English Standard Version ESV
Common English Bible CEB
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
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From Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for God's good news.
2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
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3 concerning his Son, who was descended from Davidaccording to the flesh
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God promised this good news about his Son ahead of time through his prophets in the holy scriptures. His Son was descended from David.
4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
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He was publicly identified as God's Son with power through his resurrection from the dead, which was based on the Spirit of holiness. This Son is Jesus Christ our Lord.
5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,
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Through him we have received God's grace and our appointment to be apostles. This was to bring all Gentiles to faithful obedience for his name's sake.
6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
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You who are called by Jesus Christ are also included among these Gentiles.
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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To those in Rome who are dearly loved by God and called to be God's people.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because the news about your faithfulness is being spread throughout the whole world.
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you
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I serve God in my spirit by preaching the good news about God's Son, and God is my witness that I continually mention you
10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.
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in all my prayers. I'm always asking that somehow, by God's will, I might succeed in visiting you at last.
11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you--
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I really want to see you to pass along some spiritual gift to you so that you can be strengthened.
12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.
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What I mean is that we can mutually encourage each other while I am with you. We can be encouraged by the faithfulness we find in each other, both your faithfulness and mine.
13 I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.
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I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I planned to visit you many times, although I have been prevented from coming until now. I want to harvest some fruit among you, just as I have done among the other Gentiles.
14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.
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I have a responsibility both to Greeks and to those who don't speak Greek, both to the wise and to the foolish.
15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
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That's why I'm ready to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
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I'm not ashamed of the gospel: it is God's own power for salvation to all who have faith in God, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."
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God's righteousness is being revealed in the gospel, from faithfulness for faith, as it is written, The righteous person will live by faith.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
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God's wrath is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodly behavior and the injustice of human beings who silence the truth with injustice.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
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This is because what is known about God should be plain to them because God made it plain to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
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Ever since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities—God's eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through the things God has made. So humans are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
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Although they knew God, they didn't honor God as God or thank him. Instead, their reasoning became pointless, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
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While they were claiming to be wise, they made fools of themselves.
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
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They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images that look like mortal humans: birds, animals, and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
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So God abandoned them to their hearts' desires, which led to the moral corruption of degrading their own bodies with each other.
25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
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They traded God's truth for a lie, and they worshipped and served the creation instead of the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;
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That's why God abandoned them to degrading lust. Their females traded natural sexual relations for unnatural sexual relations.
27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
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Also, in the same way, the males traded natural sexual relations with females, and burned with lust for each other. Males performed shameful actions with males, and they were paid back with the penalty they deserved for their mistake in their own bodies.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
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Since they didn't think it was worthwhile to acknowledge God, God abandoned them to a defective mind to do inappropriate things.
29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,
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So they were filled with all injustice, wicked behavior, greed, and evil behavior. They are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, deception, and malice. They are gossips,
30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
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they slander people, and they hate God. They are rude and proud, and they brag. They invent ways to be evil, and they are disobedient to their parents.
31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
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They are without understanding, disloyal, without affection, and without mercy.
32 Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
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Though they know God's decision that those who persist in such practices deserve death, they not only keep doing these things but also approve others who practice them.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible