Version
13 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Romans 13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 13
Obedience to Authority.[a] 1 Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God.(A) 2 Therefore, whoever resists authority opposes what God has appointed, and those who oppose it will bring judgment upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear to good conduct, but to evil.(B) Do you wish to have no fear of authority? Then do what is good and you will receive approval from it, 4 for it is a servant of God for your good. But if you do evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword without purpose; it is the servant of God to inflict wrath on the evildoer.(C) 5 Therefore, it is necessary to be subject not only because of the wrath but also because of conscience.(D) 6 This is why you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 Pay to all their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, toll to whom toll is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.(E)
Love Fulfills the Law.[b] 8 Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.(F) 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, [namely] “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”(G) 10 Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.(H)
Awareness of the End of Time.[c] 11 And do this because you know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed;(I) 12 the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness [and] put on the armor of light;(J) 13 let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day,[d] not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy.(K) 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.(L)
Footnotes
- 13:1–7 Paul must come to grips with the problem raised by a message that declares people free from the law. How are they to relate to Roman authority? The problem was exacerbated by the fact that imperial protocol was interwoven with devotion to various deities. Paul builds on the traditional instruction exhibited in Wis 6:1–3, according to which kings and magistrates rule by consent of God. From this perspective, then, believers who render obedience to the governing authorities are obeying the one who is highest in command. At the same time, it is recognized that Caesar has the responsibility to make just ordinances and to commend uprightness; cf. Wis 6:4–21. That Caesar is not entitled to obedience when such obedience would nullify God’s prior claim to the believers’ moral decision becomes clear in the light of the following verses.
- 13:8–10 When love directs the Christian’s moral decisions, the interest of law in basic concerns, such as familial relationships, sanctity of life, and security of property, is safeguarded (Rom 13:9). Indeed, says Paul, the same applies to any other commandment (Rom 13:9), whether one in the Mosaic code or one drawn up by local magistrates under imperial authority. Love anticipates the purpose of public legislation, namely, to secure the best interests of the citizenry. Since Caesar’s obligation is to punish the wrongdoer (Rom 13:4), the Christian who acts in love is free from all legitimate indictment.
- 13:11–14 These verses provide the motivation for the love that is encouraged in Rom 13:8–10.
- 13:13 Let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day: the behavior described in Rom 1:29–30 is now to be reversed. Secular moralists were fond of making references to people who could not wait for nightfall to do their carousing. Paul says that Christians claim to be people of the new day that will dawn with the return of Christ. Instead of planning for nighttime behavior they should be concentrating on conduct that is consonant with avowed interest in the Lord’s return.
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