Greeting
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and 8was declared to be the Son of God 9in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
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through whom 10we have received grace and 11apostleship 12to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name 13among all the nations,
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To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: 15Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Longing to Go to Rome
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First, 16I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, 17because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.
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18For God is my witness, 19whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, 20that without ceasing I mention you
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always in my prayers, asking that somehow 21by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.
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I want you to know, brothers,c that 24I have often intended to come to you (but 25thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some 26harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.
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27I am under obligation both to Greeks and to 28barbarians,d both to the wise and to the foolish.
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So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
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For 29I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is 30the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew 31first and also to 32the Greek.
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For in it 33the righteousness of God is revealed 34from faith for faith,e35as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."f
God's Wrath on Unrighteousness
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For 36the wrath of God 37is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
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For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, 39have 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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For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they 40became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
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and 42exchanged the glory of 43the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
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Therefore 44God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to 45the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
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because they exchanged the truth about God for 46a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, 47who is blessed forever! Amen.
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For this reason 48God gave them up to 49dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;
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and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, 50men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
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And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, 51God gave them up to 52a debased mind to do 53what ought not to be done.
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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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slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
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foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)