1 1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 among whom you also are called to belong to Jesus Christ; 7 To all in Rome who are 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, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, 10 asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last find the way to come to you. 11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen youó12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have some harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish: 15 so I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth, 19 for what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world his invisible nature, even his eternal power and deity, has been clearly seen, being understood by 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 became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.