Romans 1

Romans 2

Theos Will Judge Everyone

¹No matter who you are, if you judge anyone, you have no excuse. When you judge another person, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things. ²We know that Theos’s judgment is right when he condemns people for doing these things. ³When you judge people for doing these things but then do them yourself, do you think you will escape Theos’s judgment? ⁴Do you have contempt for Theos, who is very kind to you, puts up with you, and deals patiently with you? Don’t you realize that it is Theos’s kindness that is trying to lead you to him and change the way you think and act?

⁵Since you are stubborn and don’t want to change the way you think and act, you are adding to the anger that Theos will have against you on that day when Theos vents his anger. At that time Theos will reveal that his decisions are fair. ⁶He will pay all people back for what they have done. ⁷He will give everlasting life to those who search for glory, honor, and immortality by persisting in doing what is good. But he will bring ⁸anger and fury on those who, in selfish pride, refuse to believe the truth and who follow what is wrong. ⁹There will be suffering and distress for every person who does evil, for Jews first and Greeks as well. ¹⁰But there will be glory, honor, and peace for every person who does what is good, for Jews first and Greeks as well. ¹¹Theos does not play favorites.

¹²Here’s the reason: Whoever sins without having the laws in Moses’ Teachings will still be condemned to destruction. And whoever has these laws from Theos and sins will still be judged by them. ¹³People who merely listen to the laws in Moses’ Teachings don’t have Theos’s approval. Rather, people who do what those laws demand will have Theos’s approval.

Theos Will Judge People Who Are Not Jewish

¹⁴For example, whenever non-Jews who don’t have the laws in Moses’ Teachings do by nature the things that those laws contain, they are a law to themselves even though they don’t have any of those laws. ¹⁵They show that some requirements found in Moses’ Teachings are written in their hearts. Their consciences speak to them. Their thoughts accuse them on one occasion and defend them on another. ¹⁶This happens as they face the day when Theos, through Christ Jesus, will judge people’s secret thoughts. He will use the Good News that I am spreading to make that judgment.

Theos Will Judge Jewish People

¹⁷You call yourself a Jew, rely on the laws in Moses’ Teachings, brag about your Theos, ¹⁸know what he wants, and distinguish right from wrong because you have been taught Moses’ Teachings. ¹⁹You are confident that you are a guide for the blind, a light to those in the dark, ²⁰an instructor of ignorant people, and a teacher of children because you have the full content of knowledge and truth in Moses’ Teachings. ²¹As you teach others, are you failing to teach yourself? As you preach against stealing, are you stealing? ²²As you tell others not to commit adultery, are you committing adultery? As you treat idols with disgust, are you robbing temples? ²³As you brag about the laws in Moses’ Teachings, are you dishonoring Theos by ignoring those laws? ²⁴As Scripture says, “Theos’s name is cursed among the nations because of you.”

²⁵For example, circumcision is valuable if you follow the laws in Moses’ Teachings. If you don’t follow those laws, your circumcision amounts to uncircumcision. ²⁶So if a man does what those laws demand, won’t he be considered circumcised even if he is uncircumcised? ²⁷The uncircumcised man who carries out what those laws say will condemn you for not following them. He will condemn you in spite of the fact that you are circumcised and have those laws in writing. ²⁸A person is not a Jew because of his appearance, nor is circumcision a matter of how the body looks. ²⁹Rather, a person is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is something that happens in a person’s heart. Circumcision is spiritual, not just a written rule. That person’s praise will come from Theos, not from people.

Romans 3

Everyone Is a Sinner

¹Is there any advantage, then, in being a Jew? Or is there any value in being circumcised? ²There are all kinds of advantages. First of all, Theos entrusted them with his word.

³What if some of them were unfaithful? Can their unfaithfulness cancel Theos’s faithfulness? ⁴That would be unthinkable! Theos is honest, and everyone else is a liar, as Scripture says,

“So you hand down justice when you speak,
and you win your case in court.”

⁵But if what we do wrong shows that Theos is fair, what should we say? Is Theos unfair when he vents his anger on us? (I’m arguing the way humans would.) ⁶That’s unthinkable! Otherwise, how would Theos be able to judge the world? ⁷If my lie increases the glory that Theos receives by showing that Theos is truthful, why am I still judged as a sinner? ⁸Or can we say, “Let’s do evil so that good will come from it”? Some slander us and claim that this is what we say. They are condemned, and that’s what they deserve.

⁹What, then, is the situation? Do we have any advantage? Not at all. We have already accused everyone (both Jews and Greeks) of being under the power of sin, ¹⁰as Scripture says,

“Not one person has Theos’s approval.
11 No one understands.
No one searches for Theos.
12 Everyone has turned away.
Together they have become rotten to the core.
No one does anything good,
not even one person.
13 Their throats are open graves.
Their tongues practice deception.
Their lips hide the venom of poisonous snakes.
14 Their mouths are full of curses and bitter resentment.
15 They run quickly to murder people.
16 There is ruin and suffering wherever they go.
17 They have not learned to live in peace.
18 They are not terrified of Theos.”

¹⁹We know that whatever the Scriptures say applies to everyone under their influence, and no one can say a thing. The whole world is brought under the judgment of Theos. ²⁰Not one person can have Theos’s approval by any effort to follow the laws in the Scriptures. These laws show what sin is.

Theos Gives Us His Approval as a Gift

²¹Now, the way to receive Theos’s approval has been made plain in a way other than the laws in the Scriptures. Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets tell us this. ²²Everyone who believes has Theos’s approval through faith in Jesus Christ.

There is no difference between people. ²³Because all people have sinned, they have fallen short of Theos’s glory. ²⁴They receive Theos’s approval freely by an act of his kindness (Or “grace.”) through the price Christ Jesus paid to set us free ⌞from sin⌟. ²⁵Theos showed that Christ is the throne of mercy where Theos’s approval is given through faith in Christ’s blood. In his patience Theos waited to deal with sins committed in the past. ²⁶He waited so that he could display his approval at the present time. This shows that he is a Theos of justice, a Theos who approves of people who believe in Jesus.

²⁷So, do we have anything to brag about? Bragging has been eliminated. On what basis was it eliminated? On the basis of our own efforts? No, indeed! Rather, it is eliminated on the basis of faith. ²⁸We conclude that a person has Theos’s approval by faith, not by his own efforts.

²⁹Is Theos only the Theos of the Jews? Isn’t he also the Theos of people who are not Jewish? Certainly, he is, ³⁰since it is the same Theos who approves circumcised people by faith and uncircumcised people through this same faith.

³¹Are we abolishing the laws in the Scriptures by this faith? That’s unthinkable! Rather, we are supporting these laws.

Romans 4

We Have Theos’s Approval by Faith

¹What can we say that we have discovered about our ancestor Abraham? ²If Abraham had Theos’s approval because of something he did, he would have had a reason to brag. But he could not brag to Theos about it. ³What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed Theos, and that faith was regarded as the basis of Abraham’s approval by Theos.”

⁴When people work, their pay is not regarded as a gift but something they have earned. ⁵However, when people don’t work but believe Theos, the one who approves ungodly people, their faith is regarded as the basis of Theos’s approval. ⁶David says the same thing about those who are blessed: Theos approves of people without their earning it. David said,

7 “Blessed are those whose disobedience is forgiven
and whose sins are pardoned.
8 Blessed is the person whom the Lord no longer considers sinful.”

⁹Are only the circumcised people blessed, or are uncircumcised people blessed as well? We say, “Abraham’s faith was regarded as the basis of Theos’s approval.” ¹⁰How was his faith regarded as the basis of Theos’s approval? Was he circumcised or was he uncircumcised at that time? He had not been circumcised. ¹¹Abraham’s faith was the basis of his approval by Theos while he was still uncircumcised. The mark of circumcision is the seal of that approval. Therefore, he is the father of every believer who is not circumcised, and their faith, too, is regarded as the basis of their approval by Theos. ¹²He is also the father of those who not only are circumcised but also are following in the footsteps of his faith. Our father Abraham had that faith before he was circumcised.

¹³So it was not by obeying the laws in Moses’ Teachings that Abraham or his descendants received the promise that he would inherit the world. Rather, he received this promise through Theos’s approval that comes by faith. ¹⁴If those who obey Moses’ Teachings are the heirs, then faith is useless and the promise is worthless. ¹⁵The laws in Moses’ Teachings bring about anger. But where those laws don’t exist, they can’t be broken. ¹⁶Therefore, the promise is based on faith so that it can be a gift. (Or “grace.”) Consequently, the promise is guaranteed for every descendant, not only for those who are descendants by obeying Moses’ Teachings but also for those who are descendants by believing as Abraham did. He is the father of all of us, ¹⁷as Scripture says: “I have made you a father of many nations.”

Abraham believed when he stood in the presence of the Theos who gives life to dead people and calls into existence things that don’t even exist. ¹⁸When there was nothing left to hope for, Abraham still hoped and believed. As a result, he became a father of many nations, as he had been told: “That is how many descendants you will have.” ¹⁹Abraham didn’t weaken. Through faith he regarded the facts: His body was already as good as dead now that he was about a hundred years old, and Sarah was unable to have children. ²⁰He didn’t doubt Theos’s promise out of a lack of faith. Instead, giving honor to Theos ⌞for the promise⌟, he became strong because of faith ²¹and was absolutely confident that Theos would do what he promised. ²²That is why Abraham’s faith was regarded as the basis of his approval by Theos.

²³But the words “his faith was regarded as the basis of his approval by Theos” were written not only for him ²⁴but also for us. Our faith will be regarded as the basis of our approval by Theos—each of us who believe in the one who brought Jesus, our Lord, back to life. ²⁵Jesus, our Lord, was handed over to death because of our failures and was brought back to life so that we could receive Theos’s approval.

Romans 5

We Are at Peace with Theos because of Jesus

¹Now that we have Theos’s approval by faith, we have peace with Theos because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done. ²Through Christ we can approach Theos (Some manuscripts read “we can approach Theos through faith.”) and stand in his favor. (Or “grace.”) So we brag because of our confidence that we will receive glory from Theos. ³But that’s not all. We also brag when we are suffering. We know that suffering creates endurance, ⁴endurance creates character, and character creates confidence. ⁵We’re not ashamed to have this confidence, because Theos’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (pneuma), who has been given to us.

⁶Look at it this way: At the right time, while we were still helpless, Christ died for ungodly people. ⁷Finding someone who would die for a godly person is rare. Maybe someone would have the courage to die for a good person. ⁸Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates Theos’s love for us.

⁹Since Christ’s blood has now given us Theos’s approval, we are even more certain that Christ will save us from Theos’s anger. ¹⁰If the death of his Son restored our relationship with Theos while we were still his enemies, we are even more certain that, because of this restored relationship, the life of his Son will save us. ¹¹In addition, our Lord Jesus Christ lets us continue to brag about Theos. After all, it is through Christ that we now have this restored relationship with Theos.

A Comparison between Adam and Christ

¹²Sin came into the world through one person, and death came through sin. So death spread to everyone, because everyone sinned. ¹³Sin was in the world before there were any laws. But no record of sin can be kept when there are no laws. ¹⁴Yet, death ruled from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin in the same way Adam did when he disobeyed. Adam is an image of the one who would come.

¹⁵There is no comparison between ⌞Theos’s⌟ gift and ⌞Adam’s⌟ failure. If humanity died as the result of one person’s failure, it is certainly true that Theos’s kindness (Or “grace.”) and the gift given through the kindness of one person, Jesus Christ, have been showered on humanity.

¹⁶There is also no comparison between ⌞Theos’s⌟ gift and the one who sinned. The verdict which followed one person’s failure condemned everyone. But, even after many failures, the gift brought Theos’s approval. ¹⁷It is certain that death ruled because of one person’s failure. It’s even more certain that those who receive Theos’s overflowing kindness and the gift of his approval will rule in life because of one person, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸Therefore, everyone was condemned through one failure, and everyone received Theos’s life-giving approval through one verdict. ¹⁹Clearly, through one person’s disobedience humanity became sinful, and through one person’s obedience humanity will receive Theos’s approval. ²⁰The laws in Moses’ Teachings were added to increase the failure. But where sin increased, Theos’s kindness increased even more. ²¹As sin ruled by bringing death, Theos’s kindness would rule by bringing us his approval. This results in our living forever because of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6

No Longer Slaves to Sin, but Theos’s Servants

¹What should we say then? Should we continue to sin so that Theos’s kindness (Or “grace.”) will increase? ²That’s unthinkable! As far as sin is concerned, we have died. So how can we still live under sin’s influence?

³Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴When we were baptized into his death, we were placed into the tomb with him. As Christ was brought back from death to life by the glorious power of the Father, so we, too, should live a new kind of life. ⁵If we’ve become united with him in a death like his, certainly we will also be united with him when we come back to life as he did. ⁶We know that the person we used to be was crucified with him to put an end to sin in our bodies. Because of this we are no longer slaves to sin. ⁷The person who has died has been freed from sin.

⁸If we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹We know that Christ, who was brought back to life, will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. ¹⁰When he died, he died once and for all to sin’s power. But now he lives, and he lives for Theos. ¹¹So consider yourselves dead to sin’s power but living for Theos in the power Christ Jesus gives you.

¹²Therefore, never let sin rule your physical body so that you obey its desires. ¹³Never offer any part of your body to sin’s power. No part of your body should ever be used to do any ungodly thing. Instead, offer yourselves to Theos as people who have come back from death and are now alive. Offer all the parts of your body to Theos. Use them to do everything that Theos approves of. ¹⁴Certainly, sin shouldn’t have power over you because you’re not controlled by Theos’s laws, but by Theos’s favor. (Or “grace.”)

¹⁵Then what is the implication? Should we sin because we are not controlled by Theos’s laws but by Theos’s favor? That’s unthinkable! ¹⁶Don’t you know that if you offer to be someone’s slave, you must obey that master? Either your master is sin, or your master is obedience. Letting sin be your master leads to death. Letting obedience be your master leads to Theos’s approval. ¹⁷You were slaves to sin. But I thank Theos that you have become wholeheartedly obedient to the teachings which you were given. ¹⁸Freed from sin, you were made slaves who do what Theos approves of.

¹⁹I’m speaking in a human way because of the weakness of your corrupt nature. Clearly, you once offered all the parts of your body as slaves to sexual perversion and disobedience. This led you to live disobedient lives. Now, in the same way, offer all the parts of your body as slaves that do what Theos approves of. This leads you to live holy lives. ²⁰When you were slaves to sin, you were free from doing what Theos approves of.

²¹What did you gain by doing those things? You’re ashamed of what you used to do because it ended in death. ²²Now you have been freed from sin and have become Theos’s slaves. This results in a holy life and, finally, in everlasting life. ²³The payment for sin is death, but the gift that Theos freely gives is everlasting life found in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 7

¹Don’t you realize, brothers and sisters, that laws have power over people only as long as they are alive? (I’m speaking to people who are familiar with Moses’ Teachings.) ²For example, a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he is alive. But if her husband dies, that marriage law is no longer in effect for her. ³So if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she will be called an adulterer. But if her husband dies, she is free from this law, so she is not committing adultery if she marries another man.

⁴In the same way, brothers and sisters, you have died to the laws in Moses’ Teachings through Christ’s body. You belong to someone else, the one who was brought back to life.

As a result, we can do what Theos wants. ⁵While we were living under the influence of our corrupt nature, sinful passions were at work throughout our bodies. Stirred up by the laws in Moses’ Teachings, our sinful passions did things that result in death. ⁶But now we have died to those laws that bound us. Theos has broken their effect on us so that we are serving in a new spiritual way, not in an old way dictated by written words.

Moses’ Laws Show What Sin Is

⁷What should we say, then? Are the laws in Moses’ Teachings sinful? That’s unthinkable! In fact, I wouldn’t have recognized sin if those laws hadn’t shown it to me. For example, I wouldn’t have known that some desires are sinful if Moses’ Teachings hadn’t said, “Never have wrong desires.” ⁸But sin took the opportunity provided by this commandment and made me have all kinds of wrong desires. Clearly, without laws sin is dead. ⁹At one time I was alive without any laws. But when this commandment came, sin became alive ¹⁰and I died. I found that the commandment which was intended to bring me life actually brought me death. ¹¹Sin, taking the opportunity provided by this commandment, deceived me and then killed me.

¹²So the laws in Moses’ Teachings are holy, and the commandment is holy, right, and good. ¹³Now, did something good cause my death? That’s unthinkable! Rather, my death was caused by sin so that sin would be recognized for what it is. Through a commandment sin became more sinful than ever.

Theos’s Standards Are at War with Sin’s Standards

¹⁴I know that Theos’s standards in Moses’ Teachings are spiritual, but I have a corrupt nature, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵I don’t realize what I’m doing. I don’t do what I want to do. Instead, I do what I hate. ¹⁶I don’t do what I want to do, but I agree that Theos’s standards are good. ¹⁷So I am no longer the one who is doing the things I hate, but sin that lives in me is doing them.

¹⁸I know that nothing good lives in me; that is, nothing good lives in my corrupt nature. Although I have the desire to do what is right, I don’t do it. ¹⁹I don’t do the good I want to do. Instead, I do the evil that I don’t want to do. ²⁰Now, when I do what I don’t want to do, I am no longer the one who is doing it. Sin that lives in me is doing it.

²¹So I’ve discovered this truth: Evil is present with me even when I want to do what Theos’s standards say is good. ²²I take pleasure in Theos’s standards in my inner being. ²³However, I see a different standard ⌞at work⌟ throughout my body. It is at war with the standards my mind sets and tries to take me captive to sin’s standards which still exist throughout my body. ²⁴What a miserable person I am! Who will rescue me from my dying body? ²⁵I thank Theos that our Lord Jesus Christ rescues me! So I am obedient to Theos’s standards with my mind, but I am obedient to sin’s standards with my corrupt nature.

Romans 8

Theos’s Spirit (pneuma) Makes Us His Children

¹So those who are believers in Christ Jesus can no longer be condemned. ²The standards of the Spirit (pneuma), who gives life through Christ Jesus, have set you free from the standards of sin and death. ³It is impossible to do what Theos’s standards demand because of the weakness our human nature has. But Theos sent his Son to have a human nature as sinners have and to pay for sin. That way Theos condemned sin in our corrupt nature. ⁴Therefore, we, who do not live by our corrupt nature but by our spiritual nature, are able to meet Theos’s standards in Moses’ Teachings.

⁵Those who live by the corrupt nature have the corrupt nature’s attitude. But those who live by the spiritual nature have the spiritual nature’s attitude. ⁶The corrupt nature’s attitude leads to death. But the spiritual nature’s attitude leads to life and peace. ⁷This is so because the corrupt nature has a hostile attitude toward Theos. It refuses to place itself under the authority of Theos’s standards because it can’t. ⁸Those who are under the control of the corrupt nature can’t please Theos. ⁹But if Theos’s Spirit (pneuma) lives in you, you are under the control of your spiritual nature, not your corrupt nature.

Whoever doesn’t have the Spirit (pneuma) of Christ doesn’t belong to him. ¹⁰However, if Christ lives in you, your bodies are dead because of sin, but your spirits are alive because you have Theos’s approval. ¹¹Does the Spirit (pneuma) of the one who brought Jesus back to life live in you? Then the one who brought Christ back to life will also make your mortal bodies alive by his Spirit (pneuma) who lives in you.

¹²So, brothers and sisters, we have no obligation to live the way our corrupt nature wants us to live. ¹³If you live by your corrupt nature, you are going to die. But if you use your spiritual nature to put to death the evil activities of the body, you will live. ¹⁴Certainly, all who are guided by Theos’s Spirit (pneuma) are Theos’s children. ¹⁵You haven’t received the spirit (pneuma) of slaves that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the spirit (pneuma) of Theos’s adopted children by which we call out, “Abba! (Abba is Aramaic for “father.”) Father!” ¹⁶The Spirit (pneuma) himself testifies with our spirit (pneuma) that we are Theos’s children. ¹⁷If we are his children, we are also Theos’s heirs. If we share in Christ’s suffering in order to share his glory, we are heirs together with him.

Theos’s Spirit (pneuma) Helps Us

¹⁸I consider our present sufferings insignificant compared to the glory that will soon be revealed to us. ¹⁹All creation is eagerly waiting for Theos to reveal who his children are. ²⁰Creation was subjected to frustration but not by its own choice. The one who subjected it to frustration did so in the hope ²¹that it would also be set free from slavery to decay in order to share the glorious freedom that the children of Theos will have. ²²We know that all creation has been groaning with the pains of childbirth up to the present time.

²³However, not only creation groans. We, who have the Spirit (pneuma) as the first of Theos’s gifts, also groan inwardly. We groan as we eagerly wait for our adoption, the freeing of our bodies ⌞from sin⌟. ²⁴We were saved with this hope in mind. If we hope for something we already see, it’s not really hope. Who hopes for what can be seen? ²⁵But if we hope for what we don’t see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

²⁶At the same time the Spirit (pneuma) also helps us in our weakness, because we don’t know how to pray for what we need. But the Spirit (pneuma) intercedes along with our groans that cannot be expressed in words. ²⁷The one who searches our hearts knows what the Spirit (pneuma) has in mind. The Spirit (pneuma) intercedes for Theos’s people the way Theos wants him to.

Nothing Can Separate Us from Theos’s Love

²⁸We know that all things work together for the good of those who love Theos—those whom he has called according to his plan. ²⁹This is true because he already knew his people and had already appointed them to have the same form as the image of his Son. Therefore, his Son is the firstborn among many children. ³⁰He also called those whom he had already appointed. He approved of those whom he had called, and he gave glory to those whom he had approved of.

³¹What can we say about all of this? If Theos is for us, who can be against us? ³²Theos didn’t spare his own Son but handed him over ⌞to death⌟ for all of us. So he will also give us everything along with him. ³³Who will accuse those whom Theos has chosen? Theos has approved of them. ³⁴Who will condemn them? Christ has died, and more importantly, he was brought back to life. Christ is in the honored position—the one next to Theos the Father on the heavenly throne. Christ also intercedes for us. ³⁵What will separate us from the love Christ has for us? Can trouble, distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, or violent death separate us from his love? ³⁶As Scripture says:

“We are being killed all day long because of you.
We are thought of as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷The one who loves us gives us an overwhelming victory in all these difficulties. ³⁸I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from Theos’s love which Christ Jesus our Lord shows us. (The last part of verse 39 (in Greek) has been moved to verse 38 to express the complex Greek sentence structure more clearly in English.) We can’t be separated by death or life, by angels or rulers, by anything in the present or anything in the future, by forces ³⁹or powers in the world above or in the world below, or by anything else in creation.

Romans 9

Paul’s Concern for the Jewish People

¹As a Christian, I’m telling you the truth. I’m not lying. The Holy Spirit (pneuma), along with my own thoughts, supports me in this. ²I have deep sorrow and endless heartache. ³I wish I could be condemned and cut off from Christ for the sake of others who, like me, are Jewish by birth. ⁴They are Israelites, Theos’s adopted children. They have the Lord’s glory, the pledges, (Or “covenants.”) Moses’ Teachings, the true worship, and the promises. ⁵The Messiah is descended from their ancestors according to his human nature. The Messiah is Theos over everything, forever blessed. Amen.

⁶Now it is not as though Theos’s word has failed. Clearly, not everyone descended from Israel is part of Israel ⁷or a descendant of Abraham. However, ⌞as Scripture says,⌟ “Through Isaac your descendants will carry on your name.” ⁸This means that children born by natural descent ⌞from Abraham⌟ are not necessarily Theos’s children. Instead, children born by the promise are considered Abraham’s descendants.

⁹For example, this is what the promise said, “I will come back at the right time, and Sarah will have a son.” ¹⁰The same thing happened to Rebekah. Rebekah became pregnant by our ancestor Isaac. ¹¹Before the children had been born or had done anything good or bad, Rebekah was told that the older child would serve the younger one. This was said to Rebekah so that Theos’s plan would remain a matter of his choice, ¹²a choice based on Theos’s call and not on anything people do. (The last part of verse 12 (in Greek) has been placed in verse 11 to express the complex Greek sentence structure more clearly in English.) ¹³The Scriptures say, “I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau.”

¹⁴What can we say—that Theos is unfair? That’s unthinkable! ¹⁵For example, Theos said to Moses, “I will be kind to anyone I want to. I will be merciful to anyone I want to.” ¹⁶Therefore, Theos’s choice does not depend on a person’s desire or effort, but on Theos’s mercy.

¹⁷For example, Scripture says to Pharaoh, “I put you here for this reason: to demonstrate my power through you and to spread my name throughout the earth.” ¹⁸Therefore, if Theos wants to be kind to anyone, he will be. If he wants to make someone stubborn, he will.

¹⁹You may ask me, “Why does Theos still find fault with anyone? Who can resist whatever Theos wants to do?”

²⁰Who do you think you are to talk back to Theos like that? Can an object that was made say to its maker, “Why did you make me like this?” ²¹A potter has the right to do whatever he wants with his clay. He can make something for a special occasion or something for everyday use from the same lump of clay.

²²If Theos wants to demonstrate his anger and reveal his power, he can do it. But can’t he be extremely patient with people who are objects of his anger because they are headed for destruction? ²³Can’t Theos also reveal the riches of his glory to people who are objects of his mercy and who he had already prepared for glory? ²⁴This is what Theos did for us whom he called—whether we are Jews or not.

Theos Chose People Who Are Not Jewish

²⁵As Theos says in Hosea:

“Those who are not my people
I will call my people.
Those who are not loved
I will call my loved ones.
26 Wherever they were told,
‘You are not my people,’
they will be called children of the living Theos.”

²⁷Isaiah also says about Israel:

“Although the descendants of Israel are
as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore,
only a few will be saved.
28 The Lord will carry out his sentence on the land,
completely and decisively.”

²⁹This is what Isaiah predicted:

“If the Lord of Armies hadn’t left us some descendants,
we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.”

³⁰So what can we say? We can say that non-Jewish people who were not trying to gain Theos’s approval won his approval, an approval based on faith. ³¹The people of Israel tried to gain Theos’s approval by obeying the laws in Moses’ Teachings, but they did not reach their goal. ³²Why? They didn’t rely on faith to gain Theos’s approval, but they relied on their own efforts. They stumbled over the rock that trips people. ³³As Scripture says,

“I am placing a rock in Zion that people trip over,
a large rock that people find offensive.
Whoever believes in him will not be ashamed.”

Romans 10

If You Believe You Will Be Saved

¹Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to Theos on behalf of the Jewish people is that they would be saved. ²I can assure you that they are deeply devoted to Theos, but they are misguided. ³They don’t understand ⌞how to receive⌟ Theos’s approval. So they try to set up their own way to get it, and they have not accepted Theos’s way for receiving his approval. ⁴Christ is the fulfillment of Moses’ Teachings so that everyone who has faith may receive Theos’s approval.

⁵Moses writes about receiving Theos’s approval by following his laws. He says, “The person who obeys these laws will live because he obeys them.” ⁶However, Scripture says about Theos’s approval which is based on faith, “Don’t ask yourself who will go up to heaven,” (that is, to bring Christ down). ⁷“Don’t ask who will go down into the depths,” (that is, to bring Christ back from the dead). ⁸However, what else does it say? “This message is near you. It’s in your mouth and in your heart.” This is the message of faith that we spread. ⁹If you declare that Jesus is Lord, and believe that Theos brought him back to life, you will be saved. ¹⁰By believing you receive Theos’s approval, and by declaring your faith you are saved. ¹¹Scripture says, “Whoever believes in him will not be ashamed.”

¹²There is no difference between Jews and Greeks. They all have the same Lord, who gives his riches to everyone who calls on him. ¹³So then, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴But how can people call on him if they have not believed in him? How can they believe in him if they have not heard his message? How can they hear if no one tells ⌞the Good News⌟? ¹⁵How can people tell the Good News if no one sends them? As Scripture says, “How beautiful are the feet of the messengers who announce the Good News.” ¹⁶But not everyone has believed the Good News.

Isaiah asks, “Lord, who has believed our message?” ¹⁷So faith comes from hearing the message, and the message that is heard is what Christ spoke.

¹⁸But I ask, “Didn’t they hear that message?” Certainly they did! “The voice of the messengers has gone out into the whole world and their words to the ends of the earth.”

¹⁹Again I ask, “Didn’t Israel understand ⌞that message⌟?” Moses was the first to say, “I will make you jealous of people who are not a nation. I will make you angry about a nation that doesn’t understand.” ²⁰Isaiah said very boldly, “I was found by those who weren’t looking for me. I was revealed to those who weren’t asking for me.” ²¹Then Isaiah said about Israel, “All day long I have stretched out my hands to disobedient and rebellious people.”

Romans 11

Theos’s Continuing Love for Jewish People

¹So I ask, “Has Theos rejected his people Israel?” That’s unthinkable! Consider this. I’m an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin. ²Theos has not rejected his people whom he knew long ago. Don’t you know what Elijah says in the Scripture passage when he complains to Theos about Israel? He says, ³“Lord, they’ve killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I’m the only one left, and they’re trying to take my life.” ⁴But what was Theos’s reply? Theos said, “I’ve kept 7,000 people for myself who have not knelt to worship Baal.” ⁵So, as there were then, there are now a few left that Theos has chosen by his kindness. (Or “grace.”) ⁶If they were chosen by Theos’s kindness, they weren’t chosen because of anything they did. Otherwise, Theos’s kindness wouldn’t be kindness.

⁷So what does all this mean? It means that Israel has never achieved what it has been striving for. However, those whom Theos has chosen have achieved it. The minds of the rest of Israel were closed, ⁸as Scripture says,

“To this day Theos has given them a spirit (pneuma) of deep sleep.
Their eyes don’t see,
and their ears don’t hear!”

⁹And David says,

“Let the table set for them become a trap and a net,
a snare and a punishment for them.
10 Let their vision become clouded so that they cannot see.
Let them carry back-breaking burdens forever.”

¹¹So I ask, “Has Israel stumbled so badly that it can’t get up again?” That’s unthinkable! By Israel’s failure, salvation has come to people who are not Jewish to make the Jewish people jealous. ¹²The fall of the Jewish people made the world spiritually rich. Their failure made people who are not Jewish spiritually rich. So the inclusion of Jewish people will make the world even richer.

¹³Now, I speak to you who are not Jewish. As long as I am an apostle sent to people who are not Jewish, I bring honor to my ministry. ¹⁴Perhaps I can make my people jealous and save some of them. ¹⁵If Israel’s rejection means that the world has been brought back to Theos, what does Israel’s acceptance mean? It means that Israel has come back to life.

¹⁶If the first handful of dough is holy, the whole batch of dough is holy. If the root is holy, the branches are holy. ¹⁷But some of the olive branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive branch, have been grafted in their place. You get your nourishment from the roots of the olive tree. ¹⁸So don’t brag about being better than the other branches. If you brag, remember that you don’t support the root, the root supports you. ¹⁹“Well,” you say, “Branches were cut off so that I could be grafted onto the tree.” ²⁰That’s right! They were broken off because they didn’t believe, but you remain on the tree because you do believe. Don’t feel arrogant, but be afraid. ²¹If Theos didn’t spare the natural branches, he won’t spare you, either. ²²Look at how kind and how severe Theos can be. He is severe to those who fell, but kind to you if you continue to hold on to his kindness. Otherwise, you, too, will be cut off ⌞from the tree⌟.

²³If Jewish people do not continue in their unbelief, they will be grafted onto the tree again, because Theos is able to do that. ²⁴In spite of the fact that you have been cut from a wild olive tree, you have been grafted onto a cultivated one. So wouldn’t it be easier for these natural branches to be grafted onto the olive tree they belong to?

²⁵Brothers and sisters, I want you to understand this mystery so that you won’t become arrogant. The minds of some Israelites have become closed until all of Theos’s non-Jewish people are included. ²⁶In this way Israel as a whole will be saved, as Scripture says,

“The Savior will come from Zion.
He will remove godlessness from Jacob.
27 My promise †Or “covenant.” to them will be fulfilled
when I take away their sins.”

²⁸The Good News made the Jewish people enemies because of you. But by Theos’s choice they are loved because of their ancestors. ²⁹Theos never changes his mind when he gives gifts or when he calls someone. ³⁰In the past, you disobeyed Theos. But now Theos has been merciful to you because of the disobedience of the Jewish people. ³¹In the same way, the Jewish people have also disobeyed so that Theos may be merciful to them as he was to you. ³²Theos has placed all people into the prison of their own disobedience so that he could be merciful to all people.

33 Theos’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge are so deep
that it is impossible to explain his decisions
or to understand his ways.
34 “Who knows how the Lord thinks?
Who can become his adviser?”
35 Who gave the Lord something
which the Lord must pay back?
36 Everything is from him and by him and for him.
Glory belongs to him forever! Amen!

Romans 12

Dedicate Your Lives to Theos

¹Brothers and sisters, in view of all we have just shared about Theos’s compassion, I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to Theos and pleasing to him. This kind of worship is appropriate for you. ²Don’t become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what Theos really wants—what is good, pleasing, and perfect.

³Because of the kindness (Or “grace.”) that Theos has shown me, I ask you not to think of yourselves more highly than you should. Instead, your thoughts should lead you to use good judgment based on what Theos has given each of you as believers. ⁴Our bodies have many parts, but these parts don’t all do the same thing. ⁵In the same way, even though we are many individuals, Christ makes us one body and individuals who are connected to each other. ⁶Theos in his kindness gave each of us different gifts. If your gift is speaking what Theos has revealed, make sure what you say agrees with the Christian faith. ⁷If your gift is serving, then devote yourself to serving. If it is teaching, devote yourself to teaching. ⁸If it is encouraging others, devote yourself to giving encouragement. If it is sharing, be generous. If it is leadership, lead enthusiastically. If it is helping people in need, help them cheerfully.

⁹Love sincerely. Hate evil. Hold on to what is good. ¹⁰Be devoted to each other like a loving family. Excel in showing respect for each other. ¹¹Don’t be lazy in showing your devotion. Use your energy to serve the Lord. ¹²Be happy in your confidence, be patient in trouble, and pray continually. ¹³Share what you have with Theos’s people who are in need. Be hospitable.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you. Bless them, and don’t curse them. ¹⁵Be happy with those who are happy. Be sad with those who are sad. ¹⁶Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be arrogant, but be friendly to humble people. Don’t think that you are smarter than you really are.

¹⁷Don’t pay people back with evil for the evil they do to you. Focus your thoughts on those things that are considered noble. ¹⁸As much as it is possible, live in peace with everyone. ¹⁹Don’t take revenge, dear friends. Instead, let Theos’s anger take care of it. After all, Scripture says, “I alone have the right to take revenge. I will pay back, says the Lord.” ²⁰But,

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
If he is thirsty, give him a drink.
If you do this, you will make him feel guilty and ashamed.”

²¹Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil with good.

Romans 13

Obey the Government

¹Every person should obey the government in power. No government would exist if it hadn’t been established by Theos. The governments which exist have been put in place by Theos. ²Therefore, whoever resists the government opposes what Theos has established. Those who resist will bring punishment on themselves.

³People who do what is right don’t have to be afraid of the government. But people who do what is wrong should be afraid of it. Would you like to live without being afraid of the government? Do what is right, and it will praise you. ⁴The government is Theos’s servant working for your good.

But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid. The government has the right to carry out the death sentence. It is Theos’s servant, an avenger to execute Theos’s anger on anyone who does what is wrong. ⁵Therefore, it is necessary for you to obey, not only because you’re afraid of Theos’s anger but also because of your own conscience.

⁶That is also why you pay your taxes. People in the government are Theos’s servants while they do the work he has given them. ⁷Pay everyone whatever you owe them. If you owe taxes, pay them. If you owe tolls, pay them. If you owe someone respect, respect that person. If you owe someone honor, honor that person.

Love One Another

⁸Pay your debts as they come due. However, one debt you can never finish paying is the debt of love that you owe each other. The one who loves another person has fulfilled Moses’ Teachings. ⁹The commandments, “Never commit adultery; never murder; never steal; never have wrong desires,” and every other commandment are summed up in this statement: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” ¹⁰Love never does anything that is harmful to a neighbor. Therefore, love fulfills Moses’ Teachings.

¹¹You know the times ⌞in which we are living⌟. It’s time for you to wake up. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first became believers. ¹²The night is almost over, and the day is near. So we should get rid of the things that belong to the dark and take up the weapons that belong to the light. ¹³We should live decently, as people who live in the light of day. Wild parties, drunkenness, sexual immorality, promiscuity, rivalry, and jealousy cannot be part of our lives. ¹⁴Instead, live like the Lord Jesus Christ did, and forget about satisfying the desires of your corrupt nature.

Romans 14

How to Treat Christians Who Are Weak in Faith

¹Welcome people who are weak in faith, but don’t get into an argument over differences of opinion. ²Some people believe that they can eat all kinds of food. Other people with weak faith believe that they can eat only vegetables. ³People who eat all foods should not despise people who eat only vegetables. In the same way, the vegetarians should not criticize people who eat all foods, because Theos has accepted those people. ⁴Who are you to criticize someone else’s servant? The Lord will determine whether his servant has been successful. The servant will be successful because the Lord makes him successful.

⁵One person decides that one day is holier than another. Another person decides that all days are the same. Every person must make his own decision. ⁶When people observe a special day, they observe it to honor the Lord. When people eat all kinds of foods, they honor the Lord as they eat, since they give thanks to Theos. Vegetarians also honor the Lord when they eat, and they, too, give thanks to Theos. ⁷It’s clear that we don’t live to honor ourselves, and we don’t die to honor ourselves. ⁸If we live, we honor the Lord, and if we die, we honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹For this reason Christ died and came back to life so that he would be the Lord of both the living and the dead.

¹⁰Why do you criticize or despise other Christians? Everyone will stand in front of Theos to be judged. ¹¹Scripture says,

“As certainly as I live, says the Lord,
everyone will worship me,
and everyone will praise Theos.”

¹²All of us will have to give an account of ourselves to Theos.

¹³So let’s stop criticizing each other. Instead, you should decide never to do anything that would make other Christians have doubts or lose their faith.

¹⁴The Lord Jesus has given me the knowledge and conviction that no food is unacceptable in and of itself. But it is unacceptable to a person who thinks it is. ¹⁵So if what you eat hurts another Christian, you are no longer living by love. Don’t destroy anyone by what you eat. Christ died for that person. ¹⁶Don’t allow anyone to say that what you consider good is evil.

¹⁷Theos’s kingdom does not consist of what a person eats or drinks. Rather, Theos’s kingdom consists of Theos’s approval and peace, as well as the joy that the Holy Spirit (pneuma) gives. ¹⁸The person who serves Christ with this in mind is pleasing to Theos and respected by people.

¹⁹So let’s pursue those things which bring peace and which are good for each other. ²⁰Don’t ruin Theos’s work because of what you eat. All food is acceptable, but it’s wrong for a person to eat something if it causes someone else to have doubts. ²¹The right thing to do is to avoid eating meat, drinking wine, or doing anything else that causes another Christian to have doubts. ²²So whatever you believe about these things, keep it between yourself and Theos. The person who does what he knows is right shouldn’t feel guilty. He is blessed. ²³But if a person has doubts and still eats, he is condemned because he didn’t act in faith. Anything that is not done in faith is sin.

Romans 15

¹So those of us who have a strong ⌞faith⌟ must be patient with the weaknesses of those whose ⌞faith⌟ is not so strong. We must not think only of ourselves. ²We should all be concerned about our neighbor and the good things that will build his faith. ³Christ did not think only of himself. Rather, as Scripture says, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”

Theos Gives Us Unity

⁴Everything written long ago was written to teach us so that we would have confidence through the endurance and encouragement which the Scriptures give us. ⁵May Theos, who gives you this endurance and encouragement, allow you to live in harmony with each other by following the example of Christ Jesus. ⁶Then, having the same goal, you will praise the Theos and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷Therefore, accept each other in the same way that Christ accepted you. He did this to bring glory to Theos. ⁸Let me explain. Christ became a servant for the Jewish people to reveal Theos’s truth. As a result, he fulfilled Theos’s promise to the ancestors of the Jewish people. ⁹People who are not Jewish praise Theos for his mercy as well. This is what the Scriptures say,

“That is why I will give thanks to you among the nations
and I will sing praises to your name.”

¹⁰And Scripture says again,

“You nations, be happy together with his people!”

¹¹And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you nations!
Praise him, all you people of the world!”

¹²Again, Isaiah says,

“There will be a root from Jesse.
He will rise to rule the nations,
and he will give the nations hope.”

¹³May Theos, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (pneuma).

Paul’s Desire to Tell the Good News to the World

¹⁴I’m convinced, brothers and sisters, that you, too, are filled with goodness. I’m also convinced that you have all the knowledge you need and that you are able to instruct each other. ¹⁵However, I’ve written you a letter, parts of which are rather bold, as a reminder to you. I’m doing this because Theos gave me the gift ¹⁶to be a servant of Christ Jesus to people who are not Jewish. I serve as a priest by spreading the Good News of Theos. I do this in order that I might bring the nations to Theos as an acceptable offering, made holy by the Holy Spirit (pneuma). ¹⁷So Christ Jesus gives me the right to brag about what I’m doing for Theos. ¹⁸I’m bold enough to tell you only what Christ has done through me to bring people who are not Jewish to obedience. By what I have said and done, ¹⁹by the power of miraculous and amazing signs, and by the power of Theos’s Spirit (pneuma), I have finished spreading the Good News about Christ from Jerusalem to Illyricum.

²⁰My goal was to spread the Good News where the name of Christ was not known. I didn’t want to build on a foundation which others had laid. ²¹As Scripture says,

“Those who were never told about him will see,
and those who never heard will understand.”

²²This is what has so often kept me from visiting you. ²³But now I have no new opportunities for work in this region. For many years I have wanted to visit you. ²⁴Now I am on my way to Spain, so I hope to see you when I come your way. After I have enjoyed your company for a while, I hope that you will support my trip to Spain.

²⁵Right now I’m going to Jerusalem to bring help to the Christians there. ²⁶Because the believers in Macedonia and Greece owe a debt to the Christians in Jerusalem, they have decided to take up a collection for the poor among the Christians in Jerusalem. ²⁷These Macedonians and Greeks have shared the spiritual wealth of the Christians in Jerusalem. So they are obligated to use their earthly wealth to help them.

²⁸When the collection is completed and I have officially turned the money over to the Christians in Jerusalem, I will visit you on my way to Spain. ²⁹I know that when I come to you I will bring the full blessing of Christ.

³⁰Brothers and sisters, I encourage you through our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love that the Spirit (pneuma) creates, to join me in my struggle. Pray to Theos for me ³¹that I will be rescued from those people in Judea who refuse to believe. Pray that Theos’s people in Jerusalem will accept the help I bring. ³²Also pray that by the will of Theos I may come to you with joy and be refreshed when I am with you.

³³May the Theos of peace be with you all. Amen.

Romans 16

Farewell

¹With this letter I’m introducing Phoebe to you. She is our sister in the Christian faith and a deacon of the church in the city of Cenchrea. ²Give her a Christian welcome that shows you are Theos’s holy people. Provide her with anything she may need, because she has provided help to many people, including me.

³Greet Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in the service of Christ Jesus. ⁴They risked their lives to save me. I’m thankful to them and so are all the churches among the nations. ⁵Also greet the church that meets in their house.

Greet my dear friend Epaenetus. He was the first person in the province of Asia to become a believer in Christ.

⁶Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you.

⁷Greet Andronicus and Junia, who are Jewish by birth like me. They are prisoners like me and are prominent among the apostles. They also were Christians before I was.

⁸Greet Ampliatus my dear friend in the service of the Lord.

⁹Greet Urbanus our coworker in the service of Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.

¹⁰Greet Apelles, a true Christian.

Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus.

¹¹Greet Herodion, who is Jewish by birth like me.

Greet those Christians who belong to the family of Narcissus.

¹²Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard for the Lord.

Greet dear Persis, who has worked very hard for the Lord.

¹³Greet Rufus, that outstanding Christian, and his mother, who has been a mother to me too.

¹⁴Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them.

¹⁵Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all Theos’s people who are with them.

¹⁶Greet each other with a holy kiss.

All the churches of Christ greet you.

¹⁷Brothers and sisters, I urge you to watch out for those people who create divisions and who make others fall away ⌞from the Christian faith⌟ by teaching doctrine that is not the same as you have learned. Stay away from them. ¹⁸People like these are not serving Christ our Lord. They are serving their own desires. By their smooth talk and flattering words they deceive unsuspecting people.

¹⁹Everyone has heard about your obedience and this makes me happy for you. I want you to do what is good and to avoid what is evil. ²⁰The Theos of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. May the good will (Or “grace.”) of our Lord Jesus be with you!

²¹Timothy my coworker greets you; so do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, who are Jewish by birth like me.

²²I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, send you Christian greetings.

²³Gaius greets you. He is host to me and the whole church.

Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you.

Quartus, our brother in the Christian faith, greets you. (Some manuscripts and translations add verse 24: “May the good will of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.”)

²⁵Theos can strengthen you by the Good News and the message I tell about Jesus Christ. He can strengthen you by revealing the mystery that was kept in silence for a very long time ²⁶but now is publicly known. The everlasting Theos ordered that what the prophets wrote must be shown to the people of every nation to bring them to the obedience that is associated with faith. ²⁷Theos alone is wise. Glory belongs to him through Jesus Christ forever! Amen.

Greeting

Paul’s Prayer and Desire to Visit Rome

Theos’s Anger against Sinful Humanity