Romans 1

Modern

Literal

Paul Greets the Saints in Rome

¹Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—

¹Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, a called apostle having been set apart for the gospel of God,

²the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,

²which He promised beforehand through His prophets in Holy Scriptures,

³regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh,

³concerning His Son, the One having come of the seed of David according to the flesh,

⁴and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

⁴the One having been determined the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord,

⁵Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

⁵through whom we received grace and apostleship for obedience of faith among all the Gentiles on behalf of His name,

⁶And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

⁶among whom are you also, called of Jesus Christ.

⁷To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷To all those being in Rome beloved of God, called saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Unashamed of the Gospel

⁸First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed all over the world.

⁸First indeed, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed in all the world.

⁹God, whom I serve with my spirit^a in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you

⁹For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, is my witness how unceasingly I make remembrance of you,

¹⁰in my prayers at all times, asking that now at last by God’s will I may succeed in coming to you.

¹⁰always upon my prayers, imploring if somehow now at last by the will of God I will make a prosperous journey to come to you.

¹¹For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,

¹¹For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, to your being strengthened,

¹²that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

¹²and, that is, to be encouraged together among you through the faith among one another, both of you and of me.

¹³I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, how often I planned to come to you (but have been prevented from visiting^a until now), in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

¹³Now I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that many times I purposed to come to you, and was prevented until the present, so that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among the other Gentiles.

¹⁴I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks,^a both to the wise and the foolish.

¹⁴I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to foolish.

¹⁵That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

¹⁵Thus, as to me, I am ready to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

¹⁶I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.

¹⁶For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone believing—both to Jew first, and to Greek.

¹⁷For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish,^a just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”^b

¹⁷For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it has been written: “And the righteous one will live by faith.”

God’s Wrath against Sin

¹⁸The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

¹⁸For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, suppressing the truth in unrighteousness,

¹⁹For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.

¹⁹because that which is known of God is manifest among them, for God has revealed it to them.

²⁰For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.

²⁰For from the creation of the world His invisible qualities, both His eternal power and divinity, are clearly seen, being understood by the things made, for them to be without excuse.

²¹For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.

²¹For having known God, not as God did they glorify Him, or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their foolish heart was darkened.

²²Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,

²²Professing to be wise, they became fools,

²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

²³and they changed the glory of the immortal God into the likeness of an image of mortal man and birds and quadrupeds and creeping things.

²⁴Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another.

²⁴Therefore God gave them up in the sinful desires of their hearts to uncleanness to dishonor their bodies among themselves,

²⁵They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise!^a Amen.

²⁵who changed the truth of God into falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the One having created, who is blessed to the ages! Amen.

²⁶For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.

²⁶Because of this, God gave up them to passions of dishonor. For even their females changed the natural use into that contrary to nature.

²⁷Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

²⁷And likewise also the males, having left the natural use of the female, were inflamed in their lust toward one another, males with males, working out shame and receiving back in themselves the recompense that was fitting of their error.

²⁸Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

²⁸And just as they did not see fit to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to an unfit mind, to do the things not being proper;

²⁹They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,

²⁹being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; gossips,

³⁰slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents.

³⁰slanderers, hateful to God, insolent, arrogant, boasters; inventors of evil, disobedient to parents;

³¹They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless.

³¹unintelligent, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;

³²Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.

³²who, having known the righteous decree of God that those practicing such things are worthy of death, not only are doing them, but also agree with those practicing them.