Romans 10:3-16:20

English Standard Version

³For, being ignorant of ^(A)the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. ⁴For ^(B)Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.^[a]

The Message of Salvation to All

⁵For ^(C)Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that ^(D)the person who does the commandments shall live by them. ⁶But ^(E)the righteousness based on faith says, ^(F)“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷“or ‘Who will descend into the ^(G)abyss?’” (that is, ^(H)to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸But what does it say? ^(I)“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); ⁹because, if ^(J)you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and ^(K)believe in your heart ^(L)that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. ¹¹For the Scripture says, ^(M)“Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ¹²^(N)For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; ^(O)for the same Lord is Lord of all, ^(P)bestowing his riches on all who call on him. ¹³For ^(Q)“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him ^(R)of whom they have never heard?^[b] And how are they to hear ^(S)without someone preaching? ¹⁵And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ^(T)“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” ¹⁶But ^(U)they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ^(V)“Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” ¹⁷So ^(W)faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

¹⁸But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for

^(X)“Their voice has gone out ^(Y)to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.”

¹⁹But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,

^(Z)“I will ^(AA)make you jealous of those who are not a nation;
with a ^(AB)foolish nation I will make you angry.”

²⁰Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,

^(AC)“I have been found by those who did not seek me;
I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”

²¹But of Israel he says, ^(AD)“All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

The Remnant of Israel

11 I ask, then, ^(AE)has God rejected his people? By no means! For ^(AF)I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,^[c] a member of the tribe of Benjamin. ²^(AG)God has not rejected his people whom he ^(AH)foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ³^(AI)“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” ⁴But what is God's reply to him? ^(AJ)“I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵So too at the present time there is ^(AK)a remnant, chosen by grace. ⁶^(AL)But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

⁷What then? ^(AM)Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest ^(AN)were hardened, ⁸as it is written,

^(AO)“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
^(AP)eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”

⁹And David says,

^(AQ)“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
¹⁰let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”

Gentiles Grafted In

¹¹So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass ^(AR)salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. ¹²Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion^[d] mean!

¹³Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as ^(AS)I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry ¹⁴in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and ^(AT)thus save some of them. ¹⁵For if their rejection means ^(AU)the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? ¹⁶^(AV)If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷But if ^(AW)some of the branches were broken off, and you, ^(AX)although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root^[e] of the olive tree, ¹⁸do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. ¹⁹Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you ^(AY)stand fast through faith. So ^(AZ)do not become proud, but ^(BA)fear. ²¹For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. ²²Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, ^(BB)provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise ^(BC)you too will be cut off. ²³And ^(BD)even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. ²⁴For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

The Mystery of Israel's Salvation

²⁵^(BE)Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:^[f] ^(BF)a partial hardening has come upon Israel, ^(BG)until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

^(BH)“The Deliverer will come ^(BI)from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
²⁷“and this will be my ^(BJ)covenant with them
^(BK)when I take away their sins.”

²⁸As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are ^(BL)beloved for the sake of their forefathers. ²⁹For the gifts and ^(BM)the calling of God are irrevocable. ³⁰For just as ^(BN)you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now^[g] receive mercy. ³²For God ^(BO)has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

³³Oh, the depth of the riches and ^(BP)wisdom and knowledge of God! ^(BQ)How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

³⁴“For ^(BR)who has known the mind of the Lord,
or ^(BS)who has been his counselor?”
³⁵“Or ^(BT)who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”

³⁶For ^(BU)from him and through him and to him are all things. ^(BV)To him be glory forever. Amen.

A Living Sacrifice

12 ^(BW)I appeal to you therefore, brothers,^[h] by the mercies of God, ^(BX)to present your bodies ^(BY)as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.^[i] ²^(BZ)Do not be conformed to this world,^[j] but be transformed by ^(CA)the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may ^(CB)discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.^[k]

Gifts of Grace

³For ^(CC)by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you ^(CD)not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, ^(CE)each according to ^(CF)the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For ^(CG)as in one body we have many members,^[l] and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵so we, ^(CH)though many, ^(CI)are one body in Christ, and individually ^(CJ)members one of another. ⁶^(CK)Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if ^(CL)prophecy, ^(CM)in proportion to our faith; ⁷if ^(CN)service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; ^(CO)the one who leads,^[m] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with ^(CP)cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

⁹^(CQ)Let love be genuine. ^(CR)Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ¹⁰^(CS)Love one another with brotherly affection. ^(CT)Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹Do not be slothful in zeal, ^(CU)be fervent in spirit,^[n] ^(CV)serve the Lord. ¹²^(CW)Rejoice in hope, ^(CX)be patient in tribulation, ^(CY)be constant in prayer. ¹³^(CZ)Contribute to the needs of the saints and ^(DA)seek to show hospitality.

¹⁴^(DB)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵^(DC)Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶^(DD)Live in harmony with one another. ^(DE)Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.^[o] ^(DF)Never be wise in your own sight. ¹⁷^(DG)Repay no one evil for evil, but ^(DH)give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸If possible, so far as it depends on you, ^(DI)live peaceably with all. ¹⁹Beloved, ^(DJ)never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[p] to the wrath of God, for it is written, ^(DK)“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰To the contrary, ^(DL)“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Submission to the Authorities

13 Let every person ^(DM)be subject to the governing authorities. For ^(DN)there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ²Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you ^(DO)will receive his approval, ⁴for ^(DP)he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, ^(DQ)an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also ^(DR)for the sake of conscience. ⁶For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷^(DS)Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

⁸^(DT)Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for ^(DU)the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹For the commandments, ^(DV)“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ^(DW)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore ^(DX)love is the fulfilling of the law.

¹¹Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you ^(DY)to wake from sleep. ^(DZ)For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. ¹²^(EA)The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us ^(EB)cast off ^(EC)the works of darkness and ^(ED)put on the armor of light. ¹³^(EE)Let us walk properly as in the daytime, ^(EF)not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, ^(EG)not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴But ^(EH)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, ^(EI)to gratify its desires.

Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another

14 As for ^(EJ)the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. ²^(EK)One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. ³Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and ^(EL)let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. ⁴^(EM)Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master^[q] that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

⁵^(EN)One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. ^(EO)Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since ^(EP)he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷For ^(EQ)none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. ⁸For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, ^(ER)whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. ⁹For to this end Christ ^(ES)died and lived again, that he might be Lord both ^(ET)of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For ^(EU)we will all stand before ^(EV)the judgment seat of God; ¹¹for it is written,

^(EW)“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess^[r] to God.”

¹²So then ^(EX)each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Do Not Cause Another to Stumble

¹³^(EY)Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide ^(EZ)never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. ¹⁴I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus ^(FA)that nothing is unclean in itself, ^(FB)but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. ¹⁵For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, ^(FC)you are no longer walking in love. ^(FD)By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. ¹⁶^(FE)So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. ¹⁷^(FF)For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but ^(FG)of righteousness and ^(FH)peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸Whoever thus serves Christ is ^(FI)acceptable to God and approved by men. ¹⁹So then let us ^(FJ)pursue what makes for peace and for ^(FK)mutual upbuilding.

²⁰^(FL)Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. ^(FM)Everything is indeed clean, but ^(FN)it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. ²¹^(FO)It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.^[s] ²²The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. ^(FP)Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. ²³But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.^[t]

The Example of Christ

15 ^(FQ)We who are strong ^(FR)have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ²^(FS)Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ³For ^(FT)Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ^(FU)“The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” ⁴For ^(FV)whatever was written in former days was written for our ^(FW)instruction, that through endurance and through ^(FX)the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ⁵May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you ^(FY)to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, ⁶that together you may with one voice glorify ^(FZ)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

⁸For I tell you that Christ ^(GA)became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order ^(GB)to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, ⁹and in order ^(GC)that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

^(GD)“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name.”

¹⁰And again it is said,

^(GE)“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

¹¹And again,

^(GF)“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him.”

¹²And again Isaiah says,

^(GG)^(GH)“The root of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
^(GI)in him will the Gentiles hope.”

¹³May the God of hope fill you with all ^(GJ)joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

¹⁴^(GK)I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,^[u] that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with ^(GL)all knowledge and able to instruct one another. ¹⁵But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, ^(GM)because of the grace given me by God ¹⁶to be ^(GN)a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles ^(GO)in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that ^(GP)the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷In Christ Jesus, then, I have ^(GQ)reason to be proud of ^(GR)my work for God. ¹⁸For I will not venture to speak of anything except ^(GS)what Christ has accomplished through me ^(GT)to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, ¹⁹^(GU)by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that ^(GV)from Jerusalem and all the way around ^(GW)to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; ²⁰and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, ^(GX)lest I build on someone else's foundation, ²¹but as it is written,

^(GY)“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”

Paul's Plan to Visit Rome

²²This is the reason why ^(GZ)I have so often been hindered from coming to you. ²³But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and ^(HA)since I have longed for many years to come to you, ²⁴I hope to see you in passing as I go ^(HB)to Spain, and ^(HC)to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. ²⁵At present, however, ^(HD)I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. ²⁶For ^(HE)Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. ²⁷For they were pleased to do it, and indeed ^(HF)they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. ²⁸When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,^[v] I will leave ^(HG)for Spain by way of you. ²⁹I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing^[w] of Christ.

³⁰I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by ^(HH)the love of the Spirit, ^(HI)to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, ³¹^(HJ)that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that ^(HK)my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, ³²so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and ^(HL)be refreshed in your company. ³³May ^(HM)the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Personal Greetings

16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant^[x] of the church at ^(HN)Cenchreae, ²that you ^(HO)may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

³Greet ^(HP)Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, ⁴who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. ⁵Greet also ^(HQ)the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was ^(HR)the first convert^[y] to Christ in Asia. ⁶Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. ⁷Greet Andronicus and Junia,^[z] my kinsmen and my ^(HS)fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles,^[aa] and they were in Christ before me. ⁸Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. ⁹Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. ¹⁰Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those ^(HT)who belong to the family of Aristobulus. ¹¹Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. ¹²Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. ¹³Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. ¹⁴Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers^[ab] who are with them. ¹⁵Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. ¹⁶^(HU)Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

Final Instructions and Greetings

¹⁷I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles ^(HV)contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; ^(HW)avoid them. ¹⁸For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but ^(HX)their own appetites,^[ac] and ^(HY)by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. ¹⁹For ^(HZ)your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you ^(IA)to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. ²⁰^(IB)The God of peace ^(IC)will soon crush Satan under your feet. ^(ID)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.