Romans 1
New Catholic Bible
Prologue
Chapter 1
Set Apart for the Gospel. 1 Paul,[a] a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the service of the gospel 2 that God promised beforehand through his Prophets[b] in the holy Scriptures, 3 [c]the gospel concerning his Son who according to the flesh was descended from David, 4 and who according to the Spirit of holiness was proclaimed to be the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
5 Through him we have received grace and our apostolic commission to proclaim the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name. 6 And you are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
7 To all of you who are God’s beloved in Rome and called to be saints:[d] grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer.[e] 8 First of all, I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because your faith has been proclaimed throughout the world. 9 For God, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, is the witness on my behalf that I remember you constantly in my prayers, 10 always asking that by God’s will I may somehow be granted my desire of coming to visit you. 11 For I am longing to see you so that I may bestow on you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 or, rather, so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.
13 I want you to be aware, brethren,[f] that I have often planned to visit you (although until now I have been prevented from doing so) because it has been my desire to achieve some harvest among you as I have among other Gentiles. 14 I have an obligation to Greeks and non-Greeks[g] alike, to both the educated and the ignorant. 15 Thus, I am ready to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.
The Gospel of God[h]
16 Power of Salvation for All Believers. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, since it is the power of God that offers salvation to everyone who has faith—to Jews first, and then to Gentiles as well. 17 In it the righteousness of God is revealed, beginning in faith and established in faith.[i] As it is written: “The one who is righteous will live through faith.”
Justification through Faith in Jesus[j]
The World in the Wrath of God[k]
18 Exchanging the Truth of God for a Lie. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. 19 For that which can be known about God is clearly evident to them because God has revealed it plainly to them. 20 Ever since the creation of the world the invisible attributes of God’s eternal power and divine nature have been clearly understood and perceived through the things he has made.
Therefore, the conduct of these people is inexcusable. 21 Despite knowing God, they refused to honor him as God or give thanks to him. As a result, their speculations became foolish and their uncomprehending hearts became darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, in reality they became fools, 23 exchanging the glory of the immortal God for images fashioned in the likeness of a mortal man or birds or fourfooted animals or reptiles.
24 Therefore, God abandoned them in the sinful lusts of their hearts to impurity and the mutual degradation of their bodies. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and offered worship and service to the creature rather than to the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 [l]That is why God abandoned them to their shameful passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural practices. 27 Likewise, men gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameful acts with men and received in their own persons the fitting penalty for their perversion.
28 Furthermore, since these people did not see fit to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their depraved way of thinking and to all types of vile behavior. 29 As a result, they are filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and malice. Reveling in envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice, they are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful, as they devise new ways of doing evil and rebel against their parents. 31 They are senseless, faithless, heartless, and ruthless. 32 Although they are fully cognizant of God’s decree that those who behave in this way deserve to die, they not only do these things themselves but also praise all those who engage in such conduct.
Footnotes
- Romans 1:1 Paul: in accord with ancient custom, Paul puts his name at the beginning of the Letter; for information about Paul, see Acts 9:1ff; Phil 3:4-14; and the
Introduction to his Letters. Servant: literally, (1) a “slave,” who belongs wholly to his master and is not free to leave, or (2) a “servant,” who chooses to serve his master (see Ex 14:31; Ps 18; Isa 41:8-9; 42:1). Apostle: one especially commissioned by Christ (see note on Mk 6:30). Gospel: see note on Mk 1:1-8. The word Gospel occurs with special frequency in the collection of Paul’s Letters (40 times). - Romans 1:2 Prophets: not just the writers of the Prophetic Books of the Bible but the whole Old Testament, which prophesied about Jesus (see Lk 24:27, 44). Holy Scriptures: the Old Testament.
- Romans 1:3 An early Christian profession of faith that proclaims Jesus’ sonship as the Messianic descendant of David (see Mt 22:42; 2 Tim 2:8; Rev 22:16) and as the Son of God, as indicated by the Resurrection. Since Jesus is a “life-giving spirit” (1 Cor 15:45), he is able to give the Spirit to those who believe in him.
- Romans 1:7 Saints: the Greek meaning of the word accentuates the idea of “holiness.” All Christians are saints insofar as they are “set apart” for God and are being made increasingly “holy” by the Holy Spirit (see 1 Cor 1:2; 1 Thes 4:7). The Christian community regarded its members as made holy through Baptism (Rom 6:22; 15:16; 1 Cor 6:11; Eph 5:26f).
- Romans 1:8 Paul acknowledges that he has no authority over the Church of Rome, which he did not found; he presents himself as a simple Christian who wants to be one in faith with his brothers and sisters through mutual instruction and edification. The word non-Greeks (literally, “barbarians”) (v. 14) signifies here that the pagans had not received Greek culture.
- Romans 1:13 Brethren: all those (both men and women) who believe in the Gospel are kin of Paul (see Rom 4:3).
- Romans 1:14 Greeks and non-Greeks: literally, “Greeks and barbarians.” The “Greeks” were all who spoke Greek or followed the Greek way of life; the “non-Greeks” were all the other Gentiles to whom Paul preached.
- Romans 1:16 This extremely dense paragraph sums up the entire Letter. When we hear the word “gospel” we should not think of a book, but of the proclamation of salvation through faith. The citation in v. 17 from the prophet Habakkuk (2:4), each word of which here takes on a Christian value, constitutes the theological pivot of the entire Letter.
- Romans 1:17 Beginning in faith and established in faith: literally, “from faith to faith,” i.e., by an ever more perfect faith. But other interpretations have been given.
- Romans 1:18 In comparison with the liberation brought by the Gospel, humanity apart from Christ and without grace seems to be filled with sin and alienation. Paul begins by sketching a grim picture of the world as a prison and of the darkness in which human beings walk, whether Jews or Gentiles, who have abandoned themselves to their passions and to their own vain efforts (Rom 1:18—3:20). But into this world that is without vitality or a future, the love of God bursts forth and brings liberation. This conviction is central to the section. And this justification is given to whoever believes in Christ (Rom 3:20-31). What does “believe” mean? Paul explains it at length, using what he regards as the magnificent example of Abraham (Rom 4:1-25).
- Romans 1:18 Without Christ the world goes astray and cannot reach its goal, which is God. It is under “the wrath of God,” an Old Testament phrase that indicates the ineradicable opposition between God and evil (see Isa 9:11-20; 10:4; 30:27). Thus, the world is a victim of corruption, of its useless efforts, of its lack of a sense of sin. Paul is especially sensitive to this situation and paints the dark scene on two panels: an indictment against paganism and a statement on the failure of Judaism. Neither paganism nor Judaism can save human beings.
- Romans 1:26 See note on 1 Tim 1:10.
