To all in Rome who are dear to God and have been called to become Christ's People, From Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, who has been called to become an Apostle, and has been set apart to tell God's Good News.

declared to be the Son of God in power as to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead,??esus Christ our Lord,??5 through whom we have received grace and an apostleship for the obedience of the faith in all nations in behalf of his name,

By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

among whom you also, called, as you have been, to belong to Jesus Christ, are numbered:

All of you there in Rome [i.e., the church there] are also among such obedient believers. You are called Jesus Christ's [people], loved by God and called to be His holy people. May you have unearned favor and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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

For I have a strong desire to see you, and to give you some grace of the spirit, so that you may be made strong;

that is, to have mutual comfort among you, each by the faith which is in the other, both yours and mine.

Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

I have a duty to perform and a debt to pay both to Greeks and to barbarians [the cultured and the uncultured], both to the wise and to the foolish.

For which reason I have the desire, as far as I am able, to give the knowledge of the good news to you who are in Rome.

For I have no feeling of shame about the good news, because it is the power of God giving salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first, and then to the Greek.

In it God's way of uprightness is disclosed through faith and for faith, just as the Scripture says, "The upright will have life because of his faith."

For whatever is to be known of God is plain to them; God himself has made it plain ??20 for ever since the world was created, his invisible nature, his everlasting power and divine being, have been quite perceptible in what he has made. So they have no excuse.

For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse and without defense.

Though they knew God, they have not glorified him as God nor given thanks to him; they have turned to futile speculations till their ignorant minds grew dark.

They claimed to be wise, but they have become fools;

they have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the semblance of the likeness of mortal man, of birds, of quadrupeds, and of reptiles.

So, God allowed [or, abandoned] them to have the impure desires of their hearts, and to [practice] degrading behavior with their bodies among themselves.

That is why God has given them up to vile passions; their women have exchanged the natural function of sex for what is unnatural,

and in the same way the males have abandoned the natural use of women and flamed out in lust for one another, men perpetrating shameless acts with their own sex and getting in their own persons the due recompense of their perversity.

And even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;

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

they do not have any sense; they do not keep their promises; they fail to show natural affection; and they are merciless.

Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Therefore you have no excuse or justification, everyone of you who [hypocritically] judges and condemns others; for in passing judgment on another person, you condemn yourself, because you who judge [from a position of arrogance or self-righteousness] are habitually practicing the very same things [which you denounce].

and we have known that the judgment of God is according to truth, upon those practising such things.

Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God's kindness leads you to repentance?

Those who by persistently doing right strive for glory, honor, and immortality will have eternal life,

But to the ones who have selfish ambition [Note: Some translate these words "are contentious"] and refuse to obey the truth, but [instead] obey what is wrong, [God will bring] wrath, fury,

For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;

For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

For when the Gentiles, who have not a law, do, by nature, the things of the law, these who have not a law, are a law to themselves,

on the day when God judges what people have kept secret, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus.

But as for you who have the name of Jew, and are resting on the law, and take pride in God,

and [if you claim to] know His will and approve the things that are essential or have a sense of what is excellent, based on your instruction from the Law,

and have persuaded yourself that, as for you, you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,

an instructor of ignorant people, and a teacher of infants because you have the full content of knowledge and truth in the Law

Circumcision does indeed profit, if you obey the Law; but if you are a Law-breaker, the fact that you have been circumcised counts for nothing.

If those who have not circumcision keep the rules of the law, will it not be credited to them as circumcision?

Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps [the spirit of] the Law will judge you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, break the Law.

but it is the Jew, who is so inwardly, and it is the circumcision of the heart, according to the spiritual, not the literal sense, which have the approbation, I do not say of men, but of God.

So what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision?

There are all kinds of advantages! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the utterances of God.

For what? if some have not believed, shall their unbelief make the faith of God of none effect?

Let us not do evil so that good may come (a statement which we are falsely said by some to have made), because such behaviour will have its right punishment.

What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable; There is none that doeth good, no, not, so much as one:

Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

And the way of peace have they not known:

And we have known that as many things as the law saith, to those in the law it doth speak, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may come under judgment to God;

Because by the works of the law no man is able to have righteousness in his eyes, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

But now we have a righteousness of God disclosed apart from law altogether; it is attested by the Law and the prophets,

That is, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, to all those who have faith; and one man is not different from another,

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

And they may have righteousness put to their credit, freely, by his grace, through the salvation which is in Christ Jesus:

For God showed him publicly dying as a sacrifice of reconciliation to be taken advantage of through faith. This was to vindicate his own justice (for in his forbearance, God passed over men's former sins)??26 to vindicate his justice at the present time, and show that he is upright himself, and that he makes those who have faith in Jesus upright also.

[In doing this] God [also] demonstrated His justice [to people] of this present time, that He Himself is just and the One who makes the people right with Him who have faith in Jesus.

If God is one; and he will give righteousness because of faith to those who have circumcision, and through faith to those who have not circumcision.

What, then, shall we say Abraham our father, to have found, according to flesh?

For if Abraham was justified by actions, he would have had something to boast about though not before God.

Blessed they whose lawlessnesses have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered:

Is this blessing, then, for the circumcision only, or in the same way for those who have not circumcision? for we say that the faith of Abraham was put to his account as righteousness.

How, then, was it judged? when he had circumcision, or when he had it not? Not when he had it, but when he did not have it:

He received the sign of circumcision, a seal or confirmation of the righteousness which he had by faith while [he was still] uncircumcised—this was so that he would be the [spiritual] father of all who believe without being circumcised—so that righteousness would be credited to them,

for if they only who are of the law have right of possession, faith is made useless, and the promise becomes of no effect.

because the effect of the law is punishment: for if there had been no law, there could have been no transgression.

For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants -- not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Hoping in spite of hopeless circumstances, he believed that he would become "the father of many nations," just as he had been told: "This is how many descendants you will have."

And not being feeble in faith though his body seemed to him little better than dead (he being about a hundred years old) and Sarah was no longer able to have children:

And these words counted to him have not been written for him alone

But for us in addition, to whose account it will be put, if we have faith in him who made Jesus our Lord come back again from the dead,

Who was put to death for our evil-doing, and came to life again so that we might have righteousness.

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

And not only so, but let us have joy in our troubles: in the knowledge that trouble gives us the power of waiting;

Why, it is scarcely conceivable that any one would die for a simply just man, although for a good and lovable man perhaps some one, here and there, will have the courage even to lay down his life.

Therefore, by much more, [because we] have been declared righteous now by his blood, we will be saved through him from the wrath.

For if, being enemies, we have been reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much rather, having been reconciled, we shall be saved in the power of his life.

And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Yet Death reigned as king from Adam to Moses even over those who had not sinned, as Adam did, against Law. And in Adam we have a type of Him whose coming was still future.

But shall not the act of favour be as the offence? For if by the offence of one the many have died, much rather has the grace of God, and the free gift in grace, which is by the one man Jesus Christ, abounded unto the many.

As then through one trespass all men have come under condemnation, so through one act of righteousness all obtain the gift of righteousness unto life.

For as indeed by the disobedience of the one man the many have been constituted sinners, so also by the obedience of the one the many will be constituted righteous.

That, as sin had power in death, so grace might have power through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What shall we say, then? Should we continue sinning so that more of God's unearned favor will [have to] be shown?

Far be the thought. We who have died to sin, how shall we still live in it?

Are you ignorant that we, as many as have been baptised unto Christ Jesus, have been baptised unto his death?

We have been buried therefore with him by baptism unto death, in order that, even as Christ has been raised up from among the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also should walk in newness of life.

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him,

We know that Christ was raised from the dead, never to die again, because death does not have control over Him any longer.

Do not go on offering members of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness. But offer yourselves to God [in a decisive act] as those alive [raised] from the dead [to a new life], and your members [all of your abilities—sanctified, set apart] as instruments of righteousness [yielded] to God.

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

have ye not known that to whom ye present yourselves servants for obedience, servants ye are to him to whom ye obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?

But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

Now, having got your freedom from sin, ye have become bondmen to righteousness.

I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.