Romans 1:27

27 and likewise the men, giving up natural relations with the opposite sex, burn with passion for one another, men committing shameful acts with other men and receiving in their own persons the penalty appropriate to their perversion.

Romans 1:27 Meaning and Commentary

Romans 1:27

And likewise also the men leaving the natural use of the
women
The very sin of "sodomy" is here designed, so called from Sodom, the place where we first hear of it, ( Genesis 19:5 ) , the men of which place, because they

burned in their lust one towards another,
as these Gentiles are said to do, God rained upon them fire and brimstone from heaven: an exceeding great sin this is, contrary to nature, dishonourable to human nature, and scandalous to a people and nation among whom it prevails, as it did very much in the Gentile world, and among their greatest philosophers; even those that were most noted for moral virtue are charged with it, as Socrates, Plato, Zeno, and others {m}: it is a sin which generally prevails where idolatry and infidelity do, as among the Pagans of old, and among the Papists and Mahometans now; and never was it so rife in this nation as since the schemes of deism and infidelity have found such a reception among us. Thus God, because men dishonour him with their evil principles and practices, leaves them to reproach their own nature, and dishonour their own bodies:

men with men working that which is unseemly;
and of which nothing like it is to be observed in the brutal world:

receiving in themselves the recompence of their error, which was
meet:
God punishes sin with sin; for as the Jews say F14, as

``one commandment draws on another, so one transgression draws on another; for the reward of the commandment is the commandment, (hrybe hrybe rkvw) and the reward of transgression is transgression.''


FOOTNOTES:

F13 A. Gellius Noct. Attic. l. 2. c. 18. Laert. Vit. Philosoph. l. 2. in Vit. Socrat. & l. 3. in Vit. Platon.
F14 Pirke Abot, c. 4. sect. 2.

Romans 1:27 In-Context

25 They have exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, by worshipping and serving created things, rather than the Creator - praised be he for ever. Amen.
26 This is why God has given them up to degrading passions; so that their women exchange natural sexual relations for unnatural;
27 and likewise the men, giving up natural relations with the opposite sex, burn with passion for one another, men committing shameful acts with other men and receiving in their own persons the penalty appropriate to their perversion.
28 In other words, since they have not considered God worth knowing, God has given them up to worthless ways of thinking; so that they do improper things.
29 They are filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and vice; stuffed with jealousy, murder, quarrelling, dishonesty and ill-will; they are gossips,
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.