Romans 13
13
Submissiveness to Governing Authorities
1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God, and those which exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore, the one who opposes the authority has resisted the institution of God, and the ones who have resisted will incur judgment on themselves. 3 For the rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want, then, to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from him.* 4 For he is God’s servant to you for good. But if you do what is bad, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword without purpose. For he is God’s servant, an avenger for wrath to the one who practises evil. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to be subject, not only on account of the wrath, but also on account of the conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities* are God’s ministers, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 Give to all their dues: tax to whom tax is due,* revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, and honour to whom honour is due.
Love As The Fulfilment of the Law
8 Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another, for the one who loves the other has fulfilled the Law. 9 For this, “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal,* you shall not covet,”* and if any other commandment, is summed up in this word, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”* 10 Love does no evil against one's neighbour. Therefore, love is the fulfilment of the Law.
The Drawing Near of the Eschatological Day
11 And do* this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep. For now, our salvation is nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is nearly over,* and the day has drawn near. Therefore, let us put away the works of darkness and put on the weapons of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelries and drunkenness,* not in acts of sexual immorality and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,* and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil* its desires.
Notes
6 Greek they
7 The predicate adjective is due is supplied to the text grammatically for the purpose of clarification. It is repeated at three other times in this verse
9 Some ancient manuscripts insert the injunction “ You shall not bear false witness ” at this point
9 Quoted from Ex. 20:13-17
9 Quoted from Lev. 19:18
11 The imperative verb do is contextually supplied to the text for clarification
12 Greek advanced
13 Greek drunkennesses
14 One ancient Greek manuscript instead reads the Christ Jesus ; some manuscripts also vary by reading the Lord Jesus
14 The word fulfil is contextually supplied to the text for clarification
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Romans 13: AFINTLIT
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Romans 13
13
Submissiveness to Governing Authorities
1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God, and those which exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore, the one who opposes the authority has resisted the institution of God, and the ones who have resisted will incur judgment on themselves. 3 For the rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want, then, to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from him.* 4 For he is God’s servant to you for good. But if you do what is bad, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword without purpose. For he is God’s servant, an avenger for wrath to the one who practises evil. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to be subject, not only on account of the wrath, but also on account of the conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities* are God’s ministers, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 Give to all their dues: tax to whom tax is due,* revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, and honour to whom honour is due.
Love As The Fulfilment of the Law
8 Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another, for the one who loves the other has fulfilled the Law. 9 For this, “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal,* you shall not covet,”* and if any other commandment, is summed up in this word, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”* 10 Love does no evil against one's neighbour. Therefore, love is the fulfilment of the Law.
The Drawing Near of the Eschatological Day
11 And do* this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep. For now, our salvation is nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is nearly over,* and the day has drawn near. Therefore, let us put away the works of darkness and put on the weapons of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelries and drunkenness,* not in acts of sexual immorality and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,* and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil* its desires.
Notes
6 Greek they
7 The predicate adjective is due is supplied to the text grammatically for the purpose of clarification. It is repeated at three other times in this verse
9 Some ancient manuscripts insert the injunction “ You shall not bear false witness ” at this point
9 Quoted from Ex. 20:13-17
9 Quoted from Lev. 19:18
11 The imperative verb do is contextually supplied to the text for clarification
12 Greek advanced
13 Greek drunkennesses
14 One ancient Greek manuscript instead reads the Christ Jesus ; some manuscripts also vary by reading the Lord Jesus
14 The word fulfil is contextually supplied to the text for clarification
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).