Romans 13

Submission to the Authorities

1 Let every person a be subject to the governing authorities. For b there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you c will receive his approval, 4 for d he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God e an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also f for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7  g Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

8  h Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for i the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, j “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: k “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore l love is the fulfilling of the law.

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you m to wake from sleep. n For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12  o The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us p cast off q the works of darkness and r put on the armor of light. 13  s Let us walk properly as in the daytime t not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality u not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But v put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh w to gratify its desires.

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