| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. | 1Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. |
| 2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. | 2So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. |
| 3For 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 will receive his approval, | 3For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. |
| 4for 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, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. | 4The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. |
| 5Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. | 5So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience. |
| 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. | 6Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. |
| 7Pay 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. | 7Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. Love Fulfills God’s Requirements |
| 8Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. | 8Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. |
| 9For the commandments, “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: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” | 9For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” |
| 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. | 10Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. |
| 11Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. | 11This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. |
| 12The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. | 12The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. |
| 13Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. | 13Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. |
| 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. | 14Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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