Romans 1

The Gospel Exalted

1Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, #1:1 Lit a called apostlecalled as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning His Son, who was born of a #1:3 Lit seeddescendant of David according to the flesh, 4who was declared the Son of God with power according to the #1:4 Or spiritSpirit of holiness #1:4 Or as a result ofby the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5through whom we have received grace and apostleship #1:5 Lit for obedienceto bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles in behalf of His name, 6among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

7to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as #1:7 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s peoplesaints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ #1:8 Or concerning you all, that...for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the world. 9For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, 10always in my prayers requesting if perhaps now, at last by the will of God, I will succeed in coming to you. 11For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be #1:11 Or strengthenedestablished; 12that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also just as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14I am #1:14 Lit debtorunder obligation both to Greeks and to the #1:14 I.e., non-Hellenesuncultured, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed #1:17 Or byfrom faith to faith; as it is written: “#1:17 Or But the one who is righteous by faith shall liveBut the righteous one will live by faith.”

Unbelief and Its Consequences

18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth #1:18 Or byin unrighteousness, 19because that which is known about God is evident #1:19 Or amongwithin them; for God made it evident to them. 20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21For even though they knew God, they did not #1:21 Lit glorifyhonor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and #1:23 Or reptilescrawling creatures.

24Therefore God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25For they exchanged the truth of God for #1:25 Lit the liefalsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed #1:25 Lit unto the agesforever. Amen.

26For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged natural relations for that which is contrary to nature, 27and likewise the men, too, abandoned natural relations #1:27 Lit of the femalewith women and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing #1:27 Lit shamelessnessshameful acts and receiving in #1:27 Lit themselvestheir own persons the due penalty of their error.

28And just as they did not see fit #1:28 Lit to have God in knowledgeto acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper, 29people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are gossips, 30slanderers, #1:30 Or hateful to Godhaters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31without understanding, untrustworthy, unfeeling, and unmerciful; 32and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.

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Romans 1: NASB2020

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Romans 1

Greetings from Paul

1This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. 2God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. 3The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4and he was shown to be#1:4a Or and was designated. the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.#1:4b Or by the Spirit of holiness; or in the new realm of the Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through Christ, God has given us the privilege#1:5 Or the grace. and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

6And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people.

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

God’s Good News

8Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world. 9God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart#1:9 Or in my spirit. by spreading the Good News about his Son.

10One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. 11For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. 12When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.

13I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters,#1:13 Greek brothers. that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. 14For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world,#1:14 Greek to Greeks and barbarians. to the educated and uneducated alike. 15So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.

16For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.#1:16 Greek also the Greek. 17This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”#1:17 Or “The righteous will live by faith.” Hab 2:4.

God’s Anger at Sin

18But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.#1:18 Or who, by their wickedness, prevent the truth from being known. 19They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

21Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

24So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

28Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

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