Romans 1:16-5:11

English Standard Version

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁶For ^(A)I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is ^(B)the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew ^(C)first and also to ^(D)the Greek. ¹⁷For in it ^(E)the righteousness of God is revealed ^(F)from faith for faith,^[a] ^(G)as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”^[b]

God's Wrath on Unrighteousness

¹⁸For ^(H)the wrath of God ^(I)is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹For what can be ^(J)known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, ^(K)have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,^[c] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they ^(L)became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²^(M)Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³and ^(N)exchanged the glory of ^(O)the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁴Therefore ^(P)God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to ^(Q)the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵because they exchanged the truth about God for ^(R)a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ^(S)who is blessed forever! Amen.

²⁶For this reason ^(T)God gave them up to ^(U)dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, ^(V)men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

²⁸And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, ^(W)God gave them up to ^(X)a debased mind to do ^(Y)what ought not to be done. ²⁹They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³²Though they know ^(Z)God's righteous decree that those who practice such things ^(AA)deserve to die, they not only do them but ^(AB)give approval to those who practice them.

God's Righteous Judgment

2 Therefore you have ^(AC)no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For ^(AD)in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. ²We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. ³Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴Or do you presume on ^(AE)the riches of his kindness and ^(AF)forbearance and ^(AG)patience, ^(AH)not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? ⁵But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are ^(AI)storing up ^(AJ)wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

⁶^(AK)He will render to each one according to his works: ⁷to those who ^(AL)by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; ⁸but for those who are self-seeking^[d] and ^(AM)do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. ⁹There will be tribulation and distress ^(AN)for every human being who does evil, the Jew ^(AO)first and also the Greek, ¹⁰but glory and honor and ^(AP)peace for everyone who does good, ^(AQ)the Jew first and also the Greek. ¹¹For ^(AR)God shows no partiality.

God's Judgment and the Law

¹²For all who have sinned ^(AS)without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. ¹³For ^(AT)it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. ¹⁴For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, ^(AU)by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵They show that the work of the law is ^(AV)written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ¹⁶^(AW)on that day when, ^(AX)according to my gospel, God judges ^(AY)the secrets of men ^(AZ)by Christ Jesus.

¹⁷But if you call yourself a Jew and ^(BA)rely on the law and boast in God ¹⁸and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; ¹⁹and if you are sure that you yourself are ^(BB)a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law ^(BC)the embodiment of ^(BD)knowledge and truth— ²¹^(BE)you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? ²²You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you ^(BF)rob temples? ²³You who ^(BG)boast in the law ^(BH)dishonor God by breaking the law. ²⁴For, ^(BI)as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed ^(BJ)among the Gentiles because of you.”

²⁵For circumcision indeed is of value ^(BK)if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. ²⁶So, if ^(BL)a man who is uncircumcised keeps ^(BM)the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded^[e] as circumcision? ²⁷Then he who is physically^[f] uncircumcised but keeps the law ^(BN)will condemn you who have ^(BO)the written code^[g] and circumcision but break the law. ²⁸For ^(BP)no one is a Jew ^(BQ)who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. ²⁹But a Jew is one ^(BR)inwardly, and ^(BS)circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. ^(BT)His praise is not from man but from God.

God's Righteousness Upheld

3 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ²Much in every way. To begin with, ^(BU)the Jews were entrusted with ^(BV)the oracles of God. ³^(BW)What if some were unfaithful? ^(BX)Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? ⁴By no means! ^(BY)Let God be true though ^(BZ)every one were a liar, as it is written,

^(CA)“That you may be justified in your words,
and prevail when you ^(CB)are judged.”

⁵But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict ^(CC)wrath on us? (^(CD)I speak in a human way.) ⁶By no means! For then how could ^(CE)God judge the world? ⁷But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, ^(CF)why am I still being condemned as a sinner? ⁸And why not ^(CG)do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

No One Is Righteous

⁹What then? Are we Jews^[h] any better off?^[i] No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both ^(CH)Jews and ^(CI)Greeks, are ^(CJ)under sin, ¹⁰as it is written:

^(CK)“None is righteous, no, not one;
¹¹    no one understands;
    no one seeks for God.
¹²All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
    no one does good,
    not even one.”
¹³^(CL)“Their throat is ^(CM)an open grave;
    they use their tongues to deceive.”
^(CN)“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
¹⁴    ^(CO)“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
¹⁵^(CP)“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶    in their paths are ruin and misery,
¹⁷and ^(CQ)the way of peace they have not known.”
¹⁸    ^(CR)“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

¹⁹Now we know that whatever ^(CS)the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, ^(CT)so that every mouth may be stopped, and ^(CU)the whole world may be held accountable to God. ²⁰For ^(CV)by works of the law no human being^[j] will be justified in his sight, since ^(CW)through the law comes knowledge of sin.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith

²¹But now ^(CX)the righteousness of God ^(CY)has been manifested apart from the law, although ^(CZ)the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²²the righteousness of God ^(DA)through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. ^(DB)For there is no distinction: ²³for ^(DC)all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴^(DD)and are justified ^(DE)by his grace as a gift, ^(DF)through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God ^(DG)put forward as ^(DH)a propitiation ^(DI)by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in ^(DJ)his divine forbearance he had passed over ^(DK)former sins. ²⁶It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

²⁷^(DL)Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸For we hold that one is justified by faith ^(DM)apart from works of the law. ²⁹Or ^(DN)is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰since ^(DO)God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and ^(DP)the uncircumcised through faith. ³¹Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Abraham Justified by Faith

4 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, ^(DQ)our forefather according to the flesh? ²For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but ^(DR)not before God. ³For what does the Scripture say? ^(DS)“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” ⁴Now ^(DT)to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. ⁵And to the one who does not work but ^(DU)believes in^[k] him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, ⁶just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

⁷^(DV)“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
⁸blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not ^(DW)count his sin.”

⁹Is this blessing then only for ^(DX)the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? ^(DY)For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. ¹⁰How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. ¹¹^(DZ)He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was ^(EA)to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, ¹²and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

The Promise Realized Through Faith

¹³For ^(EB)the promise to Abraham and his offspring ^(EC)that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴^(ED)For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵For ^(EE)the law brings wrath, but ^(EF)where there is no law ^(EG)there is no transgression.

¹⁶That is why it depends on faith, ^(EH)in order that the promise may rest on grace and ^(EI)be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, ^(EJ)who is the father of us all, ¹⁷as it is written, ^(EK)“I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, ^(EL)who gives life to the dead and calls into existence ^(EM)the things that do not exist. ¹⁸In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ^(EN)“So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was ^(EO)as good as dead (^(EP)since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered ^(EQ)the barrenness^[l] of Sarah's womb. ²⁰No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, ²¹fully convinced that ^(ER)God was able to do what he had promised. ²²That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” ²³But ^(ES)the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, ²⁴but for ours also. It will be counted to us ^(ET)who believe in ^(EU)him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, ²⁵^(EV)who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised ^(EW)for our justification.

Peace with God Through Faith

5 ^(EX)Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, ^(EY)we^[m] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ²Through him we have also ^(EZ)obtained access by faith^[n] into this grace ^(FA)in which we stand, and ^(FB)we^[o] rejoice^[p] in hope of the glory of God. ³Not only that, but we ^(FC)rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering ^(FD)produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and ^(FE)hope does not put us to shame, because God's love ^(FF)has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

⁶For ^(FG)while we were still weak, at the right time ^(FH)Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— ⁸but ^(FI)God shows his love for us in that ^(FJ)while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹Since, therefore, ^(FK)we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from ^(FL)the wrath of God. ¹⁰For if ^(FM)while we were enemies ^(FN)we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by ^(FO)his life. ¹¹More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received ^(FP)reconciliation.