Romans 8
Worldwide English (New Testament)
8 So now those who belong to Christ Jesus will not be judged.
2 The Spirit gives life in Christ Jesus. And the law of the Spirit has set me free from the law of wrong things, and the law of death.
3 God has done what the law could not do. The things people did made the law weak. God sent his own Son in a body of man. His body was like the bodies which others use to do wrong things. He sent him because people have done wrong things. And he judged the wrong things people have done in their bodies.
4 He did this so that we might be good people as the law said we should be. We are good people if we live the way the Spirit wants us to live, not the way our bodies want to live.
5 Some people live the way their bodies want to live. They think only about the things their bodies want to do. Other people live the way the Spirit wants them to live. They think about the things the Spirit wants them to do.
6 If you keep your mind on the things your bodies want to do, you will die. But if you keep your mind on the things the Spirit wants, you will live and have peace.
7 People who think about the things of this life are God's enemies. They do not obey God's law. They cannot obey it.
8 People who do what their bodies want cannot please God.
9 Does God's Spirit live in you? If he does, then you are not living the way the body wants, but you are living the way the Spirit wants. If anyone does not have Christ's Spirit, he does not belong to Christ.
10 But if Christ is in you, your bodies are dead because of the wrong things you have done. But your spirits live because you have been made right with God.
11 God raised Christ Jesus from death. Does God's Spirit live in you? Then God will also give life to your bodies which die. He does this through his Spirit who lives in you.
12 So, my brothers, we must not live the way our bodies want us to live. We must not be ruled by our wrong ways.
13 If you live the way your bodies wants to live, you will die. But if, by the help of the Spirit, you stop doing the wrong things your bodies want to do, you will live.
14 All who do what God's Spirit leads them to do are God's sons.
15 The Holy Spirit you have received does not make you a slave again so that you are afraid. But the Spirit you have received makes you sons of God.
16 So we say, `Father! Father!' The Spirit himself also, along with our own spirits, tells us that we are God's children.
17 If we are his children, God will give us the good things that children receive. He will give us these blessings along with Christ. He will give it to us if we suffer with Christ. If we suffer with Christ, we will also be made great with him.
18 I think that the troubles we have in this life are nothing when we think of the great things that we shall have.
19 The whole world is waiting for the time when the sons of God will be seen.
20 The world was spoiled. It did not want to be spoiled, but God allowed it.
21 And it hoped to be free like God's children when they are made great.
22 We know that the whole world has been crying. It has had much pain until now.
23 And not the world only, but we ourselves also cry out. We have the first blessing God gives of his Spirit. But we cry out in our hearts. We are waiting for God to finish making us his sons. Then our bodies will be set free.
24 That is what we hoped for when we were saved. When the thing hoped for is seen, there is no more hoping. When a person sees a thing, how can he hope for it?
25 But if we hope for something we do not see, we keep on waiting for it.
26 Also the Spirit helps us because we are weak. We do not know how we should talk to God. But the Spirit himself talks to God for us, while we cry and cannot say any words.
27 God looks to see what is in people's hearts. And he knows what the Spirit is going to do. The Spirit talks to God for God's people. And he asks for them what God wants them to have.
28 We know that God works out everything for the good of those who love him. They are the people who are part of his plan.
29 He knew all along that he would choose them. He chose them to be made like his Son. Then his Son would be the first one of many brothers.
30 He chose them and he also called them. He called them to himself as if they had never been bad people. He made them right with himself and he also made them great in heaven.
31 So what shall we say about this? If God is on our side, who can be against us?
32 He did not keep his own Son, but gave him up for us all. Because he has given him to us, will he not also give us all other things?
33 Who will say anything against God's chosen people? For it is God himself who says they have been put right with him.
34 Who will say they are not right? Jesus Christ died. Yes, he was raised from death. He is at the right side of God. And he talks to God for us.
35 Who can take us away from Christ's love? We may have trouble. We may have hard times. People may make us suffer because we believe. We may have no food to eat and no clothes to wear. We may be in danger. We may be killed with big knives. Can any of these things take us away from Christ's love?
36 The holy writings say, `For your sake we are killed all day. We are like sheep ready to be killed.'
37 But Christ loved us. He has helped us to win great victory in all these things.
39 I know this. Death, life, angels, rulers, things happening now, things that will happen, high things, low things; nothing else in all the world can come between us and God's love in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8
Young's Literal Translation
8 There is, then, now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit;
2 for the law of the Spirit of the life in Christ Jesus did set me free from the law of the sin and of the death;
3 for what the law was not able to do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, His own Son having sent in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, did condemn the sin in the flesh,
4 that the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
5 For those who are according to the flesh, the things of the flesh do mind; and those according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit;
6 for the mind of the flesh [is] death, and the mind of the Spirit -- life and peace;
7 because the mind of the flesh [is] enmity to God, for to the law of God it doth not subject itself,
8 for neither is it able; and those who are in the flesh are not able to please God.
9 And ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God doth dwell in you; and if any one hath not the Spirit of Christ -- this one is not His;
10 and if Christ [is] in you, the body, indeed, [is] dead because of sin, and the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness,
11 and if the Spirit of Him who did raise up Jesus out of the dead doth dwell in you, He who did raise up the Christ out of the dead shall quicken also your dying bodies, through His Spirit dwelling in you.
12 So, then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh;
13 for if according to the flesh ye do live, ye are about to die; and if, by the Spirit, the deeds of the body ye put to death, ye shall live;
14 for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God;
15 for ye did not receive a spirit of bondage again for fear, but ye did receive a spirit of adoption in which we cry, `Abba -- Father.'
16 The Spirit himself doth testify with our spirit, that we are children of God;
17 and if children, also heirs, heirs, indeed, of God, and heirs together of Christ -- if, indeed, we suffer together, that we may also be glorified together.
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory about to be revealed in us;
19 for the earnest looking out of the creation doth expect the revelation of the sons of God;
20 for to vanity was the creation made subject -- not of its will, but because of Him who did subject [it] -- in hope,
21 that also the creation itself shall be set free from the servitude of the corruption to the liberty of the glory of the children of God;
22 for we have known that all the creation doth groan together, and doth travail in pain together till now.
23 And not only [so], but also we ourselves, having the first-fruit of the Spirit, we also ourselves in ourselves do groan, adoption expecting -- the redemption of our body;
24 for in hope we were saved, and hope beheld is not hope; for what any one doth behold, why also doth he hope for [it]?
25 and if what we do not behold we hope for, through continuance we expect [it].
26 And, in like manner also, the Spirit doth help our weaknesses; for, what we may pray for, as it behoveth [us], we have not known, but the Spirit himself doth make intercession for us with groanings unutterable,
27 and He who is searching the hearts hath known what [is] the mind of the Spirit, because according to God he doth intercede for saints.
28 And we have known that to those loving God all things do work together for good, to those who are called according to purpose;
29 because whom He did foreknow, He also did fore-appoint, conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be first-born among many brethren;
30 and whom He did fore-appoint, these also He did call; and whom He did call, these also He declared righteous; and whom He declared righteous, these also He did glorify.
31 What, then, shall we say unto these things? if God [is] for us, who [is] against us?
32 He who indeed His own Son did not spare, but for us all did deliver him up, how shall He not also with him the all things grant to us?
33 Who shall lay a charge against the choice ones of God? God [is] He that is declaring righteous,
34 who [is] he that is condemning? Christ [is] He that died, yea, rather also, was raised up; who is also on the right hand of God -- who also doth intercede for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of the Christ? tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 (according as it hath been written -- `For Thy sake we are put to death all the day long, we were reckoned as sheep of slaughter,')
37 but in all these we more than conquer, through him who loved us;
38 for I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor messengers, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
39 nor things about to be, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, that [is] in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8
New King James Version
Free from Indwelling Sin
8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, (A)who[a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For (B)the law of (C)the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from (D)the law of sin and death. 3 For (E)what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, (F)God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who (G)do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For (H)those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, (I)the things of the Spirit. 6 For (J)to be [b]carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because (K)the [c]carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, (L)nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of (M)Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, (N)He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [d]through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Sonship Through the Spirit
12 (O)Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For (P)if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you (Q)put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For (R)as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For (S)you did not receive the spirit of bondage again (T)to fear, but you received the (U)Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, (V)“Abba,[e] Father.” 16 (W)The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then (X)heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, (Y)if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
From Suffering to Glory
18 For I consider that (Z)the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For (AA)the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For (AB)the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of [f]corruption into the glorious (AC)liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation (AD)groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have (AE)the firstfruits of the Spirit, (AF)even we ourselves groan (AG)within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the (AH)redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but (AI)hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For (AJ)we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but (AK)the Spirit Himself makes intercession [g]for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now (AL)He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints (AM)according to the will of God.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those (AN)who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom (AO)He foreknew, (AP)He also predestined (AQ)to be conformed to the image of His Son, (AR)that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also (AS)called; whom He called, these He also (AT)justified; and whom He justified, these He also (AU)glorified.
God’s Everlasting Love
31 What then shall we say to these things? (AV)If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 (AW)He who did not spare His own Son, but (AX)delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? (AY)It is God who justifies. 34 (AZ)Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, (BA)who is even at the right hand of God, (BB)who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
(BC)“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 (BD)Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor (BE)principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Footnotes
- Romans 8:1 NU omits the rest of v. 1.
- Romans 8:6 fleshly
- Romans 8:7 fleshly
- Romans 8:11 Or because of
- Romans 8:15 Lit., in Aram., Father
- Romans 8:21 decay
- Romans 8:26 NU omits for us
Romans 8
New Catholic Bible
The Spirit of God Dwells in Christians[a]
Chapter 8
There Is No Longer Any Condemnation. 1 Hence, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 That which the Law, weakened by the flesh, was unable to do, God has done. By sending his own Son in the likeness of our sinful nature as a sin offering, he condemned sin in the flesh 4 so that the righteous requirements of the Law[b] might be fulfilled in us who live not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Animated by the Spirit and Rendered Children of God.[c] 5 Those who live according to the flesh fix their attention on the things of the flesh, while those who live according to the Spirit set their thoughts on spiritual things. 6 The desires of the flesh result in death, but the desires of the Spirit result in life and peace. 7 Indeed, the desires of the flesh will be hostile to God, for they do not submit to the Law of God, nor could they do so. 8 Those who live according to the flesh can never be pleasing to God.
9 You, however, do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not possess the Spirit of Christ cannot belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though the body is dead as a result of sin, the Spirit is alive in you because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then the one who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwells in you.[d]
12 Consequently, brethren, we are not debtors to the flesh and obliged to live according to the flesh. 13 If you do live according to the flesh, you will die. However, if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 [e]Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery leading to fear; rather, you received the Spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God. 17 And if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, provided that we share his sufferings so that we may also share his glory.
18 The Future Glory That Shall Be Revealed.[f] I consider that the sufferings we presently endure are not worth comparing with the glory to be revealed in us. 19 Indeed, creation itself eagerly awaits the revelation of the children of God. 20 For creation was subjected to frustration, not of its own choice but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope 21 that creation itself will be freed from its slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 As we know, the entire creation has been groaning in labor pains until now— 23 and not only creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for our adoption as children, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now to see something does not involve hope. For why should we hope for what we have already seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet see, then we wait for it with patience.
26 In the same way, even the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs that cannot be put into words. 27 And the one who searches hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
28 We know that God makes all things work together for good for those who love him[g] and who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son so that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
31 Who Can Separate Us from the Love of Christ? What then can we say in response to all this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He did not spare his own Son but gave him up for all of us. How then can he fail also to give us everything else along with him?
33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who acquits. 34 Who will condemn? Christ Jesus, who died, or rather rose again, who is at God’s right hand and intercedes for us?[h] 35 Who then can separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword? 36 As it is written,
“For your sake we are being slain all day long;
we are treated like sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, throughout all these things we are conquerors because of him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth,[i] nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Footnotes
- Romans 8:1 In the experience of the love of God there are three dominant elements: the life of the Spirit (vv. 5-13), the sure realization of being children of God (vv. 14-17), and the certainty of future glory (vv. 18-30). This ascending description ends with a triumphant hymn to the unfailing love of the Lord (vv. 31-39).
- Romans 8:4 Righteous requirements of the Law: although the Law is not a means of salvation, it still plays a role in the life of a believer as a moral guide, obeyed out of love for God and by the power of the Holy Spirit. This marks the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy of the New Covenant (Jer 31:33ff).
- Romans 8:5 What is the Christian life in its deepest reality? Paul thinks of all that the Holy Spirit inaugurates in the existence of the believer. He is the Spirit of the Father and of Christ, dwells in every Christian, and is a source of spiritual life for each. We can look upon him as the soul of the Church. He is the power of a progressive transformation, which culminates in the resurrection of the body. In a privileged moment—that of prayer—believers grasp their new state as children of God. Thus, believers escape from the flesh, i.e., an orientation to and a realization of a life without future and without accomplishment (see Gal 5:16-25).
- Romans 8:11 For the connection between the Resurrection of Christ and that of believers, see 1 Cor 6:14; 15:20, 23; 2 Cor 4:14; Phil 3:21; 1 Thes 4:14.
- Romans 8:14 Because of the Holy Spirit’s presence in them, Christians possess a new life as well as a new relationship with God. They have become adopted children of God and heirs through Christ, sharing both in his sufferings and in his glory.
- Romans 8:18 The exalting perspective of salvation is expanded to the dimensions of the universe. Paul takes up a Biblical idea: the cosmos is linked with the fate of humankind, cursed then redeemed. All creation prepares for the new world (v. 22). Paul beautifully sketches the proofs of this movement that is nearing its fulfillment:
(1) the presentiment of the universe whose Creator and Lord is Christ (vv. 19-22); (2) the firm hope of believers transformed through Baptism and urged to seize fully that which—even here below—the Spirit inaugurates in them (vv. 23-25); (3) the very prayer by which the Spirit inspires this grand aspiration (vv. 26-27); and finally (4) the will of God, whose love embraces believers in order to associate them with the risen and glorified Christ, so that they may be in the image of his Son, who is himself the perfect image of the Father (see Col 1:15) (vv. 28-30). - Romans 8:28 We know that God makes all things work together for good for those who love him: some manuscripts have: “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God.”
- Romans 8:34 The reasons why no one can condemn us who are God’s elect are three: (1) Christ died for us; (2) Christ is alive and seated at God’s right hand, a position of awesome power; and (3) Christ himself makes intercession for us.
- Romans 8:39 In the terms angels . . . principalities . . . height . . . depth Paul is perhaps speaking of spiritual entities that were considered to be intermediaries between God and humanity.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
