Study Desk

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, ^[a](a)called as an apostle, ^(b)set apart for ^(c)the gospel of God,

which He ^(d)promised beforehand through His ^(e)prophets in the holy Scriptures,

concerning His Son, who was born ^(f)of a ^[b]descendant of David ^(g)according to the flesh,

who was declared ^(h)the Son of God with power ^[c]by the resurrection from the dead, according to the ^[d]Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,

through whom we have received grace and ⁽ⁱ⁾apostleship ^[e]to bring about the ^(j)obedience of faith among ^(k)all the Gentiles for His name's sake,

among whom you also are the ^(l)called of Jesus Christ;

to all who are ^(m)beloved of God in Rome, called as ^[f](n)saints: ^(o)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, ^(p)I thank my God through Jesus Christ ^[g]for you all, because ^(q)your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.

For ^(r)God, whom I ^(s)serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly ^(t)I make mention of you,

always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by ^(u)the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.

For ^(v)I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be ^[h]established;

that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.

^(w)I do not want you to be unaware, ^(x)brethren, that often I ^(y)have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some ^(z)fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.

^(aa)I am ^[i]under obligation both to Greeks and to ^(ab)barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

So, for my part, I am eager to ^(ac)preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

For I am not ^(ad)ashamed of the gospel, for ^(ae)it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the ^(af)Jew first and also to ^(ag)the Greek.

For in it ^(ah)the righteousness of God is revealed ^[j]from faith to faith; as it is written, "^[k](ai) But the righteous man shall live by faith ."

For ^(aj)the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who ^(ak)suppress the truth ^[l]in unrighteousness,

because ^(al)that which is known about God is evident ^[m]within them; for God made it evident to them.

For ^(am)since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, ^(an)being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

For even though they knew God, they did not ^[n]honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became ^(ao)futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

^(ap)Professing to be wise, they became fools,

and ^(aq)exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and ^[o]crawling creatures.

Therefore ^(ar)God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be ^(as)dishonored among them.

For they exchanged the truth of God for ^[p]a ^(at)lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ^(au)who is blessed ^[q]forever. Amen.

For this reason ^(av)God gave them over to ^(aw)degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is ^[r]unnatural,

and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, ^(ax)men with men committing ^[s]indecent acts and receiving in ^[t]their own persons the due penalty of their error.

And just as they did not see fit ^[u]to acknowledge God any longer, ^(ay)God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,

being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are ^(az)gossips,

slanderers, ^[v](ba)haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, ^(bb)disobedient to parents,

without understanding, untrustworthy, ^(bc)unloving, unmerciful;

and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of ^(bd)death, they not only do the same, but also ^(be)give hearty approval to those who practice them.