Bible Gateway passage: Romans 1:18-32 - New International Version (2024)

God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity

¹⁸The wrath of God^(A) is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.^{(B) 20}For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,^(C) so that people are without excuse.^(D)

²¹For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.^{(E) 22}Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools^{(F) 23}and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images^(G) made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴Therefore God gave them over^(H) in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.^{(I) 25}They exchanged the truth about God for a lie,^(J) and worshiped and served created things^(K) rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.^(L) Amen.^(M)

²⁶Because of this, God gave them over^(N) to shameful lusts.^(O) Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.^{(P) 27}In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.^(Q)

²⁸Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over^(R) to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,^{(S) 30}slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;^{(T) 31}they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love,^(U) no mercy. ³²Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death,^(V) they not only continue to do these very things but also approve^(W) of those who practice them.

Cross references

1. Romans 1:18 : Jn 3:36; Ro 5:9; Eph 5:6; Col 3:6; 1Th 1:10; Rev 19:15
2. Romans 1:19 : Ac 14:17
3. Romans 1:20 : Ps 19:1-6
4. Romans 1:20 : Ro 2:1
5. Romans 1:21 : Ge 8:21; Jer 2:5; 17:9; Eph 4:17, 18
6. Romans 1:22 : 1Co 1:20, 27; 3:18, 19
7. Romans 1:23 : Dt 4:16, 17; Ps 106:20; Jer 2:11; Ac 17:29
8. Romans 1:24 : ver 26, 28; Ps 81:12; Eph 4:19
9. Romans 1:24 : 1Pe 4:3
10. Romans 1:25 : Isa 44:20
11. Romans 1:25 : Jer 10:14; 13:25; 16:19, 20
12. Romans 1:25 : Ro 9:5; 2Co 11:31
13. Romans 1:25 : S Ro 11:36
14. Romans 1:26 : ver 24, 28
15. Romans 1:26 : Eph 4:19; 1Th 4:5
16. Romans 1:26 : Lev 18:22, 23
17. Romans 1:27 : Lev 18:22; 20:13; 1Co 6:18
18. Romans 1:28 : ver 24, 26
19. Romans 1:29 : 2Co 12:20; 1Ti 5:13; Jas 3:2; 3Jn 10
20. Romans 1:30 : 2Ti 3:2
21. Romans 1:31 : 2Ti 3:3
22. Romans 1:32 : S Ro 6:23
23. Romans 1:32 : Ps 50:18; Lk 11:48; Ac 8:1; 22:20