"I am a Jewish man born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to the exactness of the law received from our fathers, being zealous for God, just as all [of] you are today.

So I said, 'What should I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Get up [and] proceed to Damascus, and there it will be told to you about all [the things] that have been appointed for you to do.'

And he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth,

And now why are you delaying? Get up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name!'

And looking intently at the Sanhedrin, Paul said, "Men [and] brothers, I have lived my life in all good conscience before God to this day."

Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, [you] whitewashed wall! And are you sitting [there] judging me according to the law, and acting contrary to the law do you order me to be struck?"

And those who stood nearby said, "Are you reviling the high priest of God?

But I do confess this to you, that according to the Way (which they call a sect), so I worship the God of our fathers, believing all things [that are] in accordance with the law and that are written in the prophets,

having a hope in God which these [men] also themselves await: [that] there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.

{For this reason} also myself {always} do my best to have a clear conscience toward God and people.

And now I stand here on trial on the basis of hope in the promise made by God to our fathers,

Why is it thought incredible by you [people] that God raises the dead?

But get up and stand on your feet, because for this [reason] I have appeared to you, to appoint you a servant and witness both [to the things] in which you saw me and [to the things] in which I will appear to you,

to open their eyes [so that they] may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, [so that] they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

but to those in Damascus first, and in Jerusalem and all the region of Judea and to the Gentiles, I proclaimed [that they should] repent and turn to God, doing deeds worthy of repentance.

Therefore I have experienced help from God until this day, [and] I stand here testifying to both small and great, saying nothing except what both the prophets and Moses have said were going to happen,

And Paul [replied], "I pray to God, whether in a short time or in a long time, not only you but also all those who are listening to me today may become such [people] as I also am, except for these bonds!"

Both the king and the governor got up, and Bernice and those who were sitting with them.

And running under the lee of a certain small island called Cauda, we were able with difficulty to get the ship's boat under control.

For this night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve came to me,

saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul! It is necessary [for] you to stand before Caesar, and behold, God has graciously granted you all who are sailing with you.'

Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will be like this--according to {the} way it was told to me.

Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it fall away.

And [after he] said these [things] and took bread, he gave thanks to God in front of [them] all, and [after] breaking [it], he began to eat.

but the centurion, [because he] wanted to save Paul, prevented them {from doing what they intended}, and gave orders [that] those who were able to swim should jump in first to get to the land,

But they were expecting [that] he was going to swell up or suddenly to fall down dead. So [after] they had waited for a long [time] and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds [and] began saying [that] he was a god.

From there we got underway [and] arrived at Rhegium, and after one day a south wind came up [and] on the second day we came to Puteoli,

And from there the brothers, [when they] heard the [news] about us, came to meet us as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns. [When he] saw them, Paul gave thanks to God [and] took courage.

And [when they] had set a day with him, many more came to him at his lodging place, to whom he was explaining from early in the morning until evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and attempting to convince them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets.

Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles. They also will listen!"

proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the [things] concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, without hindrance.

Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called [to be] an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

who was declared Son of God in power according to {the Holy Spirit} by the resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ our Lord,

To all those in Rome who are loved by God, called [to be] saints. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed in the whole world.

For God, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, is my witness, how constantly I make mention of you,

always asking in my prayers if somehow now at last I may succeed to come to you in the will of God.

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.

For the righteousness of God is revealed in it from faith to faith, just as it is written, "But the one who is righteous by faith will live."

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all impiety and unrighteousness of people, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

because what can be known about God is evident among them, for God made [it] clear to them.

For [although they] knew God, they did not honor [him] as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasoning, and their senseless hearts were darkened.

and exchanged the glory of the immortal God with the likeness of an image of mortal human beings and birds and quadrupeds and reptiles.

Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to immorality, [that] their bodies would be dishonored among themselves,

who exchanged the truth of God with a lie, and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed for eternity. Amen.

Because of this, God gave them over to degrading passions, for their females exchanged the natural relations for those contrary to nature,

And just as they did not see fit {to recognize God}, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do the things [that are] not proper,

slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boasters, contrivers of evil, disobedient to parents,

who, [although they] know the requirements of God, that those who do such things are worthy of death, not only do they do the same [things], but also they approve of those who do [them].

Now we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who do such things.

But do you think this, O man who passes judgment on those who do such things, and who does the same [things], that you will escape the judgment of God?

Or do you despise the wealth of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

to those who, by perseverance in good work, seek glory and honor and immortality, eternal life,

but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and to the Greek.

For [there] is no partiality with God.

For it is not the hearers of the law [who are] righteous in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be declared righteous.

on the day when God judges the secret things of people, according to my gospel, through Christ Jesus.

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God

Who boast in the law, by the transgression of the law you dishonor God!

For just as it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."

And the uncircumcised person by nature who carries out the law will judge you who, [though provided] with {the precise written code} and circumcision [are] a transgressor of the law.

But the Jew {is one inwardly}, and circumcision [is] of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter, whose praise [is] not from people but from God.

Much in every way. For first, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.

{What is the result} if some refused to believe? Their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, [will it]?

May it never be! But let God be true but every human being a liar, just as it is written, "In order that you may be justified in your words, and may prevail when you are judged."

But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? God, who inflicts wrath, [is] not unjust, [is he]? (I am speaking according to a human perspective.)

May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world?

But if by my lying, the truth of God abounded to his glory, why am I also still condemned as a sinner?

And [why] not (as we are slandered, and as some affirm that we say), "Let us do evil, in order that good may come [of it]? Their condemnation is just!

[there] is no one who understands; [there] is no one who seeks God.

The fear of God is not before their eyes."

Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those under the law, in order that every mouth may be closed and the whole world may become accountable to God.

But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified about by the law and the prophets--

that is, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. For [there] is no distinction,

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

whom God made publicly available as the mercy seat through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness, because of the passing over of previously committed sins,

in the forbearance of God, for the demonstration of his righteousness in the present time, so that he should be just and the one who justifies the [person] by faith in Jesus.

Or [is God] the God of the Jews only? [Is he] not also [the God] of the Gentiles? Yes, also of the Gentiles,

since God [is] one, who will justify {those who are circumcised} by faith and {those who are uncircumcised} through faith.

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

For what does the scripture say? "And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness."

just as David also speaks about the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

(just as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") before God, in whom he believed, the one who makes the dead alive and who calls the things that are not as [though] they are,

And not being weak in faith, he considered his own body as good as dead, [because he] was approximately a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb.

And he did not waver in unbelief at the promise of God, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God

Therefore, [because we] have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom also we have [obtained] access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God.

and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

For only rarely will someone die on behalf of a righteous person (for on behalf of a good person possibly someone might even dare to die),

but God demonstrates his own love for us, [in] that [while] we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

For if, [while we] were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, by much more, having been reconciled, we will be saved by his life.

And not only [this], but also [we are] boasting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

{But the gift is not like the trespass}, for if by the trespass of the one, the many died, by much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, multiply to the many.

For that [death] he died, he died to sin once and never again, but that [life] he lives, he lives to God.

So also you, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

and do not present your members to sin [as] instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your members to God [as] instruments of righteousness.

But thanks [be] to God that you were slaves of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart the pattern of teaching to which you were entrusted,

But now, having been set free from sin and having been enslaved to God, you have your fruit [leading] to sanctification, and its end [is] eternal life.

For the compensation due sin [is] death, but the gift of God [is] eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.