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Romans 2
New American Standard Bible

The Impartiality of God

2 Therefore you have (A)no excuse, [a]you foolish person, (B)everyone of you who passes judgment; for [b]in that matter in which (C)you judge someone else, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God [c]rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3 But do you suppose this, [d](D)you foolish person who passes judgment on those who practice such things, and yet does them as well, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you think lightly of (E)the riches of His (F)kindness and [e](G)restraint and (H)patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But [f]because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart (I)you are storing up wrath for yourself (J)on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 (K)who will repay each person according to his deeds: 7 to those who by (L)perseverance in doing good seek (M)glory, honor, and (N)immortality, He will give (O)eternal life; 8 but to those who are (P)self-serving and (Q)do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, He will give wrath and indignation. 9 There will be (R)tribulation and distress [g]for every soul of mankind who does evil, [h]for the Jew (S)first and also [i]for the Greek, 10 but (T)glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does what is good, to the Jew (U)first and also to the Greek. 11 For (V)there is no partiality with God.

12 For all who have sinned [j](W)without the Law will also perish [k]without the Law, and all who have sinned [l]under the Law will be judged [m]by the Law; 13 for it is (X)not the hearers [n]of the Law who are [o]righteous before God, but the doers [p]of the Law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles who do not have [q]the Law [r](Y)instinctively perform the requirements of the Law, these, though not having [s]the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show (Z)the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience testifying and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16 on the day when, (AA)according to my gospel, (AB)God will judge the secrets of mankind through Christ Jesus.

The Jews under the Law

17 But if you call yourself a [t]Jew and (AC)rely [u]upon the Law and boast in God, 18 and know His will and [v](AD)distinguish the things that matter, being instructed from the Law, 19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to people who are blind, a light to those in darkness, 20 a [w]corrector of the foolish, a teacher of [x]the immature, possessing in the Law (AE)the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth— 21 you, therefore, (AF)who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who [y]preach that one is not to steal, do you steal? 22 You who say that one is not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who loathe idols, do you (AG)rob temples? 23 You who (AH)boast [z]in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? 24 For “(AI)the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles (AJ)because of you,” just as it is written.

25 For indeed circumcision is of value if you (AK)practice [aa]the Law; but if you are a violator [ab]of the Law, (AL)your circumcision has turned into uncircumcision. 26 (AM)So if (AN)the [ac]uncircumcised man (AO)keeps the requirements of the Law, will his uncircumcision not be regarded as circumcision? 27 And (AP)he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not (AQ)judge you who [ad]though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a violator [ae]of the Law? 28 For (AR)he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But (AS)he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and (AT)circumcision is of the heart, by the (AU)Spirit, not by the letter; (AV)and his praise is not from people, but from God.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 2:1 Lit O
  2. Romans 2:1 Or when you judge
  3. Romans 2:2 Lit is according to truth against
  4. Romans 2:3 Lit O
  5. Romans 2:4 I.e., from inflicting punishment
  6. Romans 2:5 Or in accordance with
  7. Romans 2:9 Lit upon
  8. Romans 2:9 Lit of the
  9. Romans 2:9 Lit of the
  10. Romans 2:12 Or without law
  11. Romans 2:12 Or without law
  12. Romans 2:12 Or under law
  13. Romans 2:12 Or by law
  14. Romans 2:13 Or of law
  15. Romans 2:13 Or just
  16. Romans 2:13 Or of law
  17. Romans 2:14 Or law
  18. Romans 2:14 Lit by nature
  19. Romans 2:14 Or law
  20. Romans 2:17 Or Judean
  21. Romans 2:17 Or upon law
  22. Romans 2:18 Or approve
  23. Romans 2:20 Or instructor
  24. Romans 2:20 Lit infants
  25. Romans 2:21 Or proclaim
  26. Romans 2:23 Or in law
  27. Romans 2:25 Or law
  28. Romans 2:25 Or of law
  29. Romans 2:26 Lit uncircumcision
  30. Romans 2:27 Lit through the letter
  31. Romans 2:27 Or of law
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Romans 2
The Message

God Is Kind, but Not Soft

2 1-2 Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn’t so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you’ve done.

3-4 You didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he’s such a nice God, he’d let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.

5-8 You’re not getting by with anything. Every refusal and avoidance of God adds fuel to the fire. The day is coming when it’s going to blaze hot and high, God’s fiery and righteous judgment. Make no mistake: In the end you get what’s coming to you—Real Life for those who work on God’s side, but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire!

9-11 If you go against the grain, you get splinters, regardless of which neighborhood you’re from, what your parents taught you, what schools you attended. But if you embrace the way God does things, there are wonderful payoffs, again without regard to where you are from or how you were brought up. Being a Jew won’t give you an automatic stamp of approval. God pays no attention to what others say (or what you think) about you. He makes up his own mind.

12-13 If you sin without knowing what you’re doing, God takes that into account. But if you sin knowing full well what you’re doing, that’s a different story entirely. Merely hearing God’s law is a waste of your time if you don’t do what he commands. Doing, not hearing, is what makes the difference with God.

14-16 When outsiders who have never heard of God’s law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. They show that God’s law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God’s yes and no, right and wrong. Their response to God’s yes and no will become public knowledge on the day God makes his final decision about every man and woman. The Message from God that I proclaim through Jesus Christ takes into account all these differences.

Religion Can’t Save You

17-24 If you’re brought up Jewish, don’t assume that you can lean back in the arms of your religion and take it easy, feeling smug because you’re an insider to God’s revelation, a connoisseur of the best things of God, informed on the latest doctrines! I have a special word of caution for you who are sure that you have it all together yourselves and, because you know God’s revealed Word inside and out, feel qualified to guide others through their blind alleys and dark nights and confused emotions to God. While you are guiding others, who is going to guide you? I’m quite serious. While preaching “Don’t steal!” are you going to rob people blind? Who would suspect you? The same with adultery. The same with idolatry. You can get by with almost anything if you front it with eloquent talk about God and his law. The line from Scripture, “It’s because of you Jews that the outsiders frown on God,” shows it’s an old problem that isn’t going to go away.

25-29 Circumcision, the surgical ritual that marks you as a Jew, is great if you live in accord with God’s law. But if you don’t, it’s worse than not being circumcised. The reverse is also true: The uncircumcised who keep God’s ways are as good as the circumcised—in fact, better. Better to keep God’s law uncircumcised than break it circumcised. Don’t you see: It’s not the cut of a knife that makes a Jew. You become a Jew by who you are. It’s the mark of God on your heart, not of a knife on your skin, that makes a Jew. And recognition comes from God, not legalistic critics.

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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson