Romans 13
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
Every [believer] must be subject to the authorities. [Remember that] God is the only one [who gives officials their] authority. Furthermore, those officials that exist are ones who have been appointed by God {God has appointed}.
2 Therefore he who resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment.
So whoever resists the officials is resisting what God has established. Furthermore, those who resist officials will bring on themselves [from the officials] the punishment [that God considers fitting].
3 For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same,
What rulers [do] is not [to cause people who] do good deeds to be afraid. Instead, [what they do is to cause people who do] evil to be afraid. So, if any of you [RHQ] wants to be unafraid of officials, do what is good! [If you(sg) do good], they will commend you [instead of punishing you!]
4 for it is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword in vain. It is God's servant to administer retribution on those who do what is wrong.
It is in order to serve God [by doing their work that every official exists], in order that they may benefit each of you. If any of you does what is evil, you [(sg) will rightfully have reason to] be afraid, because the authority that they have to punish people [MTY] is very real [LIT]! The officials exist to serve God. That is, they act as God’s agents as they punish those who do evil.
5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of this retribution, but also as a matter of conscience.
So, it is necessary for you [(pl)] to be subject [to officials], not only because they will punish you [MTY] [if you disobey them], but also because you know [that you should be subject to them]
6 For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God, concerned with this very thing.
It is for this reason that you also pay taxes, because the officials are ones who serve God as they continually do their work.
7 Give therefore to everyone what you owe: taxes to whom taxes are due; customs to whom customs; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor.
Give to all [the officials] what you are supposed to give to them! Pay taxes to [those who require that you pay taxes]. Pay duties [on goods to those who require that you pay those] duties. Respect [those who ought to] be respected. Honor [those who ought to] be honored.
8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
Pay all of your debts [when you are supposed to pay them]. The only thing [that is like] a debt that [you] should never stop paying is to love one another. Whoever loves others has fulfilled all that [God requires in] his laws.
9 For the commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not give false testimony," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You are to love your neighbor as yourself."
[There are many things that God] commanded [in his laws, such as] do not commit adultery, do not murder [anyone], do not steal, and do not desire anything that belongs to someone else. But the command by which they are all summed up {that includes them all} is this: Each of you must love the people with whom you come in contact, just like you [(sg)] love yourself.
10 Love does not harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.
If you love people with whom you come in contact [PRS], you will not do any evil to them [LIT]. So, whoever loves [others] fulfills all that [God’s] laws [require].
11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.
[Do] what I have just told you, especially since you know [the significance of] the time [in which we are living. You know that it is] time for you to be [fully alert and active] [MET], [like people who have] awakened from sleeping [MET], because [the time when Christ will finally] deliver us [from this world’s pain/sin and sorrow] is near. That time (is closer than/was not so close) when we first believed [in Christ].
12 The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let us therefore throw off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
[Our time to live in this world] [MTY] [is almost ended] [MET], [like] a night that is nearly ended. The time [when Christ will return] [MTY] is near. So we must quit doing wicked deeds [MET] [such as people do] in the darkness, and [we must be doing the things that will help us resist Satan/evil] [MET], [as soldiers who] put on their armor in the daytime [get ready to resist their enemies].
13 Let us walk decently, as in the daytime; not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and lustful acts, and not in dissension and jealousy.
We must behave properly, as though the time [when Christ will return] [MTY] [were already here]. We must not participate in drunken carousing [HEN]. We must not commit any kind of sexual immorality [MTY, DOU]. We must not quarrel. We must not be jealous [of other people].
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.
On the contrary, you/we should [be like] the Lord Jesus Christ [so that others will see that we belong to him], just as [people] put on [special clothes so that others will see what group they belong to] [MET]. You/We should stop thinking about [doing the things that your/our] self-directed nature desires.
