Romans 13:4-6

Holman Christian Standard Bible

⁴ For government is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger^(A) that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. ⁵ Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of your conscience.^{(B) 6} And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s public servants, continually attending to these tasks.^[a]