1Paul, a servant[1] of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, (徒13:2; 林前1:1; 林前9:1; 林后1:1; 加1:10; 來5:4)2which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, (路1:70; 羅3:21; 羅16:26; 多1:2)3concerning his Son, who was descended from David[2] according to the flesh (太1:1; 加4:4)4and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, (徒10:38; 徒13:33; 徒26:23; 林后13:4; 弗1:19; 腓3:10)5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, (徒1:25; 徒6:7; 徒9:15; 羅6:16; 羅12:3; 羅15:15; 羅15:18; 羅16:26; 彼前1:2)6including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, (羅8:28; 羅8:30; 启17:14)7To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (林前1:3)
Longing to Go to Rome
8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. (羅6:17; 羅16:19; 林前1:4; 弗1:15; 腓1:3; 腓4:6; 西1:3; 帖前1:8; 提后1:3)9For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you (徒24:14; 羅9:1; 林后1:23; 林后11:10; 林后11:31; 腓1:8; 帖前2:5; 帖前2:10; 提后1:3)10always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. (羅15:32; 帖前3:10)11For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— (徒19:21; 羅15:22)12that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. (彼后1:1)13I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,[3] that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. (约4:36; 徒19:21; 羅15:22; 腓4:17; 帖前2:18)14I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians,[4] both to the wise and to the foolish. (徒28:2; 林前9:16)15So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (诗40:9; 可7:26; 可8:38; 约7:35; 徒3:26; 羅2:9; 林前1:18; 林前1:24)17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,[5] as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”[6] (哈2:4; 羅3:21; 羅9:30; 林后5:21; 加3:11; 腓3:9; 來10:38)
God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness
18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. (羅2:5; 羅5:9; 弗5:6; 西3:6)19For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. (徒14:17; 徒17:24; 羅2:14)20For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,[7] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (诗19:1; 耶5:21)21For 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. (王下17:15; 耶2:5; 弗4:17)22Claiming to be wise, they became fools, (耶10:14; 林前1:20)23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (申4:16; 诗106:20; 耶2:11; 徒17:29; 提前1:17)24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, (羅1:26; 羅1:28; 弗4:19; 帖前4:4)25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (赛28:15; 赛44:19; 耶10:14; 摩2:4; 羅9:5; 帖后2:11)26For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; (羅1:24; 羅1:28; 西3:5; 帖前4:5)27and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. (利18:22; 利20:13)28And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. (耶6:30; 羅1:24; 羅1:26; 弗5:4)29They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,31foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.32Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (路11:48; 徒8:1; 徒22:20; 羅2:26; 羅6:21; 羅8:4; 林前13:6; 帖后2:12)