Salutation

1Paul, a slave ⁰of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, ¹having been set apart to the Gospel of God,

2which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures: ²

3concerning His Son, who became a physical descendant of David, ³

4who was established to be God's powerful Son (in accordance with Spirit of holiness ⁴) by resurrection from the dead ⁵—Jesus Christ our Lord—

5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to promote obedience of faith among all ethnic nations concerning His name ⁶

6(among these you also are called by Jesus Christ);

7to all the called saints ⁷who are in Rome, beloved of God: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and Sovereign Jesus Christ. ⁸

Paul has been hindered from visiting Rome

8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. ⁹

9Further, the God whom I serve with my spirit ¹⁰in the Gospel of His Son is my witness, how without ceasing I always remember you in my prayers,

10begging that perhaps now, at last, I may be prospered by the will of God to come to you. ¹¹

11For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established

12—that is, that I may be encouraged among you by our mutual faith, ¹²both yours and mine.

13I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), in order that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the rest of the Gentiles. ¹³

14I am a debtor ¹⁴both to Greeks and to non-Greeks, both to wise and to foolish.

15So, for my part, I am eager to preach the Gospel to you who are in Rome as well.

Faith

16I am not ashamed ¹⁵of the Gospel of Christ, ¹⁶because it is the power of God for the salvation of each one who believes ¹⁷(for the Jew first, then the Greek);

17because in it God's righteousness is revealed, from faith to faith; just as it is written: “The righteous one will live by faith.” ¹⁸

Unrighteousness

18Now the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven upon all ungodliness and unrighteousness of the people who suppress the truth by unrighteousness, ¹⁹

19precisely because what may be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them.

20Because His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, are clearly seen from the creation of the world, being understood from what has been made, so that they are inexcusable; ²⁰

21precisely because, knowing God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks; ²¹so their reasonings became worthless and their senseless hearts were darkened. ²²

22Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³

23and exchanged for themselves the glory of the incorruptible God for an image resembling a perishable man ²⁴—even birds and quadrupeds and reptiles!

24Therefore God also gave them up, through the cravings of their hearts for vileness, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves

25—they had exchanged the truth of God for the lie, ²⁵and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Depravity

26For this reason God gave them up ²⁶to degrading passions; in fact even their females exchanged the natural sexual function for that against nature;

27likewise also the males, abandoning the natural use of the female, were inflamed ²⁷in their lust toward one another, males committing the disgraceful act ²⁸with males, and receiving in themselves the due penalty ²⁹for their error.

28So precisely because they determined not to retain God in their knowledge, ³⁰God gave them up to a debased mind, to do wrong things:

29having been filled ³¹with all unrighteousness, fornication, ³²wickedness, greed, depravity; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity; gossips,

30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, braggarts, contrivers of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31senseless, faithless, hardhearted, intransigent, ³³unmerciful;

32who, knowing full well God's just sentence, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do them but also approve of other practitioners. ³⁴