Romans 1
1
1From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus.
God chose me to be an apostle, and he appointed me to preach the good news 2that he promised long ago by what his prophets said in the holy Scriptures. 3-4This good news is about his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ! As a human, he was from the family of David. But the Holy Spirit#1.3-4 the Holy Spirit: Or “his own spirit of holiness.” proved that Jesus is the powerful Son of God,#1.3-4 proved that Jesus is the powerful Son of God: Or “proved in a powerful way that Jesus is the Son of God.” because he was raised from death.
5Jesus was kind to me and chose me to be an apostle,#1.5 Jesus was kind to me and chose me to be an apostle: Or “Jesus was kind to us and chose us to be his apostles.” so that people of all nations would obey and have faith. 6You are some of those people chosen by Jesus Christ.
7This letter is to all of you in Rome. God loves you and has chosen you to be his very own people.
I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!
A Prayer of Thanks
8First, I thank God in the name of Jesus Christ for all of you. I do this because people everywhere in the world are talking about your faith. 9God has seen how I never stop praying for you, while I serve him with all my heart and tell the good news about his Son.
10In all my prayers, I ask God to make it possible for me to visit you. 11I want to see you and share with you the same blessings that God's Spirit has given me. Then you will grow stronger in your faith. 12What I am saying is that we can encourage each other by the faith that is ours.
13 #
Ac 19.21. My friends, I want you to know that I have often planned to come for a visit. But something has always kept me from doing it. I want to win followers to Christ in Rome, as I have done in many other places. 14-15It doesn't matter if people are civilized and educated, or if they are uncivilized and uneducated. I must tell the good news to everyone. That's why I am eager to visit all of you in Rome.
The Power of the Good News
16 #
Mk 8.38. I am proud of the good news! It is God's powerful way of saving all people who have faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 17#Hb 2.4. The good news tells how God accepts everyone who has faith, but only those who have faith.#1.17 but only those who have faith: Or “and faith is all that matters.” It is just as the Scriptures say, “The people God accepts because of their faith will live.”#1.17 The people God accepts because of their faith will live: Or “The people God accepts will live because of their faith.”
Everyone Is Guilty
18From heaven God shows how angry he is with all the wicked and evil things that sinful people do to crush the truth. 19They know everything that can be known about God, because God has shown it all to them. 20#Ws 13.1-9; Si 17.8. God's eternal power and character cannot be seen. But from the beginning of creation, God has shown what these are like by all he has made. That's why those people don't have any excuse. 21#Eph 4.17,18. They know about God, but they don't honor him or even thank him. Their thoughts are useless, and their stupid minds are in the dark. 22They claim to be wise, but they are fools. 23#Dt 4.16-18; Ws 11.15; 12.24; 13.10-19. They don't worship the glorious and eternal God. Instead, they worship idols that are made to look like humans who cannot live forever, and like birds, animals, and reptiles.
24So God let these people go their own way. They did what they wanted to do, and their filthy thoughts made them do shameful things with their bodies. 25They gave up the truth about God for a lie, and they worshiped God's creation instead of God, who will be praised forever. Amen.
26God let them follow their own evil desires. Women no longer wanted to have sex in a natural way, and they did things with each other that were not natural. 27Men behaved in the same way. They stopped wanting to have sex with women and had strong desires for sex with other men. They did shameful things with each other, and what has happened to them is punishment for their foolish deeds.
28 #
3 Macc 4.16; 4 Macc 1.20,21. Since these people refused even to think about God, he let their useless minds rule over them. That's why they do all sorts of indecent things. 29They are evil, wicked, and greedy, as well as mean in every possible way. They want what others have, and they murder, argue, cheat, and are hard to get along with. They gossip, 30say cruel things about others, and hate God. They are proud, conceited, and boastful, always thinking up new ways to do evil.
These people don't respect their parents. 31They are stupid, unreliable, and don't have any love or pity for others. 32They know God has said that anyone who acts this way deserves to die. But they keep on doing evil things, and they even encourage others to do them.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Romans 1
1
Romans 1
1¶ Paul, slave of Jesus, the Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God
2(which he had promised before by his prophets in the holy scriptures)
3of his Son (who was born unto him of the seed of David according to the flesh,
4who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of sanctification, by the resurrection from the dead), of Jesus, the Christ, our Lord.
5By whom we have received the grace and the apostleship, to cause the faith to be obeyed among all the Gentiles in his name,
6among whom ye are also the called of Jesus Christ;
7to all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints; ye have grace and peace of God our Father and of the Lord Jesus, the Christ.
8¶ First, I thank my God through Jesus, the Christ, regarding you all, that your faith is preached in all the world.
9For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I always remember you in my prayers,
10making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
11For I long to see you that I may impart with you some spiritual gift to confirm you,
12that is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
13Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that many times I purposed to come unto you (but up until now I have been unable) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
14I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise.
15So, as much as in me is, I am ready to announce the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
16¶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of the Christ; for it is the power of God to give saving health to every one that believes: to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17For in him is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of men, who hold back the truth with injustice;
19¶ because that which is known of God is manifest to them; for God has showed it unto them.
20For the invisible things of him, his eternal power and divinity, are clearly understood by the creation of the world and by the things that are made so that there is no excuse;
21because having known God, they did not glorify him as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools
23and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man and of birds and of fourfooted beasts and of serpents.
24Therefore God also gave them over to the lusts of their own hearts for uncleanness, to contaminate their own bodies between themselves,
25who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for all ages. Amen.
26For this cause God gave them up unto shameful affections, for even their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature;
27and likewise also the males, leaving the natural use of the females, burned in their lust one toward another, males with males committing nefarious works and receiving in themselves the recompense that proceeded from their error.
28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a perverse understanding, to do those things which are not convenient,
29being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, without mercy.
32Who having understood the righteousness of God, they did not understand that those who do such things are worthy of death, not only those that do the same, but even those who encourage those that do them.
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International