To the Romans
Greeting
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, after having been set apart for the gospel of God 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son who came from the offspring of David, according to the flesh 4 after being declared to be the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we received grace and apostleship to obedience of faith among all the nations, for the sake of His name, 6 among whom you all also are called of Jesus Christ,
7 To all those who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:
Grace to you all and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Longing to Go to Rome
8 First indeed, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all you all because your faith is proclaimed in the whole world. 9 For God is my witness whom I serve in my spirit in the Gospel of His Son that without ceasing I make mention of you all 10 always in my prayers, asking if somehow now is when I will succeed by God's will to come to you all. 11 For I greatly desire to see you all in order that I may give some spiritual gift to you all to strengthen you all, 12 and this is to be comforted together with you all through each other's faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you all to be ignorant, brothers, because often I intend to come to you all (and I was hindered so far) in order that I may reap some fruit among you all as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 To both the Greeks and the barbariansa and the wise and the foolish, I am indebted. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you all also in Rome.
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God to save all those believing to the Jew first and also the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it has been written, “And the righteous will live by faith.”b
God's Wrath on Unrighteousness
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness 19 because what can be known about God is visible to them, for God manifested it to them. 20 For His invisible attributes, from the creation of the world to the things made, are being fullyc perceived, both His eternal power and the divine nature. So they are without excuse 21 because after knowing God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became foolish in their thinking, and their unintelligent hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore, God gave them, in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever! Amen. 26 For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural intercourse for what is against nature, 27 and likewise the men, after giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed in their passions for one another, men committing shameful acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty of their error.
28 And as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a debased mind to do the things that are not fitting. 29 And after having been filled with all unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, wickedness,d they are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousnesse . They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolentf, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless: 32 who after knowing God's righteous decree, that those practicing such things are deserving of death, not only those doing them but also consenting to those practicing them.
God's Righteous Judgment
2 Therefore, you are without excuse, O man, all who are judging. For in judging another, you condemn yourself. For you, the judge, practice the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God is according to the truth on those practicing such things.
3 And do you think, O man — who judges those practicing such things and are doing them — that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness brings you all to repentance? 5 But according to your hand and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of God's righteous judgment.
6 He will repay to each one according to his works:g 7 indeed, to those who by patience in well-doing seeking for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are self-seeking and not obeying the truth but obeying unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man doing evil—the Jew first and also the Greek— 10 but glory and honor and peace to everyone doing good—the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.
God's Judgment and the Law
12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all those who have sinned will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when the Gentiles, not having the law, by nature do the things of the law, these, not having the law, are a law unto themselves. 15 They show the work of the law is written in their hearts: their conscience bearing witness and their conflicting thoughts accusing or even excusing them 16 on the day when God judges the secrets of men according to my gospel through Christ Jesus.
17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God 18 and know His will and approve what is surpassing after being instructed from the law 19 and having persuaded yourself to be a guide to the blind, a light in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law, 21 then you, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While preaching not to steal, do you steal? 22 You who say not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who detest idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, by breaking the law, you dishonor God. 24 For, “The name of God, because of you all, is blasphemed among the Gentiles,”h as it has been written.
25 For circumcision is indeed of value if you practice the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.i 26 Therefore, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the ordinances of the law, will not his uncircumcision be reckoned as circumcision?j 27 And he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 28 For no one is a Jew by appearance nor is circumcision manifest in the flesh, 29 but he is a Jew inwardly and circumcision is of the heart by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
God's Righteousness Upheld
3 What then is the advantage of the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way, for first, indeed, because they were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What for? If some were unfaithful, would their unbelief nullify the faith of God?k 4 By no means! But God be true, and every man a liar, as it has been written,
“That you may be justified in your words,
and overcome when you are judged.”l
5 But if our unrighteousness exhibits the righteousness of God, what will we say? Is God unrighteous for inflicting wrath?m (I speak as a man) 6 By no means! How then will God judge the world? 7 But if by my lie the truth of God super abounds to His glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not (as we be slandered and as some of them charge us with saying) that we should do evil in order that good may come? Their condemnation is just.
No One Is Righteous
9 What then? Are we better? Not at all. For we charged both Jew and Greek, all are under sin 10 as it has been written:
“None are righteous, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one is seeking for God.
12 All turned aside; together, they are worthless;
no one is doing good
not even one.”n
13 “Their throat is an open grave
they are deceptive with their tongues.”o
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”p
14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”q
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery are in their paths,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.”r
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”s
19 And we know that whatever the law says, it says to those under the law in order that every mouth may be stopped and the world may be guilty to God. 20 Because by works of the law, no flesh will be justified before Him, for through the law comes knowledge of sin.
The Righteousness of God Through Faith
21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets — 22 the righteousness of God through the faith of Christ Jesus to all those believing. For there is no distinction: 23 for all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption of Christ Jesus 25 whom God put forward as a propitiationt, through faith in His blood, to show His righteousness, having passed over former sins 26 in God's self-restraint, to show His righteousness at the present time, to be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
27 What then of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we conclude that a man is justified by faith without works of the law. 29 Or is God for the Jews only? Is He not also for the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also 30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then nullifyu the law through faith? By no means! But we uphold the law.
Abraham Justified by Faith
4 What then shall we say had been found by Abraham our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”v 4 And to the one working, his wages are not counted as grace but as his due, 5 but to the one not working, but believing in the one justifying the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness 6 exactly as David also speaks of the blessing of man to whom God counts righteousness without works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not countw his sin.”x
9 Then is this blessing for the circumcised or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? While being uncircumcised or while being circumcised? Not while circumcised but while being uncircumcised. 11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness of the faith he had while uncircumcised to be the father of all those believing without being circumcised, to account righteousness to them as well, 12 and a father of the circumcision not only to those circumcised but also to those walking in the footsteps of faith of our father Abraham while uncircumcised.
The Promise Realized Through Faith
13 For the promise to Abraham and to his offspring to be heir of the world did not come through the law, but through righteousness of faith. 14 For if those of the law are heirs, the faith has become nullified and the promise has become void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law, there is no transgression.
16 For this reason, it is of faith in order that it is according to grace, the guarantee the promise to all the offspring — not to those of the law only but also to those of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. 17 As it has been written, “I have made you the father of many nations”y — in the presence of the God in whom he believed who gives life to the dead and who calls those things which are not as though they are. 18 He believed in hope against hope to become the father of many nations as he had been told, “So will your offspring be.”z 19 And not weakening in faith, he considered his own body as already having died (being about 100 years old) and the deadness of Sarah's womb. 20 And to the promise of God, he did not waiver in unbelief but grew strong in faith after giving glory to God 21 and being fully convinced that He is able to do what He had promised: 22 therefore, “it was counted to him as righteousness.”aa 23 But not written for his sake alone, “it was counted to him,” 24 but also for us. It is about to be counted to those believing in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
Peace with God Through Faith
5 Therefore, after being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ 2 through whom we also have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoiceab in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but also we rejoice in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces patienceac 4 and patience produces character, and character produces hope,
5 and hope does not put us to shame because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, after being given to us.
6 For yet Christ, while we still were without strength, at the right time, died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely will someone die for an unrighteous person — perhaps for a good man someone would dare to die — 8 but God commends His own love for us since while we were still sinners Christ died for us. 9 Therefore, much more now, after being justified by His blood, will we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. 10 For if, while being enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, after being reconciled, will we be saved by His life. 11 And not only, but also, we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom now we received reconciliation.
Death in Adam, Life in Christ
12 For this reason, just as through one man sin came into the world and death through sin, and so to all men death spread because all sinned — 13 for before the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 But death reigned from Adam to Moses even over those not sinning like the transgression of Adam, who was the type of the one coming. 15 But this giftad is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
16 And the gift is not like the result of one sinner, for indeed, the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the gift, following many trespasses, brought justification. 17 For if through one man's trespass, death reigned through one, much more those receiving the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as through the trespass of one led to condemnation for all men, so also through one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as through the disobedience of the one man, many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man, the many were made righteous. 20 But the law came in order to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace super abounded 21 in order that as sin reigned through death, so also grace would reign through righteousness, leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Dead to Sin, Alive to God
6 What then will we say? Should we continue in sin that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We, who died to sin, how can we still live in it? 3 Or do you all not know that all of us baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 We were buried, therefore, with Him through baptism into death in order that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united in a death like His, we also will be untied in a resurrection like His, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin may be brought to nothing that we may no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For the one who died has been justified from sin. 8 And if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also be raised with Him. 9 Knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death He died, He died to sin once and for all, but the life He lives, He lives to God. 11 So also, you all reckon yourselves indeed to be dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore, do not let sin reignae in your mortal body to make you obey its passions. 13 Neither presentaf your limbs as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as living from death and your limbs as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin will not have dominion over you all, for you all are not under sin but under grace.
Slaves to Righteousness
15 What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you all not know that to whom you all present yourselves as obedient slaves, you all are slaves to whom you all obey either of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But grace to God that you all, who were once slaves of sin but became obedient from the heart to the model of teaching to which you all were delivered 18 and after being set free from sin, became slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For as you all presented your members as slaves to impurity and the lawlessness unto lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness unto sanctification.
20 For when you all were slaves of sin, you all were free regarding righteousness. 21 Therefore, what fruit were you all getting then from what you all are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now, after being set free from sin and becoming slaves to God, you all have fruit unto sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages is sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Released from the Law
7 Or do you not know, brothers — for I speak to those knowing the law — that the law rules over man only as long as he lives?
2 For the married woman has been bound to her husband as long as he lives, but if her husband dies, she has been released from the law of her husband.ag 3 Therefore, while her husband lives, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man, but if the husband dies, she is from the law, and she is not an adulteress for marrying another man.
4 Likewise, my brothers, you all also died to the law through the body of Christ, so you all belong to another to Him after bring raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the passions of our sins were working in our members to bear fruit unto death. 6 But now we were released from the law, after dying to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.
The Law and Sin
7 What then will we say? The law is sin? By no means! But I did not know sin except through the law. For I had not known lust if the law did not say, “You will not covet.”ah 8 But sin, after taking an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of lust. For apart from the law, sin is dead. 9 But I was living apart from the law, but after the commandment came, sin came alive, 10 and I died and the commandment unto life was found to be death for me. 11 For sin, after seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it, killed me. 12 So indeed, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
13 Then, did the good in me produce death? By no means! But sin, in order that it may be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good that through the commandment it might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, after having been sold under sin. 15 For what I do, I do not understand. For what I wish, this I do not practice, but what I hate, this I do. 16 But if what I do not wish, this I do: I agree with the law that it is good. 17 And now it is no longer I doing it, but the sin living in me. 18 For I know that nothing dwelling in me, that is, in my flesh, is good. For the will is present with me, but to work good is not. 19 For what good I wish, I do not do, but what evil I do not wish, this I practice. 20 But if what I do not wish, this I do, it is no longer I doing it, but the sin dwelling in me.
21 So I find it the law, in wishing myself to do good that evil is near to me. 22 For I delight in the law of God in my inner man, 23 but I see another law in my limbs waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law sin being in my limbs. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 But grace to God through Jesus Christ, Christ our Lord. So then, I myself indeed serve the law of God with my mind, but with the flesh, the law of sin.
Life in the Spirit
8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law, which was weakened by flesh, was unable to do, God did, after sending His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 for those living according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those living according to the Spirit, set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set 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 hostile to God, 8 But those living in the flesh are not able to please God.
9 But you all are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if perhaps the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this one is not His. 10 But if Christ is in you all, indeed the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead dwells within you all, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit dwelling within you all.
Heirs with Christ
12 So then brothers, we are not indebted to the flesh according to the flesh, 13 for if you all live according to the flesh, you all are about to die, but if by the Spirit you all put to death the deeds of the body, you all will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God, those are sons of God. 15 For you all did not receive the spirit of slavery again unto fear, but you all received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, “Abba!ai Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God 17 and if children, also heirs — indeed, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ if perhaps we suffer with Him in order that we also may be glorified with Him.
Future Glory
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory about to be revealed to us. 19 For the intense anticipation of creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was submitted to futility, not willingly, but because of he who submitted it in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption unto the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that all creation is growing together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but also those having the firstfruits of the Spirit, and we ourselves grown inwardly, eagerly awaiting adoption as sons the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope, we were saved, but hope seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if what we do not see we hope for, we wait for it with patience.
26 And likewise, the Spirit also helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what we should pray for according to what is necessary, but the Spirit Himself intercedes with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 But He who searches the heart knows what is the mind of the Spirit because He intercedes for the saints according to God. 28 And we know that for those loving God, all things work together for goodaj for those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those who He foreknew He also predestinedak conformity of the image of His Son to be Himself the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those He predestined, these He also called, and those He called, these He also justified, and those He justified, these He also glorified.
God's Everlasting Love
31 What then will we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is condemning? Christ Jesus is the one who died — and much more, who was raised — who also is at the right hand of God, who also is interceding for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it has been written,
“For your sake, we are being killed the whole day,
we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 But in all these things, we are more than conquerorsal through Him who loves us. 38 For I have been persuaded 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 creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
God's Sovereign Choice
9 I am speaking the truth in Christ – I am not lying; my conscience is witnessing with me in the Holy Spirit – 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish myself to be accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites to whom belong the adoption and the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To whom belong the patriarchs, and out of whom Christ came according to the flesh, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
6 But it’s not as though the word of God has failed. For not all those descended from Israel are Israelites. 7 Nor because they are the offspring of Abraham are they children, but, “Through Isaac will your offspring be called.”am 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For the word of promise is this: “About this time, I will return and Sarah will have a son.”an 10 And not only so, but also Rebekah conceived by one man, our father Isaac, 11 for they had not yet been born, neither practiced anything good or evil — in order that the purpose of God according to election might continue, 12 not because of works, but because of Him who calls — she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”ao 13 As it has been written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”ap
14 What will we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God?aq By no means! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”ar 16 So then, it is not of those wishing or running, but the mercy of God. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose, I raised you up, so that in you I may show my power, and so that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”as 18 So then, whomever He wishes, He has mercy on, and whomever He wishes, He hardens.
19 Then you will say to me, “Why then does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 20 Indeed then, O man, who are you answering back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why did you make me so?”at 21 Or does the potter have no authority over the clay out of the same lump to make one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, wishing to show His wrath and make known His power, endured with much patience vessels of wrath, having been prepared for destruction 23 in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy which He prepared before in glory? 24 Even us whom He called, not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles, 25 as He also says in Hosea,
“I will call those, who are not my people, my people,'
and her who was not beloved, 'beloved.'”au
26 “And it will be in the place where it was said to them, 'You all are not my people,'
there they will be called, 'sons of the living God.'”av
27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel,aw “If the number of the sons of God be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant will be savedax, 28 for fully and without delay the Lord will carry out His sentence upon the earth.” 29 And as Isaiah had predicted,
“If the Lord of hosts did not leave us offspring,
we would have been like Sodom
and become like Gomorrah.”ay
Israel's Unbelief
30 What then will we say? That Gentiles not pursuing righteousness attained righteousness, even the righteousness of faith, 31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not attain the law. 32 Why? Because they were pursuing not by faith but as by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone 33 as it has been written,
“Behold, I lay in Zion, a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense;
and the one believing in Him will not be put to shame.”az
10 Brothers indeed, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is salvation. 2 For I witness to them that they have a zeal for God but not according to knowledge. 3 For being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4 For Christ is the endba of the law for righteousness to everyone believing.
The Message of Salvation to All
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is of the law that the man doing these things will live by them.bb 6 But the righteousness of faith says this, “Do not saybc in your heart, 'Who will ascend to heaven?'”bd (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’”be (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near to you in your mouth and in your heart”bf (that is, the word of Christ that we preach); 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that Jesus raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.bg 10 For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth, one confesses unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone believing in Him will not be put to shame.”bh 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is over all, bestowing His riches unto all those calling on Him. 13 For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.bi
14 How then may they call on whom they did not believe? And how may they believe whom they did not hear? And how may they hear without preaching? 15 And how may they preach unless they are sent? As it has been written, “How beautiful the feet of those preaching the good news!”bj 16 But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who believed what he heard from us?”bk 17 So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.
18 But I say, did they not hear? Yes, they have,
“Their voice went out to all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.”bl
19 But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says,
“I will make you all jealous of those who are not a nation;
by a foolish nation, I will make you all angry.”bm
20 And Isaiah is so bold and says,
“I was found by those not seeking me;
I have shown myself to those not asking for me.”bn
21 But to Israel, he says, “The whole day I held out my hands to a disobedient and contradictory people.”bo
The Remnant of Israel
11 I say then, did God reject His people?bp By no means! For I also am an Israelite, an offspring of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject His people whom He foreknew. Or do you all not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they killed your prophets, they demolished your altars, and I am left alone, and they are seeking my soul.”bq 4 But what is the divine response to him? “I kept for myself seven thousand men who did not bow the knee to Baal.”br 5 So therefore in the present time, there is a remnant elected by grace. 6 But if by grace, it is longer by works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace. 7 What then? What Israel was seeking, this it did not obtain, but the elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it has been written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that do not see,
and ears that do not hear
until this very day.”bs
9 And David says,
“Their table be a snare and a trap,
and a stumbling block and a retribution for them,
10 their eyes be darkened not to see,
and bend their backs forever.”bt
Gentiles Grafted In
11 I say then, did they stumble in order that they might fall?bu By no means! But through their offense, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. 12 But if their offense means riches for the world, and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness mean!
13 But I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I glorify my ministry 14 if somehow I may provoke jealousy of my own flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what would their acceptance mean if not life from the dead? 16 But if the firstfruits are holy, so is the lump of dough, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogantbv towards the branches, but if you are arrogant, it is not you supporting the root, but the root supporting you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off in order that I may be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief, they were broken off, but you have stood in faith. Do not be high mindedbw, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. 22 Therefore, behold, the kindness and sovereignty of God: indeed severity towards those who have fallen, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continuebx in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.by 24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
The Mystery of Israel's Salvation
25 For I do not wish you all to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery in order that you all not bebz wise in your own eyes because a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. 26 And in this way, all of Israel will be saved, as it has been written,
“There will come out of Zion the Deliverer,
He will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
27 “and this will be my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”ca
28 Indeed, according to the Gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But according to election, they are beloved for the sake of their fathers. 29 For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you all at one time were disobedient to God but now received every mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they also now were disobedient to the mercy shown to you in order that they also now may receive mercy. 32 For God consigned all to disobedience in order that He may have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and how inscrutable are His ways!
34 “For who knew the mind of the Lord,
or who was His counselor?”cb
35 “Or who first gave to Him
and it will be repaid to him?”cc
36 Since from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory, forever. Amen.
A Living Sacrifice
12 I appeal to you all, therefore, brothers, by the merciescd of God, to present your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your logicalce service. 2 And do not conformcf to this age, but be metamorphasized by the renewing of your mind that you all discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Gifts of Grace
3 For I say, for the grace given to me to everyone among you all, not to think more highly than it is necessary to think, but to think soberly to each as God distributed a measure of faith. 4 For as in one body, we have many limbs, and the limbs do not all have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ and individually limbs of one another. 6 And having gifts, differing according to the grace given to us, whether prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 or service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who gives, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Marks of the True Christian
9 Let love be genuine. While detesting what is evil, be glued to what is good. 10 Cherish one another with brotherly love. Lead the way, showing honor to one another. 11 Do not be timid in zeal, be fervent in the Spirit while serving the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, endure in tribulation, be devoted in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursuing to show love to strangers.
14 Bless those persecuting you all, bless and do not cursecg them. 15 Rejoice with those rejoicing, weep with those weeping. 16 Live in harmonych with one another. Do not be high mindedci, but to the lowly, be humble. Do not be wisecj in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but consider in advance to do good before all men. 18 If possible, as it depends on you all, be peaceful with all Men. 19 Do not avenge yourselves beloved, but give place to wrath, for it has been written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”ck 20 But, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing so, you will heap burning coals upon his head.”cl 21 Do not be overcomecm by evil; overcome evil with good.
Submission to the Authorities
13 Every soul be submittedcn to governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those existing have been appointed by God. 2 Therefore, the one resisting the authority has resisted God's arrangement, and those having resisted will receive judgment on themselves. 3 For those ruling are not a terror to good works, but to bad. But you are wishing not to fear the one in authority. Do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword without cause. For he is a servant of God, an avenger of wrath to the one practicing wrong doing. 5 Therefore, one must be in submission, not only because of wrath, but also because of conscience. 6 For because of this, you all also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, fear to whom fear is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Fulfilling the Law Through Love
8 Owe no one anything except to love each other, for the one loving another has fulfilled the law. 9 For this, “You will not commit adultery, You will not murder, You will not steal, You will not covet,”co and any other commandment are summed up in this word, “You will love your neighbor as yourself.”cp 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
11 And this, knowing the time that the hour is now for you all to wake from sleep, for now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is near. Therefore, we should cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 We should walk properlycq as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and do not makecr plans for the flesh to gratify its lustscs.
Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another
14 And the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats vegetables. 3 Let the one who eats not despisect the one who does not eat, and let the one who does not eat not judgecu the one who eats, for God welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? He stands or falls before his own master. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 For one person judges one day better than another, and another judges all days alike. Let each be convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day observes it in honor of the Lord. And the one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, for he gives thanks to God, and the one who does not eat, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, if we live or we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end, Christ died and loved again in order that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you also despise your brother? For all will stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it has been written,
“As I live, says the Lord, that every knee will bow to me,
and every tongue will confess to God.”cv
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Do Not Cause Another to Stumble
13 No longer, therefore, should we judge one another but judge this, never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 And I know I have been persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, except it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not by your food destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore, do not let your good be blasphemedcw. 17 For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For the one serving Christ in this way is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then, we should pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding.
20 Do not for the sake of food destroycx the work of God. Everything indeed is clean, but it is wrong for a man through what he eats to make another stumble. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have in yourself, have before God. Blessed is the one not judging himself in what he approves. 23 But the one wavering, if he eats, has been condemned because the eating is not from faith. For whatever is not from faith is sin.cy
The Example of Christ
15 We are obligated, we who are capable, to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up. 3 For Christ also did not please Himself, but as it has been written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fall on me.”cz 4 For whatever was written before was written for our instruction, in order that through the endurance and through the consolation of the Scriptures, we might have hope. 5 But may the God of endurance and consolation give to you all to be like minded to one another, according to Christ Jesus 6 in order that together, with one voice, you all may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore, welcome one another as Christ welcomed you all for the glory of God.
Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles
8 For I say Christ has become a minister to the truth of God to confirm the promises of the fathers 9 and, to the Gentiles, to glorify God for His mercy. As it has been written,
“For this reason, I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and to your name, I will sing.”da
10 And again it says,
“Rejoice, Gentiles, with His people.”db
11 And again,
“Praise the Lord all you Gentiles,
and all the people commend Him.”dc
12 And again, Isaiah says,
“The root of Jesse will come,
even He who arises to rule the Gentiles,
in Him, the Gentiles will hope.”dd
13 And may the God of hope fill you all with all joy and peace in believing to make you all abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul the Minister to the Gentiles
14 But I have been satisfied, my brothers, even I myself about you all that you yourselves are full of goodness, have been filled with all knowledge, and are able to instruct one another. 15 But boldly, I wrote to you all on some points as a reminder to you all through the grace given to me by God, 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God in order that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptablede, after being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 Therefore, I have a reason to boast in Christ Jesus of my work to God. 18 For I do not dare to speak of anything except what Christ accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed 19 by power of signs and wonders by power of the Spirit of God — so that from Jerusalem and all the way to Illyricum, I have fulfilled the gospel of Christ, 20 and so I am ambitious to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, in order that I should not build on someone else's foundation, 21 but as it has been written,
“Those who were not told of Him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.”df
Paul's Plan to Visit Rome
22 And therefore I was frequently hindered to come to you all 23 but now, I no longer have a place in these regions, but I intensely longed to come to you all for many years. 24 As I go to Spain, for I hope in passing to see you all and to be helped there by you all once I enjoy your company for awhile. 25 But now, I am going to Jerusalem, bringing aid to the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For it was their pleasure, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles share their spiritual blessings, they are also indebted to serve them in material blessings. 28 Therefore, after completing this and sealing to them this fruitdg, I will leave through you all to Spain. 29 And I know that coming to you all, I will come in the fullness of the blessingdh of Christ.
30 I appeal to you all, brothers, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf 31 in order that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints 32 in order that, after coming to you all in joy through God's desire, I may be refreshed in you all. 33 And the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Personal Greetings
16 And I commend to you all our sister Phoebe, being also a servant of the church at Cenchreae 2 in order that you all may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and may help her in whatever things of yours she may need of, for she was also a patrondi of many and myself.
3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who, for my life, risked their necks to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 5 Also, greet the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruit of Asia into Christ. 6 Greet Mary, who worked much for you all. 7 Greet Andronicus and Juniadj, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known among the apostles, and they have been in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ and Stachys, my beloved. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greet my kinsmen Herodian. Greet those who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12 Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, those workers of the Lord. Greet the beloved Persistent, who worked much in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, the elect in the Lord and his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you all.
Final Instructions and Greetings
17 But I appeal to you all, brothers, to watch out for those causing divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine you all were taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons are not serving our Lord Christ but rather their own bellydk, and through smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. 19 For your obedience is known to all, therefore, I rejoice over you all, but I desire you all to be wise to what is good and innocent and to what is evil. 20 But the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet in haste. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you all.
21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you all — and Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.
22 I, Tertius, after writing this letter, greet you all in the Lord.
23 Gaius greets you all, who is my host, and of the whole church. Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you all and our brother Quartus.dl
Doxology
25 And to Him who is able to strengthen you all according to my gospel and preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mysterydm, having been kept secret for eternal time 26 but now appeared through the writings of the prophets according to the command of the eternal God, becoming known to all nations to bring about obedience of faith — 27 to the only wise God through Jesus Christ to whom be the glory forever! Amen.