Previous Chapter Full Page Full Page Next Chapter

Romans 13 :: New International Version (NIV)

Submission to Governing Authorities

Rom 13:1

Rom 13:1Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

Rom 13:2

Rom 13:2Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Rom 13:3

Rom 13:3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.

Rom 13:4

Rom 13:4For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

Rom 13:5

Rom 13:5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

Rom 13:6

Rom 13:6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.

Rom 13:7

Rom 13:7Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Love Fulfills the Law

(cf. Mar 12:31; Jas 2:8 )

Rom 13:8

Rom 13:8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.

Rom 13:9

Rom 13:9The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[fn] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[fn]

Rom 13:10

Rom 13:10Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

The Day Is Near

Rom 13:11

Rom 13:11And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

Rom 13:12

Rom 13:12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Rom 13:13

Rom 13:13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

Rom 13:14

Rom 13:14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.[fn]
See the NIV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NIV Footnotes
In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.
Translation Copyright Logo

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.


See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the NIV Preface.

Translations available: King James Version, New King James Version, New Living Translation, New International Version, English Standard Version, Christian Standard Bible, New American Standard Bible 2020, New American Standard Bible 1995, Legacy Standard Bible 2021, New English Translation, Revised Standard Version, American Standard Version, Young's Literal Translation, Darby Translation, Webster's Bible, Hebrew Names Version, Reina-Valera 1960, Latin Vulgate, Westminster Leningrad Codex, Septuagint, Morphological Greek New Testament, and Textus Receptus.