1Paul, a servant[1] of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, (Ac 13:2; 1Co 1:1; 1Co 9:1; 2Co 1:1; Ga 1:10; Heb 5:4)2which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, (Lu 1:70; Ro 3:21; Ro 16:26; Tit 1:2)3concerning his Son, who was descended from David[2] according to the flesh (Mt 1:1; Ga 4:4)4and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, (Ac 10:38; Ac 13:33; Ac 26:23; 2Co 13:4; Eph 1:19; Php 3:10)5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, (Ac 1:25; Ac 6:7; Ac 9:15; Ro 6:16; Ro 12:3; Ro 15:15; Ro 15:18; Ro 16:26; 1Pe 1:2)6including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, (Ro 8:28; Ro 8:30; Re 17:14)7To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1Co 1:3)
Longing to Go to Rome
8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. (Ro 6:17; Ro 16:19; 1Co 1:4; Eph 1:15; Php 1:3; Php 4:6; Col 1:3; 1Th 1:8; 2Ti 1:3)9For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you (Ac 24:14; Ro 9:1; 2Co 1:23; 2Co 11:10; 2Co 11:31; Php 1:8; 1Th 2:5; 1Th 2:10; 2Ti 1:3)10always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. (Ro 15:32; 1Th 3:10)11For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— (Ac 19:21; Ro 15:22)12that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. (2Pe 1:1)13I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,[3] that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. (Joh 4:36; Ac 19:21; Ro 15:22; Php 4:17; 1Th 2:18)14I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians,[4] both to the wise and to the foolish. (Ac 28:2; 1Co 9:16)15So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (Ro 2:5; Ro 5:9; Eph 5:6; Col 3:6)19For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. (Ac 14:17; Ac 17:24; Ro 2:14)20For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,[7] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Ps 19:1; Jer 5:21)21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (2Ki 17:15; Jer 2:5; Eph 4:17)22Claiming to be wise, they became fools, (Jer 10:14; 1Co 1:20)23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (De 4:16; Ps 106:20; Jer 2:11; Ac 17:29; 1Ti 1:17)24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, (Ro 1:26; Ro 1:28; Eph 4:19; 1Th 4:4)25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (Isa 28:15; Isa 44:19; Jer 10:14; Am 2:4; Ro 9:5; 2Th 2:11)26For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; (Ro 1:24; Ro 1:28; Col 3:5; 1Th 4:5)27and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. (Le 18:22; Le 20:13)28And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. (Jer 6:30; Ro 1:24; Ro 1:26; Eph 5:4)29They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,31foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.32Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Lu 11:48; Ac 8:1; Ac 22:20; Ro 2:26; Ro 6:21; Ro 8:4; 1Co 13:6; 2Th 2:12)
Romans 1
New International Version
1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God –2the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures3regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life[1] was a descendant of David,4and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power[2] by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.5Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from[3] faith for his name’s sake.6And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.7To 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.
Paul’s longing to visit Rome
8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.9God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you10in 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.11I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong –12that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.13I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,[4] 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.14I am a debtor both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.16For 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.17For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,[5] just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’ (Hab 2:4)
God’s wrath against sinful humanity
18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain 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 what has been made, so that people are without excuse.21For 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.22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.25They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is for ever praised. Amen.26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.27In 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.28Furthermore, just as they did not think it worth while 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.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,30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;31they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.32Although 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 practise them.