Romans 1:18-2:16

English Standard Version

God's Wrath on Unrighteousness

¹⁸For ^(A)the wrath of God ^(B)is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹For what can be ^(C)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, ^(D)have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,^[a] 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 ^(E)became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²^(F)Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³and ^(G)exchanged the glory of ^(H)the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

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

²⁶For this reason ^(M)God gave them up to ^(N)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, ^(O)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, ^(P)God gave them up to ^(Q)a debased mind to do ^(R)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 ^(S)God's righteous decree that those who practice such things ^(T)deserve to die, they not only do them but ^(U)give approval to those who practice them.

God's Righteous Judgment

2 Therefore you have ^(V)no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For ^(W)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 ^(X)the riches of his kindness and ^(Y)forbearance and ^(Z)patience, ^(AA)not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? ⁵But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are ^(AB)storing up ^(AC)wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

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

God's Judgment and the Law

¹²For all who have sinned ^(AL)without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. ¹³For ^(AM)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, ^(AN)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 ^(AO)written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ¹⁶^(AP)on that day when, ^(AQ)according to my gospel, God judges ^(AR)the secrets of men ^(AS)by Christ Jesus.