“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
(Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
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 long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;
That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
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 am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
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.” – Romans 1 (KJV)
[a]Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised in advance through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. This gospel is about his Son—who in the flesh[b] was born a descendant of David, who in the spirit[c] of holiness was declared to be God’s powerful Son by his resurrection from the dead—Jesus Christ, our Lord. Through him we received grace and the call to be an apostle on behalf of his name, to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, including you, who were called by Jesus Christ.
To all those loved by God who are in Rome, called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ concerning all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. To be sure, God, whom I serve with my spirit by proclaiming the gospel of his Son, is my witness to how constantly I make mention of you. In all my prayers, I always ask if perhaps at last a way might be opened, if God wills, for me to come to you. I certainly long to see you, in order that I may deliver some spiritual gift to you, so that you are strengthened— that is, when I am with you, that we will be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, yours and also mine.
I do not want you to be unaware of the fact, brothers,[d] that I have often planned to come to you but have been prevented from doing so until now. I wanted to have some fruit among you in the same way as I did among the rest of the Gentiles. I have an obligation both to Greeks and non-Greeks,[e] to the wise and to the foolish. That is why I am eager to proclaim the gospel also to you who are in Rome.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes—to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed by faith, for faith,[f] just as it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.”[g]
Indeed, God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who try to suppress the truth by unrighteousness. This happens because what can be known about God is evident among them, because God made it evident among them. In fact, his invisible characteristics—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, because they are understood from the things he made. As a result, people are without excuse, because, even though they knew God, they did not honor him or give him thanks as God. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless heart was darkened.
Although they claim to be wise, they have become fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human, or like birds, four-footed animals, and crawling things. So, as they followed the sinful desires of their hearts, God handed them over to the impurity of degrading their own bodies among themselves. Such people have traded the truth about God for the lie, worshipping and serving the creation rather than the Creator, who is worthy of praise forever. Amen.
For this reason God handed them over to disgraceful passions. Even their females exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. And, in the same way, their males, after abandoning natural sexual relations with females, were consumed by their lust for one another. Males perform indecent acts with males and receive in themselves the penalty that is fitting for their perversion.
And since they did not consider it worthwhile to hold on to the true knowledge of God, God handed them over to a corrupted mind to do things that should never be done. They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarreling, deceit, and malice. They are gossipers, slanderers, God-haters, insolent mockers, arrogant boasters, and loudmouths. They dream up evil things. They disobey their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, and merciless. Even though they know God’s righteous decree that those who do these things are worthy of death, such people not only continue to do them, but also approve of others who continue to commit such sins. – Romans 1 (EHV)
Footnotes:
[a] Romans 1:1 The apostle Paul was the inspired writer of this letter to the Romans. He was writing to the Christians in Rome on his Third Missionary Journey (approximately the winter of 56–57 ad), while he was in Corinth. See Acts 20:2-3 and Romans 15:25-27.
[b] Romans 1:3 Here flesh is a reference to Christ’s state of humiliation. See 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 3:18.
[c] Romans 1:4 Here spirit is a reference to Christ’s state of exaltation. See 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 3:18.
[d] Romans 1:13 When context indicates it, the Greek word for brothers may refer to all fellow believers, male and female.
[e] Romans 1:14 Or barbarians
[f] Romans 1:17 Or from faith to faith, or by faith resulting in faith
[g] Romans 1:17 Habakkuk 2:4