Romans 1

1 Paul, a bondman of Jesus Christ, a called apostle having been separated for the good news of God

Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, set apart to proclaim God's Good News,

2 (which he fore-promised through his prophets in the holy scriptures)

which God had already promised through His Prophets in Holy Writ, concerning His Son,

3 concerning his Son who was made from the seed of David according to flesh.

who, as regards His human descent, belonged to the posterity of David,

4 He who was designated Son of God in power, according to a spirit of holiness, from a resurrection of the dead-Jesus Christ our Lord-

but as regards the holiness of His Spirit was decisively proved by His Resurrection to be the Son of God--I mean concerning Jesus Christ our Lord,

5 through whom we received grace and apostleship for obedience of faith among all the nations on behalf of his name,

through whom we have received grace and Apostleship in His service in order to win men to obedience to the faith, among all Gentile peoples,

6 among which ye also are the called of Jesus Christ.

among whom you also, called, as you have been, to belong to Jesus Christ, are numbered:

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

To all God's loved ones who are in Rome, called to be saints. May grace and peace be granted to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

8 First, I indeed express thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, that your faith is proclaimed in the whole world.

First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for what He has done for all of you; for the report of your faith is spreading through the whole world.

9 For God is my witness whom I serve in my spirit in the good news of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers,

I call God to witness--to whom I render priestly and spiritual service by telling the Good News about His Son-- how unceasingly I make mention of you in His presence,

10 pleading, if somehow now at last I will have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come to you.

always in my prayers entreating that now, at length, if such be His will, the way may by some means be made clear for me to come to you.

11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, in order to establish you,

For I am longing to see you, in order to convey to you some spiritual help, so that you may be strengthened;

12 and that is, to be mutually encouraged among you through each other's faith, both yours and mine.

in other words that while I am among you we may be mutually encouraged by one another's faith, yours and mine.

13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that I often intended to come to you (and was prevented until now), so that I might have some fruit also among you, even as among the other Gentiles.

And I desire you to know, brethren, that I have many a time intended to come to you--though until now I have been disappointed--in order that among you also I might gather some fruit from my labours, as I have already done among the rest of the Gentile nations.

14 I am debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

I am already under obligations alike to Greek-speaking races and to others, to cultured and to uncultured people:

15 So the willingness is in me to preach the good news also to you in Rome.

so that for my part I am willing and eager to proclaim the Good News to you also who are in Rome.

16 For I am not ashamed of the good news of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to every man who believes, both to the Jew first, and to the Greek.

For I am not ashamed of the Good News. It is God's power which is at work for the salvation of every one who believes--the Jew first, and then the Gentile.

17 For the righteousness of God is revealed in it from faith for faith, just as it is written, And the righteous man will live from faith.

For in the Good News a righteousness which comes from God is being revealed, depending on faith and tending to produce faith; as the Scripture has it, "The righteous man shall live by faith."

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all irreverence and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

For God's anger is being revealed from Heaven against all impiety and against the iniquity of men who through iniquity suppress the truth. God is angry:

19 because what is knowable of God is apparent in them, for God made it known to them.

because what may be known about Him is plain to their inmost consciousness; for He Himself has made it plain to them.

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things made, both his eternal power and divinity, for them to be without excuse. (aïdios g126)

For, from the very creation of the world, His invisible perfections--namely His eternal power and divine nature--have been rendered intelligible and clearly visible by His works, so that these men are without excuse. (aïdios g126)

21 Because, although knowing God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were they thankful, but became vain in their reasonings and their heart was darkened without understanding.

For when they had come to know God, they did not give Him glory as God nor render Him thanks, but they became absorbed in useless discussions, and their senseless minds were darkened.

22 Professing to be wise, they became foolish,

While boasting of their wisdom they became utter fools,

23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image like corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed things, and creeping things.

and, instead of worshipping the imperishable God, they worshipped images resembling perishable man or resembling birds or beasts or reptiles.

24 And for this reason God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, to degrade their bodies among themselves,

For this reason, in accordance with their own depraved cravings, God gave them up to uncleanness, allowing them to dishonour their bodies among themselves with impurity.

25 who changed the truth of God into the lie, and worshiped and served the creation against him who created it, who is blessed into the ages. Truly. (aiōn g165)

For they had bartered the reality of God for what is unreal, and had offered divine honours and religious service to created things, rather than to the Creator--He who is for ever blessed. Amen. (aiōn g165)

26 Because of this God gave them up to shameful passions, for even their females changed the natural use into what is against nature.

This then is the reason why God gave them up to vile passions. For not only did the women among them exchange the natural use of their bodies for one which is contrary to nature, but the men also,

27 And likewise also the males, having left the natural use of the female, burned in their lust toward each other, males with males producing shamelessness, and receiving in themselves the recompense of their deviancy that was fitting.

in just the same way--neglecting that for which nature intends women--burned with passion towards one another, men practising shameful vice with men, and receiving in their own selves the reward which necessarily followed their misconduct.

28 And just as they did not approve having God in knowledge, God gave them over to an unfit mind, to do things that are not fit;

And just as they had refused to continue to have a full knowledge of God, so it was to utterly worthless minds that God gave them up, for them to do things which should not be done.

29 having been filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity;

Their hearts overflowed with all sorts of dishonesty, mischief, greed, malice. They were full of envy and murder, and were quarrelsome, crafty, and spiteful.

30 being gossips, slanderous, God-hating, aggressors, arrogant boasters, contrivers of evil things, disobedient to parents;

They were secret backbiters, open slanderers; hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful; inventors of new forms of sin, disobedient to parents, destitute of common sense,

31 without understanding, untrustworthy, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful.

faithless to their promises, without natural affection, without human pity.

32 Who, knowing the righteousness of God, that those who commit such things are worthy of death, not only do them, but also favor those who do.

In short, though knowing full well the sentence which God pronounces against actions such as theirs, as things which deserve death, they not only practise them, but even encourage and applaud others who do them.