1 F rom Paul, a bond servant of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) called to be an apostle, (a special messenger) set apart to the Gospel (good news) of and from God,

¶ Paul, slave of Jesus, the Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God

2 W hich He promised in advance through His prophets in the sacred Scriptures—

(which he had promised before by his prophets in the holy scriptures)

3 r egarding His Son, Who as to the flesh (His human nature) was descended from David,

of his Son (who was born unto him of the seed of David according to the flesh,

4 A nd according to the Spirit of holiness was openly designated the Son of God in power by His resurrection from the dead, even Jesus Christ our Lord (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

who 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.

5 I t is through Him that we have received grace (God’s unmerited favor) and apostleship to promote obedience to the faith and make disciples for His name’s sake among all the nations,

By whom we have received the grace and the apostleship, to cause the faith to be obeyed among all the Gentiles in his name,

6 A nd this includes you, called of Jesus Christ and invited to belong to Him.

among whom ye are also the called of Jesus Christ;

7 T o all God’s beloved ones in Rome, called to be saints and designated for a consecrated life: Grace and spiritual blessing and peace be yours from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

to 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 F irst, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is made known to all the world and is commended everywhere.

¶ First, I thank my God through Jesus, the Christ, regarding you all, that your faith is preached in all the world.

9 F or God is my witness, Whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel and the good news of His Son, how incessantly I always mention you when at my prayers.

For 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,

10 I keep pleading that somehow by God’s will I may now at last prosper and come to you.

making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

11 F or I am yearning to see you, that I may impart and share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen and establish you;

For I long to see you that I may impart with you some spiritual gift to confirm you,

12 T hat is, that we may be mutually strengthened and encouraged and comforted by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

that is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

13 I want you to know, brethren, that many times I have planned and intended to come to you, though thus far I have been hindered and prevented, in order that I might have some fruit (some result of my labors) among you, as I have among the rest of the Gentiles.

Now 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.

14 B oth to Greeks and to barbarians (to the cultured and to the uncultured), both to the wise and the foolish, I have an obligation to discharge and a duty to perform and a debt to pay.

I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise.

15 S o, for my part, I am willing and eagerly ready to preach the Gospel to you also who are in Rome.

So, as much as in me is, I am ready to announce the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

16 F or I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Christ, for it is God’s power working unto salvation to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek,

¶ 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.

17 F or in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith.

For in him is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

18 F or God’s wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of men, who hold back the truth with injustice;

19 F or that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God has shown it to them.

¶ because that which is known of God is manifest to them; for God has showed it unto them.

20 F or ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So are without excuse,

For 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;

21 B ecause when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened.

because 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.

22 C laiming to be wise, they became fools.

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools

23 A nd by them the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God were exchanged for and represented by images, resembling mortal man and birds and beasts and reptiles.

and 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.

24 T herefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,

Therefore God also gave them over to the lusts of their own hearts for uncleanness, to contaminate their own bodies between themselves,

25 B ecause they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever! Amen (so be it).

who 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.

26 F or this reason God gave them over and abandoned them to vile affections and degrading passions. For their women exchanged their natural function for an unnatural and abnormal one,

For this cause God gave them up unto shameful affections, for even their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature;

27 A nd the men also turned from natural relations with women and were set ablaze (burning out, consumed) with lust for one another—men committing shameful acts with men and suffering in their own bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences and penalty of their wrong-doing and going astray, which was fitting retribution.

and 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.

28 A nd so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, God gave them over to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome,

And 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,

29 U ntil they were filled (permeated and saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, iniquity, grasping and covetous greed, and malice. full of envy and jealousy, murder, strife, deceit and treachery, ill will and cruel ways. secret backbiters and gossipers,

being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

30 S landerers, hateful to and hating God, full of insolence, arrogance, boasting; inventors of new forms of evil, disobedient and undutiful to parents.

backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31 w ithout understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless and loveless merciless.

without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, without mercy.

32 T hough they are fully aware of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.

Who 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.