Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)a servant^[a] of Christ Jesus, ^(B)called to be an apostle, ^(C)set apart for the gospel of God, ² which ^(D)he promised beforehand ^(E)through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, ³ concerning his Son, ^(F)who was descended from David^{[b] (G)}according to the flesh ⁴ and ^(H)was declared to be the Son of God ^(I)in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵ through whom ^(J)we have received grace and ^(K)apostleship ^(L)to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name ^(M)among all the nations, ⁶ including you who are ^(N)called to belong to Jesus Christ,

⁷ To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

^(O)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Longing to Go to Rome

⁸ First, ^(P)I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, ^(Q)because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. ^9 (R)For God is my witness, ^(S)whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, ^(T)that without ceasing I mention you ¹⁰ always in my prayers, asking that somehow ^(U)by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. ¹¹ For ^(V)I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— ¹² that is, that we may be mutually encouraged ^(W)by each other's faith, both yours and mine. ¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,^[c] that ^(X)I have often intended to come to you (but ^(Y)thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some ^(Z)harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. ^14 (AA)I am under obligation both to Greeks and to ^(AB)barbarians,^[d] both to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵ So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁶ For ^(AC)I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is ^(AD)the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew ^(AE)first and also to ^(AF)the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it ^(AG)the righteousness of God is revealed ^(AH)from faith for faith,^{[e] (AI)}as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”^[f]

God's Wrath on Unrighteousness

¹⁸ For ^(AJ)the wrath of God ^(AK)is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be ^(AL)known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, ^(AM)have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,^[g] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they ^(AN)became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ^22 (AO)Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and ^(AP)exchanged the glory of ^(AQ)the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore ^(AR)God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to ^(AS)the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for ^(AT)a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ^(AU)who is blessed forever! Amen.

²⁶ For this reason ^(AV)God gave them up to ^(AW)dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷ and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, ^(AX)men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, ^(AY)God gave them up to ^(AZ)a debased mind to do ^(BA)what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Though they know ^(BB)God's righteous decree that those who practice such things ^(BC)deserve to die, they not only do them but ^(BD)give approval to those who practice them.

God's Righteousness Upheld

3 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ² Much in every way. To begin with, ^(A)the Jews were entrusted with ^(B)the oracles of God. ^3 (C)What if some were unfaithful? ^(D)Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? ⁴ By no means! ^(E)Let God be true though ^(F)every one were a liar, as it is written,

⁵ But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict ^(I)wrath on us? (^(J)I speak in a human way.) ⁶ By no means! For then how could ^(K)God judge the world? ⁷ But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, ^(L)why am I still being condemned as a sinner? ⁸ And why not ^(M)do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

No One Is Righteous

⁹ What then? Are we Jews^[a] any better off?^[b] No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both ^(N)Jews and ^(O)Greeks, are ^(P)under sin, ¹⁰ as it is written:

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever ^(Y)the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, ^(Z)so that every mouth may be stopped, and ^(AA)the whole world may be held accountable to God. ²⁰ For ^(AB)by works of the law no human being^[c] will be justified in his sight, since ^(AC)through the law comes knowledge of sin.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith

²¹ But now ^(AD)the righteousness of God ^(AE)has been manifested apart from the law, although ^(AF)the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²² the righteousness of God ^(AG)through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. ^(AH)For there is no distinction: ²³ for ^(AI)all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ^24 (AJ)and are justified ^(AK)by his grace as a gift, ^(AL)through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God ^(AM)put forward as ^(AN)a propitiation ^(AO)by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in ^(AP)his divine forbearance he had passed over ^(AQ)former sins. ²⁶ It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

^27 (AR)Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸ For we hold that one is justified by faith ^(AS)apart from works of the law. ²⁹ Or ^(AT)is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰ since ^(AU)God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and ^(AV)the uncircumcised through faith. ³¹ Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Peace with God Through Faith

5 ^(A)Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, ^(B)we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ² Through him we have also ^(C)obtained access by faith^[b] into this grace ^(D)in which we stand, and ^(E)we^[c] rejoice^[d] in hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only that, but we ^(F)rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering ^(G)produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and ^(H)hope does not put us to shame, because God's love ^(I)has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

⁶ For ^(J)while we were still weak, at the right time ^(K)Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— ⁸ but ^(L)God shows his love for us in that ^(M)while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since, therefore, ^(N)we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from ^(O)the wrath of God. ¹⁰ For if ^(P)while we were enemies ^(Q)we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by ^(R)his life. ¹¹ More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received ^(S)reconciliation.

Death in Adam, Life in Christ

¹² Therefore, just as ^(T)sin came into the world through one man, and ^(U)death through sin, and ^(V)so death spread to all men^[e] because ^(W)all sinned— ¹³ for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but ^(X)sin is not counted where there is no law. ¹⁴ Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not ^(Y)like the transgression of Adam, ^(Z)who was a type of ^(AA)the one who was to come.

¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for ^(AB)many. ¹⁶ And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For ^(AC)the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought ^(AD)justification. ¹⁷ For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness ^(AE)reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ Therefore, as one trespass^[f] led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness^[g] leads to justification and life for ^(AF)all men. ¹⁹ For as by the one man's ^(AG)disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's ^(AH)obedience the many will be made righteous. ²⁰ Now ^(AI)the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, ^(AJ)grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, ^(AK)as sin reigned in death, ^(AL)grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

6 What shall we say then? ^(AM)Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? ² By no means! How can ^(AN)we who died to sin still live in it? ³ Do you not know that all of us ^(AO)who have been baptized ^(AP)into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were ^(AQ)buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as ^(AR)Christ was raised from the dead by ^(AS)the glory of the Father, we too might walk in ^(AT)newness of life.

⁵ For ^(AU)if we have been united with him in ^(AV)a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that ^(AW)our old self^{[h] (AX)}was crucified with him in order that ^(AY)the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For ^(AZ)one who has died ^(BA)has been set free^[i] from sin. ⁸ Now ^(BB)if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ We know that ^(BC)Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; ^(BD)death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰ For the death he died he died to sin, ^(BE)once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves ^(BF)dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹² Let not ^(BG)sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. ^13 (BH)Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but ^(BI)present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. ¹⁴ For ^(BJ)sin ^(BK)will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

¹⁵ What then? ^(BL)Are we to sin ^(BM)because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! ¹⁶ Do you not know that if you present yourselves ^(BN)to anyone as obedient slaves,^[j] you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷ But ^(BO)thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the ^(BP)standard of teaching to which you were committed, ¹⁸ and, ^(BQ)having been set free from sin, ^(BR)have become slaves of righteousness. ^19 (BS)I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For ^(BT)just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members ^(BU)as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

^20 (BV)For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ^21 (BW)But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things ^(BX)of which you are now ashamed? ^(BY)For the end of those things is death. ²² But now that you ^(BZ)have been set free from sin and ^(CA)have become slaves of God, ^(CB)the fruit you get leads to sanctification and ^(CC)its end, eternal life. ^23 (CD)For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Released from the Law

7 Or do you not know, brothers^[k]—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? ² For ^(CE)a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.^{[l] 3} Accordingly, ^(CF)she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

⁴ Likewise, my brothers, ^(CG)you also have died ^(CH)to the law ^(CI)through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, ^(CJ)in order that we may bear fruit for God. ⁵ For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work ^(CK)in our members ^(CL)to bear fruit for death. ⁶ But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the ^(CM)new way of ^(CN)the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.^[m]

The Law and Sin

⁷ What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, ^(CO)I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if ^(CP)the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” ⁸ But sin, ^(CQ)seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. ^(CR)For apart from the law, sin lies dead. ⁹ I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. ¹⁰ The very commandment ^(CS)that promised life proved to be death to me. ¹¹ For sin, ^(CT)seizing an opportunity through the commandment, ^(CU)deceived me and through it killed me. ¹² So ^(CV)the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

¹³ Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. ¹⁴ For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, ^(CW)sold under sin. ¹⁵ For I do not understand my own actions. For ^(CX)I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with ^(CY)the law, that it is good. ¹⁷ So now ^(CZ)it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells ^(DA)in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. ^19 (DB)For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want, ^(DC)it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

²¹ So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. ²² For ^(DD)I delight in the law of God, ^(DE)in my inner being, ²³ but I see in my members ^(DF)another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from ^(DG)this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Life in the Spirit

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.^{[n] 2} For the law of ^(DH)the Spirit of life ^(DI)has set you^[o] free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. ³ For ^(DJ)God has done what the law, ^(DK)weakened by the flesh, ^(DL)could not do. ^(DM)By sending his own Son ^(DN)in the likeness of sinful flesh and ^(DO)for sin,^[p] he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that ^(DP)the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, ^(DQ)who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵ For ^(DR)those who live according to the flesh set their minds on ^(DS)the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on ^(DT)the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to set ^(DU)the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For the mind that is set on the flesh is ^(DV)hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; ^(DW)indeed, it cannot. ⁸ Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact ^(DX)the Spirit of God dwells in you. ^(DY)Anyone who does not have ^(DZ)the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of ^(EA)him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus^[q] from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies ^(EB)through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Heirs with Christ

¹² So then, brothers,^[r] we are debtors, ^(EC)not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you ^(ED)put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For all who are ^(EE)led by the Spirit of God are ^(EF)sons^[s] of God. ¹⁵ For ^(EG)you did not receive ^(EH)the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of ^(EI)adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ^(EJ)“Abba! Father!” ^16 (EK)The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then ^(EL)heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, ^(EM)provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Future Glory

¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time ^(EN)are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits with eager longing for ^(EO)the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation ^(EP)was subjected to futility, not willingly, but ^(EQ)because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that ^(ER)the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²² For we know that ^(ES)the whole creation ^(ET)has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ²³ And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have ^(EU)the firstfruits of the Spirit, ^(EV)groan inwardly as ^(EW)we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, ^(EX)the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For ^(EY)in this hope we were saved. Now ^(EZ)hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we ^(FA)wait for it with patience.

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For ^(FB)we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but ^(FC)the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ²⁷ And ^(FD)he who searches hearts knows what is ^(FE)the mind of the Spirit, because^[t] the Spirit ^(FF)intercedes for the saints ^(FG)according to the will of God. ²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together ^(FH)for good,^[u] for ^(FI)those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he ^(FJ)foreknew he also ^(FK)predestined ^(FL)to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be ^(FM)the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also ^(FN)justified, and those whom he justified he also ^(FO)glorified.

God's Everlasting Love

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? ^(FP)If God is for us, who can be^[v] against us? ^32 (FQ)He who did not spare his own Son but ^(FR)gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? ^(FS)It is God who justifies. ^34 (FT)Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—^(FU)who is at the right hand of God, ^(FV)who indeed is interceding for us.^{[w] 35} Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written,

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than ^(FY)conquerors through ^(FZ)him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A Living Sacrifice

12 ^(A)I appeal to you therefore, brothers,^[a] by the mercies of God, ^(B)to present your bodies ^(C)as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.^{[b] 2 (D)}Do not be conformed to this world,^[c] but be transformed by ^(E)the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may ^(F)discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.^[d]

Gifts of Grace

³ For ^(G)by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you ^(H)not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, ^(I)each according to ^(J)the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴ For ^(K)as in one body we have many members,^[e] and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so we, ^(L)though many, ^(M)are one body in Christ, and individually ^(N)members one of another. ^6 (O)Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if ^(P)prophecy, ^(Q)in proportion to our faith; ⁷ if ^(R)service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸ the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; ^(S)the one who leads,^[f] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with ^(T)cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

^9 (U)Let love be genuine. ^(V)Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ^10 (W)Love one another with brotherly affection. ^(X)Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, ^(Y)be fervent in spirit,^{[g] (Z)}serve the Lord. ^12 (AA)Rejoice in hope, ^(AB)be patient in tribulation, ^(AC)be constant in prayer. ^13 (AD)Contribute to the needs of the saints and ^(AE)seek to show hospitality.

^14 (AF)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ^15 (AG)Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ^16 (AH)Live in harmony with one another. ^(AI)Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.^{[h] (AJ)}Never be wise in your own sight. ^17 (AK)Repay no one evil for evil, but ^(AL)give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, ^(AM)live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, ^(AN)never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[i] to the wrath of God, for it is written, ^(AO)“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ To the contrary, ^(AP)“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.