Romans 1

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

To all in Rome who are dear to God and have been called to become Christ’s People, from Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, who has been called to become an Apostle, and has been set apart to tell God’s Good News.

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

This Good News God promised long ago through his Prophets in the sacred Scriptures,

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

concerning his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord; who, as to his human nature, was descended from David,

4 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,

but, as to the spirit of holiness within him, was miraculously designated Son of God by his resurrection from the dead.

5 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,

Through him we received the gift of the Apostolic office, to win submission to the Faith among all nations for the glory of his Name.

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

And among these nations are you — you who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.

7 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.

May God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace.

8 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.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ about you all, because the report of your faith is spreading throughout the world.

9 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,

God, to whom I offer the worship of my soul as I tell the Goodness of his Son, is my witness how constantly I mention you when I pray,

10 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.

asking that, if he be willing, I may some day at last find the way open to visit you.

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

For I long to see you, in order to impart to you some spiritual gift and so give you fresh strength —

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

or rather that both you and I may find encouragement in each other’s faith.

13 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.

I want you to know, Brothers, that I have many times intended coming to see you — but until now I have been prevented — that I might find among you some fruit of my labours, as I have already among the other nations.

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

I have a duty to both the Greek and the Barbarian, to both the cultured and the ignorant.

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

And so, for my part, I am ready to tell the Good News to you also who are in Rome.

16 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.

For I am not ashamed of the Good News; it is the power of God which brings Salvation to every one who believes in Christ, to the Jew first, but also to the Greek.

17 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."

For in it there is a revelation of the Divine Righteousness resulting from faith and leading on to faith; as Scripture says — ‘Through faith the righteous man shall find Life.’

18 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:

So, too, there is a revelation from Heaven of the Divine Wrath against every form of ungodliness and wickedness on the part of those men who, by their wicked lives, are stifling the Truth.

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

This is so, because what can be known about God is plain to them; for God himself has made it plain.

20 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)

For ever since the creation of the universe God’s invisible attributes — his everlasting power and divinity — are to be seen and studied in his works, so that men have no excuse; (aïdios g126)

21 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.

because, although they learned to know God, yet they did not offer him as God either praise or thanksgiving. Their speculations about him proved futile, and their undiscerning minds were darkened.

22 While boasting of their wisdom they became utter fools,

Professing to be wise, they showed themselves fools;

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

and they transformed the Glory of the immortal God into the likeness of mortal man, and of birds, and beasts, and reptiles.

24 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.

Therefore God abandoned them to impurity, letting them follow the cravings of their hearts, till they dishonoured their own bodies;

25 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)

for they had substituted a lie for the truth about God, and had reverenced and worshiped created things more than the Creator, who is to be praised for ever. Amen. (aiōn g165)

26 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,

That, I say, is why God abandoned them to degrading passions. Even the women among them perverted the natural use of their bodies to the unnatural;

27 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.

while the men, disregarding that for which women were intended by nature, were consumed with passion for one another. Men indulged in vile practices with men, and incurred in their own persons the inevitable penalty for their perverseness.

28 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.

Then, as they would not keep God before their minds, God abandoned them to depraved thoughts, so that they did all kinds of shameful things.

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

They revelled in every form of wickedness, evil, greed, vice. Their lives were full of envy, murder, quarrelling, treachery, malice.

30 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,

They became back-biters, slanderers, impious, insolent, boastful. They devised new sins. They disobeyed their parents.

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

They were undiscerning, untrustworthy, without natural affection or pity.

32 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.

Well aware of God’s decree, that those who do such things deserve to die, not only are they guilty of them themselves, but they even applaud those who do them.