Rom 1-3 | ESV | STEP | Paul , a servant of Christ Jesus , called to be an apostle , set apart for the gospel of God ,

1 Paul, ^aa servant ^{▼▼Or slave (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)} of Christ Jesus, ^ccalled to be an apostle, ^dset apart for the gospel of God, 2 which ^ehe promised beforehand ^fthrough his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, ^gwho was descended from David ^{▼▼Or who came from the offspring of David} ⁱaccording to the flesh 4 and ^jwas declared to be the Son of God ^kin power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom ^lwe have received grace and ^mapostleship ⁿto bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name ^oamong all the nations, 6 including you who are ^pcalled to belong to Jesus Christ,

7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

^qGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Longing to Go to Rome

8 First, ^rI thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, ^sbecause your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 ^tFor God is my witness, ^uwhom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, ^vthat without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow ^wby God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For ^xI long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged ^yby each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God’s family, the church} that ^aaI have often intended to come to you (but ^abthus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some ^acharvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 ^adI am under obligation both to Greeks and to ^aebarbarians, ^{▼▼That is, non-Greeks} both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

16 For ^agI am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is ^ahthe power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew ^aifirst and also to ^ajthe Greek. 17 For in it ^akthe righteousness of God is revealed ^alfrom faith for faith, ^{▼▼Or beginning and ending in faith} ^anas it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” ^{▼▼Or The one who by faith is righteous shall live}

God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

18 For ^apthe wrath of God ^aqis revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be ^arknown about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, ^ashave been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, ^{▼▼Or clearly perceived from the creation of the world} in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they ^aubecame futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 ^avClaiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and ^awexchanged the glory of ^axthe immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore ^ayGod gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to ^azthe dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for ^baa lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ^bbwho is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason ^bcGod gave them up to ^bddishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, ^bemen committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, ^bfGod gave them up to ^bga debased mind to do ^bhwhat ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know ^biGod’s righteous decree that those who practice such things ^bjdeserve to die, they not only do them but ^bkgive approval to those who practice them.

Romans 2

God’s Righteous Judgment

1 Therefore you have ^blno excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For ^bmin passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on ^bnthe riches of his kindness and ^boforbearance and ^bppatience, ^bqnot knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are ^brstoring up ^bswrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

6 ^btHe will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who ^buby patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking ^{▼▼Or contentious} and ^bwdo not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress ^bxfor every human being who does evil, the Jew ^byfirst and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and ^bzpeace for everyone who does good, ^cathe Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For ^cbGod shows no partiality.

God’s Judgment and the Law

12 For all who have sinned ^ccwithout the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For ^cdit is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, ^ceby nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is ^cfwritten on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 ^cgon that day when, ^chaccording to my gospel, God judges ^cithe secrets of men ^cjby Christ Jesus.

17 But if you call yourself a Jew and ^ckrely on the law and boast in God 18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself are ^cla guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law ^cmthe embodiment of ^cnknowledge and truth— 21 ^coyou then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you ^cprob temples? 23 You who ^cqboast in the law ^crdishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, ^csas it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed ^ctamong the Gentiles because of you.”

25 For circumcision indeed is of value ^cuif you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if ^cva man who is uncircumcised keeps ^cwthe precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded ^{▼▼Or counted} as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically ^{▼▼Or is by nature} uncircumcised but keeps the law ^czwill condemn you who have ^dathe written code ^{▼▼Or the letter} and circumcision but break the law. 28 For ^dcno one is a Jew ^ddwho is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one ^deinwardly, and ^dfcircumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. ^dgHis praise is not from man but from God.

Romans 3

God’s Righteousness Upheld

1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, ^dhthe Jews were entrusted with ^dithe oracles of God. 3 ^djWhat if some were unfaithful? ^dkDoes their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! ^dlLet God be true though ^dmevery one were a liar, as it is written,

^dn“That you may be justified in your words,
and prevail when you ^doare judged.”
5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict ^dpwrath on us? ( ^dqI speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could ^drGod judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, ^dswhy am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not ^dtdo evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

No One Is Righteous

9 What then? Are we Jews ^{▼▼Greek Are we} any better off? ^{▼▼Or at any disadvantage?} No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both ^dwJews and ^dxGreeks, are ^dyunder sin, 10 as it is written:

^dz“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
13 ^ea“Their throat is ^eban open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
^ec“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 ^ed“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 ^ee“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and ^efthe way of peace they have not known.”
18 ^eg“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever ^ehthe law says it speaks to those who are under the law, ^eiso that every mouth may be stopped, and ^ejthe whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For ^ekby works of the law no human being ^{▼▼Greek flesh} will be justified in his sight, since ^emthrough the law comes knowledge of sin.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith

21 But now ^enthe righteousness of God ^eohas been manifested apart from the law, although ^epthe Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God ^eqthrough faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. ^erFor there is no distinction: 23 for ^esall have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 ^etand are justified ^euby his grace as a gift, ^evthrough the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God ^ewput forward as ^exa propitiation ^eyby his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in ^ezhis divine forbearance he had passed over ^faformer sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 ^fbThen what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith ^fcapart from works of the law. 29 Or ^fdis God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since ^feGod is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and ^ffthe uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.