1 PAUL, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart to bear the good news of God,

2 which he foretold through his prophets in Holy Scripture,

3 concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord (who became one of the descendants of David according to the flesh,

4 and was with power proved to be the Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead);

5 through whom we obtained grace and apostleship to promote obedience of faith for the sake of his name,

6 among all the Gentiles, among whom are you, called by Jesus Christ;

7 to all who are in Rome, beloved by God, called to be holy: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

8 First of all I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is spoken of through all the world.

9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the good news of his Son, is my witness how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers

10 asking if I may somehow at some time by the will of God find the way open to come to you.

11 For I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift of grace in order that you may be strengthened,

12 that is, that I may be encouraged with you and by you through our mutual faith, yours and mine.

13 I am not willing that you should be ignorant, brethren, that often I have purposed to come to you though until now I have been hindered, in order that I might have some fruit among you as among the other Gentiles.

14 I am a debtor to Greeks and to Barbarians, to wise men and to unthinking men;

15 so, for my part, I am eager to tell the good news also to you in Rome.

16 For I am not ashamed of the good news. It is the power of God for salvation to every one who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

17 For a righteousness of God is revealed in it from faith to faith, as it is written, "He who is righteous by faith shall live."

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all impiety and wickedness of men who hold the truth but practice unrighteousness.

19 Because what may be known of God is manifest within them, for God has manifested it to them.

20 For God's invisible qualities \'97 his everlasting power and deity \'97 are, since the creation of the world, clearly seen, being known from what he has made. So they are without any excuse.

21 For although they knew God they did not glorify him as God and did not give him thanks, but fell into futile speculations and their stupid hearts were darkened.

22 Boasting of being wise, they became fools

23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into images of mortal man, and of birds and beasts and reptiles.

24 Therefore God gave them over, in the lusts of their hearts, to uncleanness, to dishonor their bodies mutually.

25 They changed the truth of God into a lie, and reverenced and paid worship to the creature rather than to the Creator \'97 who is blessed forever, Amen!

26 Therefore God gave them over to disgraceful passions. For their females changed the natural use for one contrary to nature,

27 and their males, leaving the natural use of the female, burned in their lust for one another, males with males practicing indecency and receiving in themselves the deserved penalty of their error.

28 And as they did not think fit to keep God in their knowledge, God gave them over to an abandoned mind, to do the things that are shameful,

29 filled with all injustice, wickedness, greed, malice, full of envy, murder, strife, fraud, malignant craftiness, whisperers,

30 slanderers, hateful to God, insolent, arrogant, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31 without common sense, without faithfulness, without family affection, without pity.

32 They know the just judgment of God that those who practice such things are worthy of death, yet they not only do them themselves, but are pleased with those who practice them.