which God had promised by his prophets in the holy scriptures,

but as to his holy spirit miraculously declared to be the son of God, by his resurrection from the dead:

to all the beloved of God, the saints by this vocation, who are in Rome, grace to you, and peace from God our father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is celebrated through the whole world.

for God is my witness, to whom I am entirely devoted, in preaching the gospel of his son, that I constantly make mention of you, in my prayers, requesting,

if it be God's will, that I might now at length have the happiness of coming to you.

because what should be known of God they are acquainted with; for God hath manifested it unto them.

because when they knew God, they did not with gratitude glorify him as God, but their reasoning became extravagance, and their minds, void of judgment, were involv'd in darkness.

the honour due to God, who is immortal, they transferr'd to idols representing men, who are mortal, to birds, and beasts, and insects.

wherefore God abandon'd them to the impure passions of their own hearts, so that they themselves dishonour'd their own bodies;

they changed the true God for an idol, and adored and served the creature more than the creator, who is blessed for ever.

amen. for this cause God gave them up to infamous passions: for even the sex perverted the instinct of nature:

As they did not seek the favour of God, by worshipping him, God gave them over to a depraved sense, to act unworthy of human nature;

whisperers, backbiters, enemies of God, injurious, proud, vain, inventers of vices, disobedient to parents, void of judgment,

but we know that the judgment of God against those who commit such crimes, is just.

do you think then, O man, who do what you condemn in others, that you shall escape the judgment of God?

or do you despise the riches of his kindness, and forbearance, and long-suffering; not considering that the kindness of God invites you to repentance?

however by your impenitence, and the insensibility of your heart, you treasure up for yourself wrath against the day of wrath, and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

since with God there is no respect of persons.

for not the bare hearers of the law, but they who observe the law, are such as shall be justified, before God.

in the day, when according to my gospel, God shall judge the secret actions of men by Jesus Christ.

and you, who glory in the law, do you dishonour God by the violation of the law?

for (as it is written) the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles by your miscarriages.

but it is the Jew, who is so inwardly, and it is the circumcision of the heart, according to the spiritual, not the literal sense, which have the approbation, I do not say of men, but of God.

much every way: chiefly, because they were intrusted with the oracles of God.

the faithfulness of God of no effect? by no means; yea, let God be acknowledged to be true, tho' men should be all deceivers; as it is written, " that you might be justified in your sayings, and might overcome when you are judged."

but say you, "if our unfaithfulness displays the veracity of God, what shall we say? is it not injustice in God to inflict punishment?"

not at all: for then how could God judge the world?

"but, say you, if the veracity of God hath appeared more illustrious thro' my unfaithfulness, why then am I condemned as a sinner?

and why may we not do evil, that good may come?" which is slanderously reported to be our maxim, by some, whose condemnation is just.

there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

they are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable, there is none that doth good, no not one.

there is no fear of God before their eyes."

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law: that every one may be silenc'd, and all the world plead guilty before God.

whom God had ordained, thro' faith, to be the propitiatory victim by his blood, for the manifestation of his goodness, by patiently passing over their past transgressions: to manifest,

is God the God of the Jews only, and not of the Gentiles? surely he is of the Gentiles too;

since it is one God, who will justify both the Jews and the Gentiles, through faith.

for if Abraham was justified by works, he had matter of pretension, whereas he had no such claim from God.

for what saith the scripture? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness."

the reward is not counted as a favour to him that has done good actions, but as a debt:

whereas he that trusts in God to be made righteous, tho' he has not done such actions, shall find his faith accounted as righteousness.

even as David also speaks of the happiness of the man whom God accounted righteous independently of his works,

" I have made thee a father of many nations," then existing in the sight of God, whom he believed, who gives life to the dead, and calls forth things that are not, as if they were:

he was not incredulously diffident of the divine promise; but was strong in faith, and did honour to God,

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ,

now hope will not deceive us, because the love of God is diffused thro' our hearts, by the holy spirit which is given to us;

but herein hath God displayed his love towards us, in that Christ died for us, even while we were yet sinners.

for if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son: much more being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

and not only so, but we have present joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now obtained the reconciliation.

the type of him that was to come: but yet the damage of the fall does not exactly correspond to the advantages of the divine favour: for tho' through the fall of one, mankind became mortal, yet this is greatly over-ballanced by the favour and bounty of God, in the benevolence of one man, Jesus Christ, to all mankind.

God forbid, that we who have died to sin should live any longer therein.

for as to his death, he died upon the account of sin once for all; but as to his being alive, he lives to the glory of God for ever.

in like manner consider your selves as dead to sin; but alive to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

neither yield your members as instruments to iniquity: but yield yourselves unto God, as being alive after having been dead; and your members as instruments of righteousness.

but God be thanked, that you, who were the vassals of sin, have sincerely obeyed in the manner the gospel prescribed.

but now being set free from sin, and actually in the service of God, the present advantage you reap is holiness, and the future everlasting life.

for the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

thus, my brethren, the law is become dead with respect to you by the body of Christ; that you might be subject to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

wherefore the law is holy; and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

was it then good that brought death upon me? no, but it was sin, that sin might show it self by being able to bring death upon me by means of that which is good; that sin, I say, by the commandment might appear to be exceedingly destructive.

for I experience, that in the carnal part of me dwells no good: for it is familiar to me, to will, but not to execute that which is good.

for the good that I purpose to do, I do not: but the evil which I resolve against, that I do.

for my mind takes delight in the law of God,

the divine grace thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. so then, with the mind I my self am devoted to the law of God; tho' my carnal inclinations are enslaved to the law of sin.

God having sent his own son invested with a body like that of sinful men, as a sacrifice for sin, thereby destroyed its power; which the law could not effect, human nature being in such a corrupted state.

because a sensual disposition of mind is averse to God: for it is not subject to the divine law, nor indeed can it be.

as many as are actuated by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

the same spirit testifies to our spirit, that we are the children of God.

and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; although we now suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him.

We know too, that all things co-operate for the good of those who love God, who, pursuant to his purpose, has now called them:

What shall we conclude then from this? if God be for us, who can be against us?

who shall plead against God's elect? shall God who justifieth them?

who shall condemn them? shall Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, and makes intercession for us?

neither the high, nor the low, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God by Christ Jesus our Lord.

who are the offspring of the patriarchs, and of whom as to the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

that is, the children by natural descent are not thereby the children of God: but the children of the promise are alone considered as his posterity.

for before they were born, and had done neither good or evil, that the distinction which God had purposed to make might appear to be, not in consideration of their actions, but of his own free call,

What do we say then? is there injustice in God?

God forbid. for he saith to Moses, "I will show favour to whom I will show favour, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."

so that this is a matter not dependent on him that wills or runs, but on God, who shews mercy.

and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, ye are not my people; there shall they be called, the children of the living God."

and as Esaias said before, "except the God of heaven had left us a remnant, we had been as Sodoma, and brought to the state of Gomorrha."

Brethren, my hearty desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they may be saved.

for I bear them witness, that they have a zeal for God, but not guided by true knowledge.

because being ignorant of the justice which is of God, and going about to establish a justification of their own, they have not submitted themselves to that which is of God.

for if you openly confess, that Jesus is the Lord, and sincerely believe, that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.

and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach except they be sent? as it is written, "how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"

You will say then, hath God discarded his people? by no means. for I my self am an Israelite, of the posterity of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

God hath not discarded his people whom he formerly approv'd. don't you know what the scripture says of Elias? how he complain'd to God against Israel,

as it is written, "God hath given them up to a state of insensibility, so that their eyes could not see, and their ears could not hear."

lest God should not spare you, since he did not spare even the natural branches.

for if you were taken from the wild olive, which was natural to you, to be grafted into a good olive-stock of a different nature, with how much greater reason shall these who are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive-tree?

as you in times past did not obey God, yet have now obtained mercy upon the occasion of their disobedience:

for God hath manifested to all the disobedient, that he would have mercy upon all.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to you, that you present your bodies a living victim, holy, acceptable unto God, as the service of a rational being.

and be not conformed to the present age: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may perceive what God requires of you is good, and acceptable, and perfect.

Now it is by virtue of my apostolical commission, that I charge every man among you, not to entertain too high an opinion of himself; but modestly consider, that 'tis God who has dealt to every man his proportion of spiritual gifts.

Let love be without dissimulation. abhor that which is evil, adhere to that which is good.

Render no man evil for evil. mind such things as are approved not only by God, but by men.

be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good.