Book of Common Prayer

Paul declares his love for the Romans, shows what the gospel is with the fruit of it, and reproves the base nature of the flesh.

1 Paul, the servant of Jesus Christ called to be an apostle, put apart to preach the gospel of God – ² the gospel that he promised before by his prophets in the holy scriptures ³ that speak of his Son, who was begotten of the seed of David as to the flesh, ⁴ and was with power identified as the Son of God by the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies since the time that Jesus Christ our Lord rose up from death. ⁵ By him we have received grace and apostleship to bring all manner of heathen peoples to the obedience of faith, which is in his name. ⁶ Of such peoples you are a part also, who are Jesus Christ’s by calling.

⁷ To all you of Rome, beloved of God and saints by calling. Grace be with you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁸ First, truly I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is spoken of throughout all the world. ⁹ For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, ¹⁰ asking that at one time or another a successful journey (by the will of God) might enable me to go to you. ¹¹ For I long to see you, so that I may bestow among you some spiritual gift to strengthen you with; ¹² that is, so I may have consolation together with you through the common faith, which both you and I have.

¹³ I want you to know, brethren, that I have often hoped to go to you (but have been prevented so far) to have some fruit among you, as I have among other of the Gentiles. ¹⁴ For I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to those who are not Greek, to the learned and also to the unlearned. ¹⁵ So then, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you of Rome also.

²⁷ And at that point his disciples came, and were surprised that he talked with the woman. Yet no one said to him, What are you asking? or, Why are you talking with her? ²⁸ The woman then left her water-pot, and went her way into the village and said to the people, ²⁹ Come see a man who told me all that I ever did. Is he not the Christ? ³⁰ Then they went out of the village and came to him.

³¹ And in the meanwhile his disciples urged him, saying, Rabbi, eat! ³² He said to them, I have food to eat that you know not of. ³³ Then the disciples said between themselves, Has anyone brought him food?

³⁴ Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to finish his work. ³⁵ Do you not say, There are yet four months and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you: lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are already white for harvest. ³⁶ And he who reaps receives reward, and gathers fruit unto life eternal, so that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. ³⁷ And this saying is true, that one sows and another reaps. ³⁸ I sent you to reap that whereon you bestowed no labour. Other men laboured, and you have entered into their labours.

³⁹ Many of the Samaritans of that village believed on him because of the word of the woman who testified, He told me all that I ever did. ⁴⁰ Then when the Samaritans had come to him, they besought him to stay with them. And he stayed there two days. ⁴¹ And many more believed because of his own words, ⁴² and said to the woman, Now we believe, not because of what you said, but because we have heard him ourselves and know that this is even indeed Christ, the Saviour of the world.