Urban Word Bible
Romans 13
Read Romans 13 in clear, relatable modern language.
Submission to Authorities
1 Listen, everybody needs to respect the authorities. No one is in power unless God put them there. All the authorities that exist got their position from God.
2 So, if you rebel against authority, you are rebelling against what God set up, and you are asking for trouble.
3 Authorities is not out here to scare people who do right, but the ones doing wrong. Want to be free from fear of authority, Then do what is right, and you will get respect.
4 The authorities are God’s servants for your good. But if you mess up, you better be scared, because they do not carry that sword for anything. They are God’s tools to bring justice and serve wrath on those who do wrong.
5 So, it is not just about avoiding punishment; do what is right because it is the right thing to do, for your own conscience.
6 That is why you pay taxes too. The government workers are God’s servants, doing their job to keep things running.
7 Pay what you owe, if it is taxes, pay them. If it is respect, show it. If it is honor, give it.
Love Fulfills the Law
8 Do not owe anybody anything, except to love each other. If you love your neighbor, you have fulfilled the law.
9 The commandments, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not covet, and any other commandment, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
10 Love does not harm a neighbor, so love is the fulfillment of the law.
11 And you all, this is real important, because you know what time it is, the hour has come for you to wake up! Salvation is closer now than when we first believed.
12 The night is almost gone; the day is near. So, let us put away the deeds of darkness and armor up with the gear of light.
13 Let us walk straight, like we are in the daylight, not wilding out at parties, not getting drunk, not in sexual immorality or beefing, and definitely not being jealous.
14 Instead, clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not be out here trying to satisfy your selfish desires.