First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for what He has done for all of you; for the report of your faith is spreading through the whole world.

What I mean is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.

I owe what service I can do to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians, to the learned, and to the illiterate.

For there is a revelation of the wrath of God from heaven against all the wrongdoing and evil thoughts of men who keep down what is true by wrongdoing;

Inasmuch as, what may be known of God, is manifest among them, for, God, unto them, hath made it manifest, -

For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse.

for they had utterly transformed the reality of God into what was unreal, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

This is why God delivered them over to degrading passions. For even their females exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.

and males too have forsaken the natural function of females and been consumed by flaming passion for one another, males practicing shameful vice with other males, and continuing to suffer in their persons the inevitable penalty for doing what is improper.

And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a worthless mind to do what is morally wrong.

Therefore, O man, thou are without excuse, every man who judges, for in what thou judge the other man, thou condemn thyself, for the man who judges is doing the same things.

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

For when He finally judges, He will pay everyone with exactness for what he has done,

To the ones who continue doing what is good and who look for glory, honor and immortal life [God will give] never ending life.

But to those who, from a love of competition, are not guided by what is true, will come the heat of his wrath,

tribulation and anguish - against every soul of man who worketh out what is base, both of Jew first and of Greek, -

But glory and honour and peace - unto every one who worketh what is good, both unto Jew first and unto Greek:

So, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, instinctively do what the law demands, they are a law to themselves even though they do not have the law.

for they show that what the Law demands is written on their hearts, and their consciences will testify for them, and with their thoughts they will either accuse or perhaps defend themselves,

on the day when God judges what people have kept secret, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus.

But [what] if you are called a Jew and rest on the law, and boast of God,

you know the divine will, and what is contrary thereto, having been educated in the law:

A teacher of the foolish, having in the law the form of knowledge and of what is true;

You who give teaching to others, do you give it to yourself? you who say that a man may not take what is not his, do you take what is not yours?

You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who detest idols, do you rob [pagan] temples [of valuable idols and offerings]?

For he is not a Jew in what is visible, nor is circumcision in what is visible, in flesh,

but he is a Jew in what is hidden, and circumcision is of the heart, in spirit not a document, whose praise is not from men but from God.

What, then, is the preeminence of the Jew? Or what, the profit of his circumcision?

For what? If some distrusted, shall their distrust make, the trust of God, void?

By no means! God must prove true, though every man be false; as the Scripture says, "That you may be shown to be upright in what you say, And win your case when you go into court."

But, if, our unrighteousness, commendeth, God's righteousness, what shall we say? Surely, not unrighteous, is God who visiteth with his anger? After the manner of men, I am speaking, -

And why should we not say, "Let us do what is wrong so something good will come from it," as some people slanderously claim that we are saying? These people deserve to be condemned.

What then? do we screen ourselves? Not at all! For we have before accused both Jews and Greeks of being, all under sin;

as it is written [Psa. 14:1ff; 53:1ff], "No one [always] does what is right; not even one person.

Not one who has the knowledge of what is right, not one who is a searcher after God;

All have turned aside from the right path; they have every one of them become corrupt. There is no one who does what is right--no, not so much as one."

Their throat is like an open place of death; with their tongues they have said what is not true: the poison of snakes is under their lips:

Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

This is because no human being can be considered right with God by [obeying] the requirements of a law. [Note: It is difficult to determine the exact sense in which "law" is used in these verses. It may be law generally, or the law of Moses specifically. See Bruce, pages 52-58]. For the knowledge of what sin is comes from the law of Moses.

Where, then, the boasting! It is excluded. Through what kind of law? Of works? Nay! but through a law of faith:

What then shall we say - as touching Abraham our forefather?

For if he was considered in right standing with God on the condition of what he did, he has something to boast of, but not before God.

For what doth the Scripture say? And Abraham believed in God, and it was reckoned unto him as righteousness.

Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.

Just as David himself describes the bliss of the man who has righteousness counted to him by God apart from what he does ??7 Blessed are they whose breaches of the Law are forgiven, whose sins are covered!

Does this happiness apply to those who are circumcised, or to those who are uncircumcised as well? What we say is, Abraham's faith was credited to him as uprightness.

Under what circumstances was it credited to him as right standing? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? Not after but before he was circumcised.

(What the Law produces is the Wrath, not the promise of God; where there is no law, there is no transgression either.)

as the Scripture says, "I have made you the father of many nations." The promise is guaranteed in the very sight of God in whom he had faith, who can bring the dead to life and call into being what does not exist.

Who, past hope, upon hope believed, so that he became father of many nations, - according to what had been said - So shall be thy seed; -

And being fully persuaded (that), - what he hath promised, able is he also to perform:

What follows? This comparison. Through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin death, and so death passed to all mankind in turn, in that all sinned.

Nor can the free gift be compared to what came through the man who sinned. For the sentence that followed one man's offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift brought justification, even after many offenses.

What then shall we say? are we still to continue in sin that favour may abound?

What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law but under favour? Far be it!

Know ye not, that to what ye present yourselves as bondmen for obedience, ye are bondmen to what ye obey, whether of sin for death, or of obedience for righteousness?

Thank God, though you did serve sin, you have rendered whole-hearted obedience to what you were taught under the rule of faith;

And when you were freed from [the practice of] sin, you became slaves to doing what is right.

I am using words in the way of men, because your flesh is feeble: as you gave your bodies as servants to what is unclean, and to evil to do evil, so now give them as servants to righteousness to do what is holy.

What fruit, therefore, had ye then - in things for which ye now are taking shame to yourselves? For, the end of those things, is death.

For the reward of sin is death; but what God freely gives is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Do you not know, brothers??or I am speaking to men who know what law is??hat law governs a man only as long as he lives?

When we were living in the flesh [trapped by sin], the sinful passions, which were awakened by [that which] the Law [identifies as sin], were at work in our body to bear fruit for death [since the willingness to sin led to death and separation from God].

But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law.

What, then, shall we say? Is the law sin? Far be it! On the contrary, I had not discovered, sin, save through law, for even, of coveting, I had not been aware if, the law, had not kept on saying - Thou shall not covet;

So, through that commandment, sin found an opportunity to produce in my heart all kinds of improper desires for what belonged to others. For until there was the law, sin was dead [i.e., it did not stimulate excitement and activity as much].

Therefore, did what is good cause my death? Absolutely not! On the contrary, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure.

For, that which I am working out, I do not approve, - for not, what I wish, the same I practise, but, what I hate, the same I do:

Now, if what I wish not the same I do, I consent unto the law that it is right.

I know, in fact, that there dwelleth not in me, that is, in my flesh, anything good; for, the wishing, lieth near me, but, the working out of what is right, not!

For not what good I would, do I; but the evil I would not, this I do.

Now, if what I wish not, the same, I do, no longer am, I, working it out, but the, sin, that dwelleth in me.

I find, then, the law, that when I desire to do what is right, with me the evil is present,

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this dying body?

For, what was impossible by the law in that it was weak through the flesh, God, by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh,

So that what was ordered by the law might be done in us, who are living, not in the way of the flesh, but in the way of the Spirit.

For those people who are [controlled] by the flesh think about [i.e., desire] what the flesh wants; but those who are [controlled] by the Holy Spirit [desire] what the Holy Spirit wants.

For, what is preferred by the flesh, is death, whereas, what is preferred by the spirit, is life and peace; -

Inasmuch as, what is preferred by the flesh, is hostile towards God, for, unto the law of God, it doth not submit itself, neither in fact can it. -

For I count as nothing what we now suffer, in comparison with the glory which will soon be unveiled to us.

For, by our hope, have we been saved, - but, hope beheld, is not hope, for, what one beholdeth, why doth he hope for?

If, however, what we do not behold we hope for, with endurance, are we ardently awaiting it ; -

In the selfsame way moreover, even the Spirit, helpeth together in our weakness, - for, what we should pray for as we ought, we know not, but, the Spirit itself, maketh intercession with sighings unutterable,

And, he that searcheth the hearts, knoweth what is preferred by the Spirit - that, according to God, he maketh intercession in behalf of saints;

We know that in everything God works with those who love him, whom he has called in accordance with his purpose, to bring about what is good.

What, then, shall we say to a these things? If God is for us, who shall be against us?

Who condemns [us]? Certainly not Jesus, for He is the One who died [i.e., to save us], and what is more, He was raised from the dead and is [now] at the right side of God. He also goes [to God] on our behalf [i.e., as we pray].

what shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or penury, or peril, or sword?

nor [things] above, nor [things] below, nor any [other] created thing will be able to separate us from God's love [for us], revealed through Christ Jesus our Lord [Note: The idea of this passage is "Regardless of what happens to us, God still loves us"].

I say what is true in Christ, and not what is false, my mind giving witness with me in the Holy Spirit,

For this is what the promise said: "When I come back at this time next year, Sarah will have a son."

For before the children were born or had done anything either good or bad, in order to carry out God's purpose of selection, which depends not on what men do but on his calling them,

For even before the twins were born, and therefore had not done anything good or bad, Rebecca was told [Gen. 25:23], "The older one [i.e., Esau] will serve the younger one [i.e., Jacob]." This was so that God's purpose of choosing and calling [whomever He wanted to] might prevail, instead of [it depending on] what a person did.

What, then, shall we say? Is there injustice with God? Far be it!

So then, it does not depend on what a person wants or does, but on God, who shows pity [i.e., to whomever He wants].

But you [i.e., probably an objecting Jew] will say to me, "Why does God still find fault [with people]? For who can [successfully] resist what God wants to do?"

But who are you, a mere man, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”

Or, does not the potter have the right to make what he wants to out of the clay? Can he not make both a beautiful vase and a common pot out of the same lump [of clay]?

What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:

And what if He did this to make known the riches of His glory on objects of mercy that He prepared beforehand for glory—