God's Wrath on Unrighteousness

¹⁸ For ^(A)the wrath of God ^(B)is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be ^(C)known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, ^(D)have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,^[a] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they ^(E)became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ^22 (F)Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and ^(G)exchanged the glory of ^(H)the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore ^(I)God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to ^(J)the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for ^(K)a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ^(L)who is blessed forever! Amen.

²⁶ For this reason ^(M)God gave them up to ^(N)dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷ and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, ^(O)men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, ^(P)God gave them up to ^(Q)a debased mind to do ^(R)what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Though they know ^(S)God's righteous decree that those who practice such things ^(T)deserve to die, they not only do them but ^(U)give approval to those who practice them.

God's Righteous Judgment

2 Therefore you have ^(V)no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For ^(W)in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. ² We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. ³ Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you presume on ^(X)the riches of his kindness and ^(Y)forbearance and ^(Z)patience, ^(AA)not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? ⁵ But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are ^(AB)storing up ^(AC)wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

^6 (AD)He will render to each one according to his works: ⁷ to those who ^(AE)by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; ⁸ but for those who are self-seeking^[b] and ^(AF)do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. ⁹ There will be tribulation and distress ^(AG)for every human being who does evil, the Jew ^(AH)first and also the Greek, ¹⁰ but glory and honor and ^(AI)peace for everyone who does good, ^(AJ)the Jew first and also the Greek. ¹¹ For ^(AK)God shows no partiality.

God's Judgment and the Law

¹² For all who have sinned ^(AL)without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. ¹³ For ^(AM)it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. ¹⁴ For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, ^(AN)by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the work of the law is ^(AO)written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ^16 (AP)on that day when, ^(AQ)according to my gospel, God judges ^(AR)the secrets of men ^(AS)by Christ Jesus.

¹⁷ But if you call yourself a Jew and ^(AT)rely on the law and boast in God ¹⁸ and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; ¹⁹ and if you are sure that you yourself are ^(AU)a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law ^(AV)the embodiment of ^(AW)knowledge and truth— ^21 (AX)you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? ²² You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you ^(AY)rob temples? ²³ You who ^(AZ)boast in the law ^(BA)dishonor God by breaking the law. ²⁴ For, ^(BB)as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed ^(BC)among the Gentiles because of you.”

²⁵ For circumcision indeed is of value ^(BD)if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. ²⁶ So, if ^(BE)a man who is uncircumcised keeps ^(BF)the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded^[c] as circumcision? ²⁷ Then he who is physically^[d] uncircumcised but keeps the law ^(BG)will condemn you who have ^(BH)the written code^[e] and circumcision but break the law. ²⁸ For ^(BI)no one is a Jew ^(BJ)who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. ²⁹ But a Jew is one ^(BK)inwardly, and ^(BL)circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. ^(BM)His praise is not from man but from God.

God's Righteousness Upheld

3 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ² Much in every way. To begin with, ^(BN)the Jews were entrusted with ^(BO)the oracles of God. ^3 (BP)What if some were unfaithful? ^(BQ)Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? ⁴ By no means! ^(BR)Let God be true though ^(BS)every one were a liar, as it is written,

⁵ But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict ^(BV)wrath on us? (^(BW)I speak in a human way.) ⁶ By no means! For then how could ^(BX)God judge the world? ⁷ But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, ^(BY)why am I still being condemned as a sinner? ⁸ And why not ^(BZ)do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

No One Is Righteous

⁹ What then? Are we Jews^[f] any better off?^[g] No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both ^(CA)Jews and ^(CB)Greeks, are ^(CC)under sin, ¹⁰ as it is written:

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever ^(CL)the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, ^(CM)so that every mouth may be stopped, and ^(CN)the whole world may be held accountable to God. ²⁰ For ^(CO)by works of the law no human being^[h] will be justified in his sight, since ^(CP)through the law comes knowledge of sin.