New Living Translation

New International Version

Greetings from Paul

This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News.

1

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

2

God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.

2

the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures

3

The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line,

3

regarding his Son, who as to his earthly lifea was a descendant of David,

4

and he was shown to bea the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.b He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

4

and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in powerb by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

5

Through Christ, God has given us the privilegec and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

5

Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes fromc faith for his name’s sake.

6

And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.

6

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

7

I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people.
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

7

To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

8

God’s Good News

Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world.

8

Paul’s Longing to Visit Rome

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

9

God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heartd by spreading the Good News about his Son.

9

God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you

10

One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you.

10

in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

11

For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord.

11

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong —

12

When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.

12

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

13

I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters,e that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles.

13

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,d that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

14

For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world,f to the educated and uneducated alike.

14

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

15

So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.

15

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

16

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes — the Jew first and also the Gentile.g

16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

17

This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”h

17

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed — a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,e just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”f

18

God’s Anger at Sin

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.i

18

God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity

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

19

They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.

19

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

20

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

20

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

21

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.

21

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

22

Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.

22

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools

23

And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

23

and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

24

So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.

24

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.

25

They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

25

They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen.

26

That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other.

26

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.

27

And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

27

In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28

Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.

28

Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.

29

Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.

29

They 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,

30

They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.

30

slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;

31

They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.

31

they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.

32

They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

32

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

Parallel

New Living Translation

New International Version

Romans 1

Romans 1