Beginning
1 Paul[a], a slave of Christ Jesus, a called apostle[b], having been separated[c] for the good-news of God 2 which He promised-beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 concerning His Son— the One having come from the seed of David according-to[d] the flesh, 4 the One having been designated[e] as the Son of God with power according to the Spirit[f] of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord— 5 through Whom we received grace and apostleship for the obedience of [g] faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of His name, 6 among whom you also are called ones of Jesus Christ, 7 to all the ones being in Rome, beloved ones of God, called saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I am giving-thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for you all because your faith is being proclaimed in the whole world. 9 For God is my witness— Whom I am serving in my spirit in[h] the good-news of His Son— how unceasingly I am making mention of you 10 always in my prayers, asking if somehow now at last I shall be prospered in the will of God to come to you.
11 For I am yearning to see you in order that I may impart some spiritual gift to you so that you may be established. 12 And this is that I may be encouraged-together-with you among you— through each other’s faith, both yours and mine.
13 And I do not want you to be-unaware, brothers, that often I planned to come to you— and was prevented until now— in order that I might have some fruit among you also, as indeed among the other Gentiles. 14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and barbarians, both to wise and foolish. 15 So for my part, I am eager also to announce-the-good-news to you, the ones in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed-of the good-news, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone believing[i]— both to the Jew first and to the Greek. 17 For the righteousness of [j] God is revealed in it from faith to faith, just as it has been written [in Hab 2:4]: “But the righteous one shall live by faith”.
God’s Wrath Is Upon All Sin
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness[k] and unrighteousness[l] of people holding-down[m] the truth in[n] unrighteousness.
Because God Revealed Enough of Himself In Creation For The World To Be Without Excuse
19 Because the thing known of God is evident[o] in[p] them, for God made it evident to them. 20 For His invisible things— both His eternal power and divine-nature— are clearly-seen, being understood since the creation of the world in the things made, so that they are without-excuse.
And Having Known This Truth About God, The World Did Not Honor Him As God
21 Because having known God, they did not glorify Him as God or give-thanks, but became futile in their thoughts, and their senseless heart was darkened.
They Turned From The Glory of The Immortal God To Their Crafted Images of God
22 While claiming to be wise, they became-foolish 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for a likeness— an image of a mortal person and of birds and of four-footed-animals and of reptiles. 24 Therefore God handed them over[q] in the desires of their hearts to impurity so that [r] their bodies are dishonored among them.
They Turned From The Truth To Worship The Creation Rather Than The Creator
25 Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie[s], and worshiped and served the creation[t] rather than the One having created— Who is blessed forever, amen. 26 For this reason God handed them over to passions of [u] dishonor. For both their females exchanged the natural [sexual] function for the one contrary to nature, 27 and likewise also the males, having left the natural [sexual] function of the female, were inflamed by their craving for one another— males with males committing the indecent-act[v] and receiving-back in themselves the return[w] which was due their error[x].
They Disapproved of Keeping God In Mind
28 And as they did not approve to have[y] God in their knowledge, God handed them over to a disapproved mind, to do the things not being proper— 29 having been filled with all unrighteousness, evilness, greed, badness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; whisperers[z], 30 slanderers, God-haters[aa], violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evils, disobedient to parents, 31 senseless, unfaithful[ab], unaffectionate[ac], unmerciful; 32 who, having known the regulation of God that the ones practicing such things are worthy of death, not only are doing them, but are also giving-approval to the ones practicing them.
You Who Know More Truth And Judge Others By It Are Also Without Excuse
2 Therefore you are without-excuse, O human— everyone judging. For in what[ad] you are judging the other person, you are condemning yourself; for you, the one judging, are practicing the same things! 2 And we know that the judgment of God is according to truth upon[ae] the ones practicing such things.
Do You Think You Will Escape God’s Judgment When You Do The Same Things?
3 But are you thinking this, O human— the one judging the ones practicing such things and doing them [yourself]— that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or are you disregarding the riches of His goodness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the good thing of God is leading you to repentance? 5 But in-accordance-with your hardness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing-up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous-judgment of God, 6 Who will render to each one according to his works— 7 to the ones seeking glory and honor and immortality in accordance with endurance in good work, He will render eternal life; 8 but to the ones indeed disobeying the truth and obeying unrighteousness out of selfish-interest[af], there will be wrath and fury.
There Is No Respect of Persons With God Regarding Sin And Judgment
9 There will be affliction and distress upon every soul of the person[ag] committing evil— both of the Jew first and of the Greek. 10 But there will be glory and honor and peace to everyone working good— both to the Jew first and to the Greek. 11 For there is no respect-of-persons with God. 12 For all who sinned without-Law will also perish without-Law, and all who sinned under[ah] the Law will be judged by the Law. 13 For not the hearers of law[ai] are righteous before God, but the doers of law will be declared-righteous.
For Gentiles Will Be Judged By Their Own Standards Insofar As They Agree With God’s
14 For whenever Gentiles, the ones not having the Law, are doing by nature the things of the Law, these ones not having the Law are a law to themselves, 15 who are demonstrating[aj] the work of the Law written in their hearts— their conscience bearing co-witness and their thoughts accusing or even defending between one another 16 on the day when God judges the hidden things of people according to my good-news, through Christ Jesus.
And Jews Will Be Judged By The Law They Rely Upon
17 But if you call-yourself a Jew, and rely upon the Law, and boast in God, 18 and know His will, and approve the things mattering[ak]— being instructed out of the Law— 19 and are confident as to yourself that you are a guide of blind ones, a light of the ones in darkness, 20 a corrector of foolish ones, a teacher of children, one having the embodiment of knowledge and truth in the Law, 21 then— the one teaching another, are you not teaching yourself ? The one proclaiming not to steal, do you steal? 22 The one saying not to commit-adultery, do you commit-adultery? The one detesting idols, do you rob-temples?
Their Transgression of The Law Dishonors God
23 You who are boasting in the Law are dishonoring God through transgression of the Law. 24 For “the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you”, just as it has been written [in Isa 52:5].
Circumcision Will Not Help Transgressors
25 For circumcision profits if you practice the Law— but if you are a transgressor of the Law your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 So if the uncircumcised one keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? 27 And the uncircumcised one by nature who is fulfilling the Law will judge you, the transgressor of the Law with the letter[al] and circumcision! 28 For the Jew in the visible thing is not a Jew, nor is the circumcision in the visible[am] thing in the flesh circumcision, 29 but the Jew in the hidden thing is a Jew, and circumcision is of the heart, by[an] the Spirit not the letter— whose praise is not from people, but from God.
So Then What Is The Advantage of The Jew?
3 What then is the advantage of the Jew? Or what is the profit of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. For first— that they were entrusted the oracles[ao] of God!
God Will Be Faithful To His Promises To The Jews Even If Some Reject Him
3 What indeed if some[ap] were faithless[aq]? Their faithlessness[ar] will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? 4 May it never be! But let God be [seen to be] true and every person a liar, just as it has been written [in Ps 51:4]: “So that You might be declared-righteous[as] in Your words and prevail in Your being judged[at]”.
But God Is Not Unrighteous To Inflict Wrath On Jews Who Sin
5 But if our[au] unrighteousness demonstrates[av] the righteousness of God, what shall we say? God, the One inflicting the wrath, is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in accordance with human thinking[aw]). 6 May it never be! Otherwise how will God judge the world?
God Holds Jews Accountable For Their Sin Too
7 But if the truth of God abounded in my lie[ax] to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner? 8 Indeed, why not say “Let us do evil things that good things may come”, as we are blasphemed, and as some affirm us to say— whose condemnation is just[ay]!
Scripture Declares All Are Accountable And Guilty Before God. None Are Righteous
9 Therefore what? Are we better[az] [than they]? Not at-all. For we already-charged[ba] that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, 10 just as it has been written: “There is not a righteous one, not even one. 11 There is no one understanding. There is no one seeking-out God. 12 They all turned-away, together they became useless[bb]. There is no one doing goodness. There is not as-many-as one” [Ps 14:1-3]. 13 “Their throat is an opened grave. With their tongues they were deceiving” [Ps 5:9]. “The poison of asps is under their lips” [Ps 140:3]. 14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing[bc] and bitterness” [Ps 10:7]. 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood. 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways. 17 And they did not know the way of peace” [Isa 59:7-8]. 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes” [Ps 36:1]. 19 And we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to the ones under the Law— in order that every mouth may be stopped[bd] and the whole world may become accountable[be] to God. 20 Because by the works of law[bf] no flesh will be declared-righteous in His sight. For through law comes the knowledge of sin.
But Now Righteousness From God Has Been Revealed
21 But now apart from law[bg], the righteousness of God has been revealed, being attested by the Law and the Prophets.
It Comes As an Undeserved Gift Through Faith In Christ, Who Satisfied God’s Wrath
22 And it is the righteousness of God through faith[bh] in Jesus Christ for all the ones believing! For there is no distinction, 23 for all sinned and are coming-short-of the glory of God, 24 being declared-righteous as-a-gift[bi] by His grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, 25 Whom God set-forth[bj] as that-which-satisfies[bk] [His wrath] through faith, in[bl] His blood— for the demonstration[bm] of His righteousness because of the passing-by of the sins having previously-taken-place 26 in the forbearance[bn] of God; for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be righteous and declaring-righteous the one of [bo] faith in Jesus.
There Can Be No Boasting In Our Works: It Is By Faith For All!
27 Where then is the boasting? It was shut-out[bp]. Through what kind of law[bq]? Of works? No, but through a law of faith. 28 For we consider a person to be declared-righteous by faith apart from works of the Law. 29 Or is He the God of Jews only[br]? Is He not also the God of Gentiles? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God— Who will declare-righteous the circumcised by faith, and the uncircumcised through the same[bs] faith. 31 Do we then nullify the Law through the faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing