Romans 1

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

[I], Paul, who serve Christ Jesus, [am writing this letter]. God chose me to be an apostle, and I was appointed by him {he appointed me} in order that [I should proclaim] (the good message/the gospel) that [comes from him].

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

Long before [Jesus came to earth, God] promised [that he would reveal] this good message by means of what his prophets [wrote] in the sacred Scriptures.

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

This good message is [about the one whom we know as] his Son. As to his Son’s physical/human nature, he was born a descendant of [King] 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,

As to his divine nature, it was shown {[God] showed} powerfully that he is (God’s own Son/the man who is also God). [God] showed this by his Holy Spirit causing him to become alive again after he died. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

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,

He is the one who appointed me, who did not deserve it, [to be] an apostle. He did that in order that [many] among the non-Jews would honor [him] and would obey him as a result of their believing [my message about him].

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

You [believers] who are living in Rome [city] are included among those whom God has chosen 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.

[I am writing this letter] to all of [you in Rome] whom God loves and whom he has chosen [to become his] people. [I pray that] God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord will [continue to] act kindly toward you and [will continue to] cause you to have [inner] 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.

As I begin [this letter], I thank my God for all you [believers in Rome]. It is because of [what] Jesus Christ [has done for us that] I [am able to do that]. I thank him because your trusting [in Jesus Christ] is something that people all over [the Roman Empire] [HYP] are talking about.

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, whom I devotedly serve as I [proclaim to people] the gospel concerning his Son, knows that I tell the truth when I say that I always mention you whenever [DOU] I pray [to God] [HYP].

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.

I especially ask God that if he desires [me to visit you], somehow at last I shall be able to do so.

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

[I pray this] because I long to visit you to help you spiritually, in order that you will become stronger [spiritually].

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

I long to visit you in order that you and I might encourage each other [by means of our sharing with each other] how each of us trusts [in Jesus].

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.

My fellow believers, many times I planned to visit you. I certainly want you to know [LIT] that. [But I have not been able to come to you because] I have been hindered {[things] have always prevented me} until the present time. I have wanted to come in order that I might help you to mature spiritually [IDM], as [I have helped people to mature spiritually] in many other non-Jewish groups [HYP].

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

I feel obliged [to proclaim the gospel to all non-Jewish people], specifically to [people who know] the Greek [language and culture] and to those who do not know it, to people who are educated and to those who are uneducated.

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

So what I have eagerly desired is that I might proclaim this good message to you who are living in Rome also.

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.

[That leads me to say that] I very confidently proclaim [LIT] the good message [about what Christ has done], because this good message is the powerful [means] that God [uses] to save [from the guilt of their sins] all people who trust [in what Christ has done for them]. Specifically, God first has saved the Jews [who believe the good message], and then he has saved non-Jews.

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."

By means of this good message God reveals how he erases the record of people’s sins (OR, declares people no longer guilty for having sinned); and his doing this is entirely because [IDM] they trust [in Christ. This is confirmed] by what [a prophet long ago] wrote [that God said], “Those (whose record of sin [I] have erased/whom [I] have declared no longer guilty for sin) because they trust [in me] will live [forever].”

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:

From [where God rules in] heaven he is making it clear to all [non-Jewish] people who show no respect for God and who do wicked things, that he is angry with them [and that they deserve to be punished] {[that he would punish them]} [MTY]. By means of [their behaving] wickedly, they keep other people [from believing what they know] to be true [about God].

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

[Everyone] can clearly know what God [is like], because God himself has revealed to everyone [what he is like].

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)

[People] cannot see what God is like. But ever since he created the world, by means of what he created he has clearly revealed what he is like. He has made clear to everyone that he has always been able to do very powerful things. [Therefore, we should recognize that] God is powerful, [completely different from all that he created]. So no one has a basis for saying, [“We never knew about God].” (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.

Although [the non-Jews] knew what God [is like], they did not honor him as God, nor did they thank [him for what he had done]. But instead, they began to think foolish [things about him], and they became unable to understand [MET] [what he wanted them to know].

22 While boasting of their wisdom they became utter fools,

Although they claimed that they were wise, they became foolish,

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

and they refused to [admit that] God is glorious and will never die. Instead, they made and worshipped idols [that resembled people who] will some day die, and [then they made other idols that resembled] birds and four-footed animals, and [finally] they made idols that resembled 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.

So God allowed [the non-Jews] do immoral sexual things that they [SYN] strongly desired, things [that their desires were compelling them to do]. As a result, they [began to] dishonor each other’s bodies [by their sexual actions].

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)

Also, they [chose to worship] false [gods] instead (of admitting/of choosing to believe) what is true [about] God. They worshipped and served things [that God] created instead of [worshipping and serving God himself], the one who created [everything. They did this even though] he [deserves that those he created] would forever praise him. Amen!/May it be so! (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,

So, God allowed [the non-Jews to do] shameful [sexual] things that they [strongly] desired. As a result, many women did not have natural sexual relations [with their husbands] [EUP]. Instead, they were doing sexual actions with other women [EUP].

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.

Similarly, [many] men stopped having/did not have natural sexual relations with women [EUP]. Instead, they strongly desired to have sexual relations with other men. They committed [homosexual] acts with other men, acts that were shameful. As a result, [God has] punished them [by sicknesses] in their bodies, which is what they deserve [because] they [thought] wrongly [that God would not punish them for doing that].

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.

Furthermore, because they decided that it was not [worthwhile] to know God, he allowed their own worthless thoughts [to completely control them]. As a result, they began doing [evil] things that [God says that people] should not do.

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 strongly desire to do all [kinds of] unrighteous [things]. They strongly desire to do all [kinds of] evil things [to others]. They strongly desire to possess things that [belong to others]. They strongly desire to harm [others] in various ways. [Many non-Jews] are constantly envying [other people. Many] constantly desire to murder [people. Many] constantly desire to cause strife [between people. Many] constantly desire to deceive [others. Many] constantly desire to speak hatefully [about others] (OR, [to speak harmful things about others, things that are not true]). [Many] gossip [about others].

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,

[Many] slander [others. Many] act especially hatefully toward God. [Many] speak or act in an insulting way [toward others. Many] treat others contemptuously. [Many] boast [about themselves to others. Many] invent new ways to do evil things. [Many non-Jewish children] disobey their parents.

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

[Many non-Jews] act in other morally foolish ways. [Many] do not do what they promised [others that they would do. Many] do not [even] love [their own family members. And many] do not act mercifully [toward other people].

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.

Although they know that God has declared that those who do such things deserve to be killed, they not only habitually do these [kinds of evil] things, but they also approve of others who habitually do them.