Romans 13

1 Let every individual be obedient to those who rule over him; for no one is a ruler except by God's permission, and our present rulers have had their rank and power assigned to them by Him.

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.

2 Therefore the man who rebels against his ruler is resisting God's will; and those who thus resist will bring punishment upon themselves.

Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

3 For judges and magistrates are to be feared not by right-doers but by wrong-doers. You desire--do you not? --to have no reason to fear your ruler. Well, do the thing that is right, and then he will commend you.

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval.

4 For he is God's servant for your benefit. But if you do what is wrong, be afraid. He does not wear the sword to no purpose: he is God's servant--an administrator to inflict punishment upon evil-doers.

For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.

5 We must obey therefore, not only in order to escape punishment, but also for conscience' sake.

Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience.

6 Why, this is really the reason you pay taxes; for tax-gatherers are ministers of God, devoting their energies to this very work.

This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work.

7 Pay promptly to all men what is due to them: taxes to those to whom taxes are due, toll to those to whom toll is due, respect to those to whom respect is due, honour to those to whom honour is due.

Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

8 Owe nothing to any one except mutual love; for he who loves his fellow man has satisfied the demands of Law.

Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

9 For the precepts, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," "Thou shalt do no murder," "Thou shalt not steal," "Thou shalt not covet," and all other precepts, are summed up in this one command, "Thou shalt love thy fellow man as much as thou lovest thyself."

The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

10 Love avoids doing any wrong to one's fellow man, and is therefore complete obedience to Law.

Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

11 Carry out these injunctions because you know the critical period at which we are living, and that it is now high time, to rouse yourselves from sleep; for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first became believers.

And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

12 The night is far advanced, and day is about to dawn. We must therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness, and clothe ourselves with the armour of Light.

The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

13 Living as we do in broad daylight, let us conduct ourselves becomingly, not indulging in revelry and drunkenness, nor in lust and debauchery, nor in quarrelling and jealousy.

Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

14 On the contrary, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for gratifying your earthly cravings.

Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.