Weymouth New Testament in Modern Speech: Romans | Page 2

resembling birds or beasts or reptiles. 001:024 For this reason, in accordance with their own depraved cravings, God gave them up to uncleanness, allowing them to dishonour their bodies among themselves with impurity. 001:025 For they had bartered the reality of God for what is unreal, and had offered divine honours and religious service to created things, rather than to the Creator--He who is for ever blessed. Amen. 001:026 This then is the reason why God gave them up to vile passions. For not only did the women among them exchange the natural use of their bodies for one which is contrary to nature, but the men also, 001:027 in just the same way--neglecting that for which nature intends women-- burned with passion towards one another, men practising shameful vice with men, and receiving in their own selves the reward which necessarily followed their misconduct. 001:028 And just as they had refused to continue to have a full knowledge of God, so it was to utterly worthless minds that God gave them up, for them to do things which should not be done. 001:029 Their hearts overflowed with all sorts of dishonesty, mischief, greed, malice. They were full of envy and murder, and were quarrelsome, crafty, and spiteful. 001:030 They were secret backbiters, open slanderers; hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful; inventors of new forms of sin, disobedient to parents, destitute of common sense, 001:031 faithless to their promises, without natural affection, without human pity. 001:032 In short, though knowing full well the sentence which God pronounces against actions such as theirs, as things which deserve death, they not only practise them, but even encourage and applaud others who do them. 002:001 You are therefore without excuse, O man, whoever you are who sit in judgement upon others. For when you pass judgement on your fellow man, you condemn yourself; for you who sit in judgement upon others are guilty of the same misdeeds; 002:002 and we know that God's judgement against those who commit such sins is in accordance with the truth. 002:003 And you who pronounce judgement upon those who do such things although your own conduct is the same as theirs-- do you imagine that you yourself will escape unpunished when God judges? 002:004 Or is it that you think slightingly of His infinite goodness, forbearance and patience, unaware that the goodness of God is gently drawing you to repentance? 002:005 The fact is that in the stubbornness of your impenitent heart you are treasuring up against yourself anger on the day of Anger--the day when the righteousness of God's judgements will stand revealed. 002:006 To each man He will make an award corresponding to his actions; 002:007 to those on the one hand who, by lives of persistent right-doing, are striving for glory, honour and immortality, the Life of the Ages; 002:008 while on the other hand upon the self-willed who disobey the truth and obey unrighteousness will fall anger and fury, affliction and awful distress, 002:009 coming upon the soul of every man and woman who deliberately does wrong--upon the Jew first, and then upon the Gentile; 002:010 whereas glory, honour and peace will be given to every one who does what is good and right--to the Jew first and then to the Gentile. 002:011 For God pays no attention to this world's distinctions. 002:012 For all who have sinned apart from the Law will also perish apart from the Law, and all who have sinned whilst living under the Law, will be judged by the Law. 002:013 It is not those that merely hear the Law read who are righteous in the sight of God, but it is those that obey the Law who will be pronounced righteous. 002:014 For when Gentiles who have no Law obey by natural instinct the commands of the Law, they, without having a Law, are a Law to themselves; 002:015 since they exhibit proof that a knowledge of the conduct which the Law requires is engraven on their hearts, while their consciences also bear witness to the Law, and their thoughts, as if in mutual discussion, accuse them or perhaps maintain their innocence-- 002:016 on the day when God will judge the secrets of men's lives by Jesus Christ, as declared in the Good News as I have taught it. 002:017 And since you claim the name of Jew, and find rest and satisfaction in the Law, and make your boast in God, 002:018 and know the supreme will, and can test things that differ-- being a man who receives instruction from the Law-- 002:019 and have persuaded yourself that, as for you, you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 002:020 a schoolmaster for the dull and ignorant, a teacher