Romans 13

¹Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,

¹³Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,

¹⁴or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.

²¹He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

¹¹Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”

¹⁵By me kings reign, and rulers enact just laws;

¹⁶By me princes rule, and all nobles who govern justly.

⁵By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.

⁶So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I have even made the beasts of the field subject to him.

¹³Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,

¹Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,

¹Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

⁵Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience.

⁴⁷They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

⁴⁰They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

⁴If the ruler’s temper flares against you, do not abandon your post, for calmness lays great offenses to rest.

⁵There is an evil I have seen under the sun—an error that proceeds from the ruler:

³⁵A king delights in a wise servant, but his anger falls on the shameful.

²The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.

¹³Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,

¹⁴or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.

¹If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court to be judged, so that the innocent may be acquitted and the guilty condemned.

¹³Who can harm you if you are zealous for what is good?

¹⁴But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be shaken.”

¹⁹Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”

⁶Then he said to the judges, “Consider carefully what you do, for you are not judging for man, but for the Lord, who is with you when you render judgment.

²³These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.

²⁴Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;

²The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.

¹⁴The wrath of a king is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.

⁶This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work.

¹⁹For if anyone endures the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God, this is to be commended.

²Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God.

¹⁶In this hope, I strive always to maintain a clear conscience before God and man.

¹³Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,

¹⁴or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.

¹Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,

²to malign no one, and to be peaceable and gentle, showing full consideration to everyone.

⁵Afterward, David’s conscience was stricken because he had cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.

⁶So he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed. May I never lift my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”

¹⁷So tell us what You think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me?

²And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding payment of taxes to Caesar, and proclaiming Himself to be Christ, a King.”

²¹“Teacher,” they inquired, “we know that You speak and teach correctly. You show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

²²Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²⁴After they had arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your Teacher pay the two drachmas?”

²⁵“Yes,” he answered. When Peter entered the house, Jesus preempted him. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs and taxes: from their own sons, or from others?”

¹⁴“Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and seek favor from no one. Indeed, You are impartial and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or not?”

¹⁵But Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to inspect.”

¹⁴Thus David reigned over all Israel and administered justice and righteousness for all his people:

²⁵So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

¹⁷Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

¹⁸Servants, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but even to those who are unreasonable.

²¹My son, fear the Lord and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.

²⁵“Yes,” he answered. When Peter entered the house, Jesus preempted him. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs and taxes: from their own sons, or from others?”

¹⁷Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

²¹“Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

¹⁰Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

⁴⁰All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

¹⁴The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

¹²In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.

²⁷Do not withhold good from the deserving when it is within your power to act.

²⁸Do not tell your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I will provide”—when you already have the means.

³⁴A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.

¹²Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³You shall not murder.

³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

³¹The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

²⁷He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

¹⁶Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

¹⁷You shall not murder.

¹⁸Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

⁸Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

⁴⁰All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.

⁵For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness.

⁶So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober.

⁷The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray.

¹⁴So it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

⁴²Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.

⁴³But understand this: If the homeowner had known in which watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.

³⁴Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.

³⁵Therefore keep watch, because you do not know when the master of the house will return—whether in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the morning.

³⁶Otherwise, he may arrive without notice and find you sleeping.

³¹Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?

³²For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, declares the Lord God. So repent and live!

¹¹Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

⁷in truthful speech and in the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;

⁸But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

⁹Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices,

¹¹Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.

¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

²¹Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.

²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

¹⁸Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

³For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality;

⁴each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,

³For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry.

⁴Because of this, they consider it strange of you not to plunge with them into the same flood of reckless indiscretion, and they heap abuse on you.

¹⁵Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

¹²Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.

²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

¹⁶So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

¹⁷For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.

²⁷For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

¹¹Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.

²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.