Romans 1
The chapter in full, then what it says, what the Greek or Hebrew decides, and where readers have disagreed.
Romans 1 WEB
- 1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Good News of God,
- 2 which he promised before through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
- 3 concerning his Son, who was born of the offspring of David according to the flesh,
- 4 who was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
- 5 through whom we received grace and apostleship for obedience of faith among all the nations for his name's sake;
- 6 among whom you are also called to belong to Jesus Christ;
- 7 to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world.
- 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the Good News of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers,
- 10 requesting, if by any means now at last I may be prospered by the will of God to come to you.
- 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end that you may be established;
- 12 that is, that I with you may be encouraged in you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.
- 13 Now I don't desire to have you unaware, brothers, that I often planned to come to you (and was hindered so far), that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.
- 14 I am debtor both to Greeks and to foreigners, both to the wise and to the foolish.
- 15 So as much as is in me, I am eager to preach the Good News to you also who are in Rome.
- 16 For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.
- 17 For in it is revealed God's righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, "But the righteous shall live by faith."
- 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
- 19 because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them.
- 20 For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity, that they may be without excuse.
- 21 Because knowing God, they didn't glorify him as God, and didn't give thanks, but became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless heart was darkened.
- 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
- 23 and traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, four-footed animals, and creeping things.
- 24 Therefore God also gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves;
- 25 who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
- 26 For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions. For their women changed the natural function into that which is against nature.
- 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural function of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another, men doing what is inappropriate with men, and receiving in themselves the due penalty of their error.
- 28 Even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
- 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, malice; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil habits, secret slanderers,
- 30 backbiters, hateful to God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
- 31 without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, unforgiving, unmerciful;
- 32 who, knowing the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.
Romans 1
What is happening
Romans is the closest thing the New Testament has to a systematic argument — a letter Paul writes to a church he did not found, in a city he has not yet visited, to explain the gospel he preaches before he arrives to preach it in person. Chapter 1 does two distinct jobs. Verses 1–17 are the opening: Paul identifying himself, greeting the Roman believers, and stating the letter's thesis. Verses 18–32 begin the argument proper, and it begins in an unexpected place — not with Israel, not with the church, but with the entire human race and its default relationship to God, described in the bleakest terms Paul uses anywhere in his letters. Everything Romans goes on to say about grace, faith, and righteousness is calibrated against what chapter 1 says is actually true of humanity without it.
The passage, walked through
The greeting (1:1–7). Paul's opening line does more work than a modern letterhead. He calls himself δοῦλος — "servant," but more precisely slave — of Christ, then immediately "called to be an apostle, set apart [ἀφωρισμένος] for the Good News of God." The gospel, he insists in verse 2, is not a novelty; it was "promised before through his prophets in the holy Scriptures." Verses 3–4 compress the whole shape of who Jesus is into two clauses: "born of the offspring of David according to the flesh" (κατὰ σάρκα — his human descent) and "declared to be the Son of God with power... by the resurrection from the dead" (the Greek ὁρισθέντος, "declared" or "appointed," does not mean Jesus became Son of God at the resurrection, but that the resurrection publicly marked out what was already true). The letter is addressed "to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints" (1:7) — an ordinary, mixed congregation, not a council of experts.
Paul's relationship to the church (1:8–15). Before any doctrine, gratitude and longing: "I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world" (1:8), and a wish, repeatedly frustrated, "to come to you" (1:10, 13). Verse 14 states an obligation that frames everything that follows: "I am debtor both to Greeks and to foreigners, both to the wise and to the foolish." The gospel is owed, not offered as a favor from a position of superiority.
The thesis (1:16–17). "I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek." Not ashamed is itself an argument — a crucified man as the hope of the world was, to the Roman world, either scandal or absurdity, and Paul names that directly before answering it. Verse 17 gives the letter's engine: "God's righteousness [δικαιοσύνη] from faith to faith," proven by Habakkuk: "the righteous shall live by faith." Everything from chapter 3 onward is an extended unpacking of what "God's righteousness" means and how it is given, not earned.
The indictment (1:18–32). The turn is abrupt: "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (1:18). The argument that follows does not depend on the Bible, deliberately — Paul is describing the whole Gentile world, people who never had Moses. His claim is that God has made himself known through creation itself: "the invisible things of him... are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity" (1:20) — leaving humanity "without excuse" (ἀναπολογήτους). The failure is not ignorance but suppression and substitution: "knowing God, they didn't glorify him as God... but became vain in their reasoning" (1:21), and "traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man" (1:23) — idolatry as a downgrade, trading the maker for the made.
Three times the passage repeats "God gave them up" (παρέδωκεν, 1:24, 26, 28) — the structure of judgment here is not primarily God striking from outside but God releasing people to the logic of their own exchange. Having swapped worship of the Creator for worship of the creature, they are given over first to dishonored bodies (1:24), then to "vile passions," specified in both female and male same-sex relations described as against nature (παρὰ φύσιν, 1:26–27), then to "a reprobate mind" — a wide catalogue of relational and social vice, from envy and murder to being "disobedient to parents" and "without natural affection" (1:29–31). The list ends not with the doers alone but with those who "approve of those who practice them" (1:32) — approval named as its own form of complicity.
Where readers have disagreed
The chief modern dispute concerns 1:26–27. Some argue Paul addresses only exploitative practices known in the Greco-Roman world (pederasty, temple prostitution) rather than same-sex relationships as such. The text's own terms weigh against this: Paul frames the acts as "against nature" (παρὰ φύσιν) rooted in the created order established in 1:20, not as a critique of exploitation specifically, and pairs female and male instances symmetrically rather than singling out abusive forms. The historic and majority reading — that Paul describes all same-sex sexual relations as part of humanity's disordering of creation — follows the grammar and logic of the passage most directly.
A second, older dispute concerns natural revelation in 1:19–20: does this mean unevangelized people can be saved through creation alone, or only that they are culpable through it? Paul's own conclusion is the latter — "without excuse," not "without need of the gospel." The passage establishes universal guilt, not an alternate path to righteousness; that path is stated in 1:17 and argued for the rest of the letter.
What it asks of a reader
The chapter does not let a reader stand outside the indictment as an observer of someone else's idolatry. The mechanism it describes — knowing, suppressing, exchanging, being given over — is offered as the human default, Jew and Gentile both, which is precisely why Paul spends chapter 2 turning the same light on the reader who nods along at chapter 1. Irenaeus's comment in Against Heresies names what was lost in the exchange the chapter describes: "The glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God" — the very beholding Romans 1 says humanity traded away for an image. The chapter's demand is not moral effort in response to the list in 1:29–31, but recognition of the exchange at 1:21–23 as one's own, which is the only ground on which 1:17's "righteousness... from faith to faith" makes any sense as good news rather than a threat.
The verses this turns on
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Good News of God,discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Παῦλος δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ, κλητὸς ἀπόστολος ἀφωρισμένος εἰς εὐαγγέλιον Θεοῦ,
- Παῦλος Παῦλος noun · nominative singular masculine G3972
- δοῦλος δοῦλος (II) noun · nominative singular masculine G1401
- Χριστοῦ Χριστός noun · genitive singular masculine G5547
- Ἰησοῦ, Ἰησοῦς noun · genitive singular masculine G2424
- κλητὸς κλητός adjective · nominative singular masculine G2822
- ἀπόστολος ἀπόστολος noun · nominative singular masculine G652
- ἀφωρισμένος ἀφορίζω verb · perfect passive participle, nominative singular masculine G873
- εἰς εἰς preposition G1519
- εὐαγγέλιον εὐαγγέλιον noun · accusative singular neuter G2098
- Θεοῦ, θεός noun · genitive singular masculine G2316
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Acts 9:15 But the Lord said to him, "Go your way, for he is my chosen vessel to bear my name before the nations and kings, and the children of Israel.
- Romans 15:16 that I should be a servant of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of the Good News of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be made acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
- 1 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
- Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."
- Colossians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
πᾶσιν τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Ῥώμῃ ἀγαπητοῖς Θεοῦ, κλητοῖς ἁγίοις· χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
- πᾶσιν πᾶς adjective · dative plural masculine G3956
- τοῖς ὁ article · dative plural masculine G3588
- οὖσιν εἰμί verb · present active participle, dative plural masculine G1510
- ἐν ἐν preposition G1722
- Ῥώμῃ Ῥώμη noun · dative singular feminine G4516
- ἀγαπητοῖς ἀγαπητός adjective · dative plural masculine G27
- Θεοῦ, θεός noun · genitive singular masculine G2316
- κλητοῖς κλητός adjective · dative plural masculine G2822
- ἁγίοις· ἅγιος adjective · dative plural masculine G40
- χάρις χάρις noun · nominative singular feminine G5485
- ὑμῖν σύ personal pronoun G4771
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Colossians 1:2 to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Jude 1:1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
- Ephesians 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the assembly of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's love, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Πρῶτον μὲν εὐχαριστῶ τῷ Θεῷ μου διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ περὶ πάντων ὑμῶν, ὅτι ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν καταγγέλλεται ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ κόσμῳ.
- Πρῶτον πρῶτος adverb G4412
- μὲν μέν particle G3303
- εὐχαριστῶ εὐχαριστέω verb · present active indicative, 1st person singular G2168
- τῷ ὁ article · dative singular masculine G3588
- Θεῷ θεός noun · dative singular masculine G2316
- μου ἐγώ personal pronoun G1473
- διὰ διά preposition G1223
- Ἰησοῦ Ἰησοῦς noun · genitive singular masculine G2424
- Χριστοῦ Χριστός noun · genitive singular masculine G5547
- περὶ περί preposition G4012
- πάντων πᾶς adjective · genitive plural masculine G3956
- ὑμῶν, σύ personal pronoun G4771
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Romans 16:19 For your obedience has become known to all. I rejoice therefore over you. But I desire to have you wise in that which is good, but innocent in that which is evil.
- 1 Corinthians 1:4 I always thank my God concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus,
- 1 Thessalonians 1:8 For from you the word of the Lord has been declared, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone out, so that we need not say anything.
- Romans 6:17 But thanks be to God that, whereas you were bondservants of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were delivered.
- 1 Peter 4:11 If anyone speaks, let it be as it were the very words of God. If anyone serves, let it be as of the strength which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
requesting, if by any means now at last I may be prospered by the will of God to come to you.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
πάντοτε ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν μου, δεόμενος εἴ πως ἤδη ποτὲ εὐοδωθήσομαι ἐν τῷ θελήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς.
- πάντοτε πάντοτε adverb G3842
- ἐπὶ ἐπί preposition G1909
- τῶν ὁ article · genitive plural feminine G3588
- προσευχῶν προσευχή noun · genitive plural feminine G4335
- μου, ἐγώ personal pronoun G1473
- δεόμενος δέομαι verb · present middle or passive deponent participle, nominative singular masculine G1189
- εἴ εἰ conditional G1487
- πως πῶς adverb G4459
- ἤδη ἤδη adverb G2235
- ποτὲ ποτέ particle G4218
- εὐοδωθήσομαι εὐοδόω verb · future passive indicative, 1st person singular G2137
- ἐν ἐν preposition G1722
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Romans 15:30 Now I beg you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,
- Acts 18:21 but taking his leave of them, he said, "I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to you if God wills." Then he set sail from Ephesus.
- James 4:15 For you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that."
- Philemon 1:22 Also, prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:18 because we wanted to come to you—indeed, I, Paul, once and again—but Satan hindered us.
For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
οὐ γὰρ ἐπαισχύνομαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον· δύναμις γὰρ Θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι, Ἰουδαίῳ τε πρῶτον καὶ Ἕλληνι.
- οὐ οὐ particle · nominative G3756
- γὰρ γάρ conjunction G1063
- ἐπαισχύνομαι ἐπαισχύνομαι verb · present middle or passive deponent indicative, 1st person singular G1870
- τὸ ὁ article · accusative singular neuter G3588
- εὐαγγέλιον· εὐαγγέλιον noun · accusative singular neuter G2098
- δύναμις δύναμις noun · nominative singular feminine G1411
- γὰρ γάρ conjunction G1063
- Θεοῦ θεός noun · genitive singular masculine G2316
- ἐστιν εἰμί verb · present active indicative, 3rd person singular G1510
- εἰς εἰς preposition G1519
- σωτηρίαν σωτηρία noun · accusative singular feminine G4991
- παντὶ πᾶς adjective · dative singular masculine G3956
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Mark 8:38 For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
- 2 Timothy 1:8 Therefore don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but endure hardship for the Good News according to the power of God,
- 1 Peter 4:16 But if one of you suffers for being a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this matter.
- 2 Timothy 1:12 For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.
- Psalm 40:9 I have proclaimed glad news of righteousness in the great assembly. Behold, I will not seal my lips, Yahweh, you know.
For in it is revealed God's righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, "But the righteous shall live by faith."discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
δικαιοσύνη γὰρ Θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ ἀποκαλύπτεται ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν, καθὼς γέγραπται Ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται.
- δικαιοσύνη δικαιοσύνη noun · nominative singular feminine G1343
- γὰρ γάρ conjunction G1063
- Θεοῦ θεός noun · genitive singular masculine G2316
- ἐν ἐν preposition G1722
- αὐτῷ αὐτός personal pronoun · dative singular neuter G846
- ἀποκαλύπτεται ἀποκαλύπτω verb · present middle or passive indicative, 3rd person singular G601
- ἐκ ἐκ preposition G1537
- πίστεως πίστις noun · genitive singular feminine G4102
- εἰς εἰς preposition G1519
- πίστιν, πίστις noun · accusative singular feminine G4102
- καθὼς καθώς adverb G2531
- γέγραπται γράφω verb · perfect passive indicative, 3rd person singular G1125
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith.
- Galatians 3:11 Now that no man is justified by the law before God is evident, for, "The righteous will live by faith."
- Hebrews 10:38 But the righteous one will live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him."
- Philippians 3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith,
- Hebrews 11:6 Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Ἀποκαλύπτεται γὰρ ὀργὴ Θεοῦ ἀπ’ οὐρανοῦ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ἀσέβειαν καὶ ἀδικίαν ἀνθρώπων τῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ κατεχόντων,
- Ἀποκαλύπτεται ἀποκαλύπτω verb · present middle or passive indicative, 3rd person singular G601
- γὰρ γάρ conjunction G1063
- ὀργὴ ὀργή noun · nominative singular feminine G3709
- Θεοῦ θεός noun · genitive singular masculine G2316
- ἀπ’ ἀπό preposition G575
- οὐρανοῦ οὐρανός noun · genitive singular masculine G3772
- ἐπὶ ἐπί preposition G1909
- πᾶσαν πᾶς adjective · accusative singular feminine G3956
- ἀσέβειαν ἀσέβεια noun · accusative singular feminine G763
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- ἀδικίαν ἀδικία noun · accusative singular feminine G93
- ἀνθρώπων ἄνθρωπος noun · genitive plural masculine G444
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Ephesians 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience.
- 1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons,
- Romans 1:32 who, knowing the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.
- Colossians 3:6 For these things' sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:10 and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn't receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
διότι τὸ γνωστὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ φανερόν ἐστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς· ὁ Θεὸς γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἐφανέρωσεν.
- διότι διότι conjunction G1360
- τὸ ὁ article · nominative singular neuter G3588
- γνωστὸν γνωστός adjective · nominative singular neuter G1110
- τοῦ ὁ article · genitive singular masculine G3588
- Θεοῦ θεός noun · genitive singular masculine G2316
- φανερόν φανερός adjective · nominative singular neuter G5318
- ἐστιν εἰμί verb · present active indicative, 3rd person singular G1510
- ἐν ἐν preposition G1722
- αὐτοῖς· αὐτός personal pronoun · dative plural masculine G846
- ὁ ὁ article · nominative singular masculine G3588
- Θεὸς θεός noun · nominative singular masculine G2316
- γὰρ γάρ conjunction G1063
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Acts 14:16 who in the generations gone by allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.
- Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity, that they may be without excuse.
- Psalm 19:1 For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork.
- Acts 17:23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription: 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' What therefore you worship in ignorance, I announce to you.
- Isaiah 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, who brings out their army by number. He calls them all by name. By the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is lacking.
From the interpretive tradition
The glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God.
We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.