Romans 1

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, a called apostle, set apart to preach the gospel of God,

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

2 which he had promised before by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures,

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

3 the gospel concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David as to the flesh,

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

4 and shown with power to be the Son of God as to his spirit of holiness, by the 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 the office of an apostle in behalf of his name, in order to produce obedience to the faith among all nations;

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 whom are ye also, the called of Jesus Christ;

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

7 to all the beloved of God at Rome, called, holy: Grace be 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 In the first place, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, that your faith is spoken of throughout 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 with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, how constantly 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 supplicating that, if it be possible, I may at last through the will of God be favored with an opportunity of coming 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, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, which may be for your confirmation;

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

12 that is, that I may be edified among you, and you also, 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 would not have you ignorant, brethren, that I often purposed to come to you, though I have been hindered hitherto, that I might have some fruit of my labors among you also, 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 barbarians, both to the wise and the unwise.

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

15 So, according to my ability, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also 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 gospel; for to every believer, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, it is the power of God unto salvation.

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 therein is revealed the righteousness which is of God from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous shall live by 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 impiety and unrighteousness of men, who keep down 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 that which may be known of God is manifest within them; for God made it manifest 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, ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, even his eternal power and divinity, being perceived from his works, are clearly seen, so that they might 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 though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were they thankful to him; but became perverse in their reasonings, and their senseless minds were darkened;

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 fools,

While boasting of their wisdom they became utter fools,

23 and for the glory of the incorruptible God they substituted images of corruptible man, and of birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things.

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

24 Wherefore God also gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to debase their bodies with one another;

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 because they changed the true God for false gods, and adored and worshipped created things rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. (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 For this cause God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women indulged in unnatural lust,

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 in like manner the men also, neglecting the natural use of the female, burned with lust for one another, men with men practising that which is shameful, and receiving in themselves the due recompense of their error.

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 as they did not choose to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do things which are shameful;

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 being filled with all unrighteousness, malice, covetousness, wickedness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity; backbiters,

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 slanderers, hated of God, insolent, proud, boasters, inventors of mischief, 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 senseless, faithless, without natural affection, without pity;

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

32 who, although knowing the ordinance of God, that they who practise such things deserve death, not only do them themselves, but approve of those who do them.

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.