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Romans 12
New International Version
Romans 12
New International Version
A Living Sacrifice
12 Therefore, I urge you,(A) brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,(B) holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform(C) to the pattern of this world,(D) but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.(E) Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is(F)—his good, pleasing(G) and perfect will.
Humble Service in the Body of Christ
3 For by the grace given me(H) I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,(I) 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body,(J) and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts,(K) according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying,(L) then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith;(M) 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;(N) 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement;(O) if it is giving, then give generously;(P) if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Love in Action
9 Love must be sincere.(Q) Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.(R) 10 Be devoted to one another in love.(S) Honor one another above yourselves.(T) 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor,(U) serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope,(V) patient in affliction,(W) faithful in prayer.(X) 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.(Y) Practice hospitality.(Z)
14 Bless those who persecute you;(AA) bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.(AB) 16 Live in harmony with one another.(AC) Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.(AD)
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil.(AE) Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.(AF) 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.(AG) 19 Do not take revenge,(AH) my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d](AI) says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e](AJ)
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Footnotes
- Romans 12:6 Or the
- Romans 12:8 Or to provide for others
- Romans 12:16 Or willing to do menial work
- Romans 12:19 Deut. 32:35
- Romans 12:20 Prov. 25:21,22
Romans 12
New King James Version
Romans 12
New King James Version
Living Sacrifices to God
12 I (A)beseech[a] you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies (B)a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your [b]reasonable service. 2 And (C)do not be conformed to this world, but (D)be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may (E)prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Serve God with Spiritual Gifts
3 For I say, (F)through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, (G)not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt (H)to each one a measure of faith. 4 For (I)as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so (J)we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is (K)given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us (L)prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; (M)he who teaches, in teaching; 8 (N)he who exhorts, in exhortation; (O)he who gives, with liberality; (P)he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, (Q)with cheerfulness.
Behave Like a Christian
9 (R)Let love be without hypocrisy. (S)Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 (T)Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, (U)in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 (V)rejoicing in hope, (W)patient[c] in tribulation, (X)continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 (Y)distributing to the needs of the saints, (Z)given[d] to hospitality.
14 (AA)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 (AB)Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 (AC)Be of the same mind toward one another. (AD)Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 (AE)Repay no one evil for evil. (AF)Have[e] regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, (AG)live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, (AH)do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, (AI)“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore
(AJ)“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but (AK)overcome evil with good.
Footnotes
- Romans 12:1 urge
- Romans 12:1 rational
- Romans 12:12 persevering
- Romans 12:13 Lit. pursuing
- Romans 12:17 Or Provide good
Romans 12
Good News Translation
Romans 12
Good News Translation
Life in God's Service
12 So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. 2 Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.
3 And because of God's gracious gift to me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you should. Instead, be modest in your thinking, and judge yourself according to the amount of faith that God has given you. 4 (A)We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions. 5 In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body. 6 (B)So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God's message, we should do it according to the faith that we have; 7 if it is to serve, we should serve; if it is to teach, we should teach; 8 if it is to encourage others, we should do so. Whoever shares with others should do it generously; whoever has authority should work hard; whoever shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully.
9 Love must be completely sincere. Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good. 10 Love one another warmly as Christians, and be eager to show respect for one another. 11 Work hard and do not be lazy. Serve the Lord with a heart full of devotion. 12 Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times. 13 Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers.
14 (C)Ask God to bless those who persecute you—yes, ask him to bless, not to curse. 15 (D)Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep. 16 (E)Have the same concern for everyone. Do not be proud, but accept humble duties.[a] Do not think of yourselves as wise.
17 If someone has done you wrong, do not repay him with a wrong. Try to do what everyone considers to be good. 18 Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody. 19 (F)Never take revenge, my friends, but instead let God's anger do it. For the scripture says, “I will take revenge, I will pay back, says the Lord.” 20 (G)Instead, as the scripture says: “If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them a drink; for by doing this you will make them burn with shame.” 21 Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good.
Footnotes
- Romans 12:16 accept humble duties; or make friends with humble people.
Romans 12
The Message
Romans 12
The Message
Place Your Life Before God
12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
3 I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.
4-6 In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.
6-8 If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.
* * *
9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
11-13 Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
14-16 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.
17-19 Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”
20-21 Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.
Romans 12
Contemporary English Version
Romans 12
Contemporary English Version
Christ Brings New Life
12 Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That's the most sensible way to serve God. 2 Don't be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.
3 I realize God has treated me with undeserved grace, and so I tell each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you. 4 (A) A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use. 5 That's how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another.
6 (B) God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have. 7 If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. 8 If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.
Rules for Christian Living
9 Be sincere in your love for others. Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good. 10 Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself. 11 Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve the Lord. 12 Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying. 13 Take care of God's needy people and welcome strangers into your home.
14 (C) Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them. 15 (D) When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad. 16 (E) Be friendly with everyone. Don't be proud and feel that you know more than others. Make friends with ordinary people.[a] 17 Don't mistreat someone who has mistreated you. But try to earn the respect of others, 18 and do your best to live at peace with everyone.
19 (F) Dear friends, don't try to get even. Let God take revenge. In the Scriptures the Lord says,
“I am the one to take revenge
and pay them back.”
20 (G) The Scriptures also say,
“If your enemies are hungry,
give them something to eat.
And if they are thirsty,
give them something
to drink.
This will be the same
as piling burning coals
on their heads.”
21 Don't let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.
Footnotes
- 12.16 Make friends with ordinary people: Or “Do ordinary jobs.”
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.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.