| International Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Every person must be subject to the governing authorities, for no authority exists except by God's permission. The existing authorities have been established 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. |
| 2so that whoever resists the authorities opposes what God has established, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. | 2So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. |
| 3For the authorities are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you like to live without being afraid of the authorities? Then do what is right, and you will receive their 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 they are God's servants, working for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for it is not without reason that they bear the sword. Indeed, they are God's servants to administer punishment to anyone who does wrong. | 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, it is necessary for you to be acquiescent to the authorities, not only for the sake of God's punishment, but also for the sake of your own conscience. | 5So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience. |
| 6This is also why you pay taxes. For rulers are God's servants faithfully devoting themselves to their work. | 6Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. |
| 7Pay everyone whatever you owe them—taxes to whom taxes are due, tolls to whom tolls are due, fear to whom fear is due, honor to whom honor is due. | 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 |
| 8Do not owe anyone anything—except to love one another. 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 must not commit adultery; you must not murder; you must not steal; you must not covet," and every other commandment are summed up in this statement: "You must 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 never does anything that is harmful to its neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the Law. | 10Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. |
| 11This is necessary because you know the times—it's already time for you to wake up from sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we became believers. | 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 almost over, and the day is near. Let's therefore put aside the actions 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's behave decently, as people who live in the light of day. No wild parties, drunkenness, sexual immorality, promiscuity, quarreling, or 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. |
| 14Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, and do not obey your flesh and 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. |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | 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. |
|
