HOLY BIBLE: Romans 13 (original) (raw)

1 Πᾶσα ψυχὴ ἐξουσίαις ὑπερεχούσαις ὑποτασσέσθω. οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ἐξουσία εἰ μὴ ὑπὸ θεοῦ, αἱ δὲ οὖσαι ὑπὸ θεοῦ τεταγμέναι εἰσίν: 2 ὥστε ὁ ἀντιτασσόμενος τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ διαταγῇ ἀνθέστηκεν, οἱ δὲ ἀνθεστηκότες ἑαυτοῖς κρίμα λήμψονται. 3 οἱ γὰρ ἄρχοντες οὐκ εἰσὶν φόβος τῷ ἀγαθῷ ἔργῳ ἀλλὰ τῷ κακῷ. θέλεις δὲ μὴ φοβεῖσθαι τὴν ἐξουσίαν; τὸ ἀγαθὸν ποίει, καὶ ἕξεις ἔπαινον ἐξ αὐτῆς: 4 θεοῦ γὰρ διάκονός ἐστιν σοὶ εἰς τὸ ἀγαθόν. ἐὰν δὲ τὸ κακὸν ποιῇς, φοβοῦ: οὐ γὰρ εἰκῇ τὴν μάχαιραν φορεῖ: θεοῦ γὰρ διάκονός ἐστιν, ἔκδικος εἰς ὀργὴν τῷ τὸ κακὸν πράσσοντι. 5 διὸ ἀνάγκη ὑποτάσσεσθαι, οὐ μόνον διὰ τὴν ὀργὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τὴν συνείδησιν. 6 διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ φόρους τελεῖτε, λειτουργοὶ γὰρ θεοῦ εἰσιν εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο προσκαρτεροῦντες. 7 ἀπόδοτε πᾶσιν τὰς ὀφειλάς, τῷ τὸν φόρον τὸν φόρον, τῷ τὸ τέλος τὸ τέλος, τῷ τὸν φόβον τὸν φόβον, τῷ τὴν τιμὴν τὴν τιμήν. 8 Μηδενὶ μηδὲν ὀφείλετε, εἰ μὴ τὸ ἀλλήλους ἀγαπᾶν: ὁ γὰρ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἕτερον νόμον πεπλήρωκεν. 9 τὸ γὰρ οὐ μοιχεύσεις, οὐ φονεύσεις, οὐ κλέψεις, οὐκ ἐπιθυμήσεις, καὶ εἴ τις ἑτέρα ἐντολή, ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ ἀνακεφαλαιοῦται, ἐν τῷ ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. 10 ἡ ἀγάπη τῷ πλησίον κακὸν οὐκ ἐργάζεται: πλήρωμα οὖν νόμου ἡ ἀγάπη.

1 Every soul must be submissive to its lawful superiors; authority comes from God only, and all authorities that hold sway are of his ordinance. 2 Thus the man who opposes authority is a rebel against the ordinance of God, and rebels secure their own condemnation. 3 A good conscience has no need to go in fear of the magistrate, as a bad conscience does. If thou wouldst be free from the fear of authority, do right, and thou shalt win its approval; 4 the magistrate is God’s minister, working for thy good. Only if thou dost wrong, needst thou be afraid; it is not for nothing that he bears the sword; he is God’s minister still, to inflict punishment on the wrong-doer. 5 Thou must needs, then, be submissive, not only for fear of punishment, but in conscience. 6 It is for this same reason that you pay taxes; magistrates are in God’s service, and must give all their time to it. 7 Pay every man, then, his due; taxes, if it be taxes, customs, if it be customs; respect and honour, if it be respect and honour. 8 Do not let anybody have a claim upon you, except the claim which binds us to love one another. The man who loves his neighbour has done all that the law demands.[1] 9 (All the commandments, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet, and the rest, are resumed in this one saying, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.)[2] 10 Love of our neighbour refrains from doing harm of any kind; that is why it fulfils all the demands of the law.

1 Omnis anima potestatibus sublimioribus subdita sit: non est enim potestas nisi a Deo: quæ autem sunt, a Deo ordinatæ sunt. 2 Itaque qui resistit potestati, Dei ordinationi resistit. Qui autem resistunt, ipsi sibi damnationem acquirunt: 3 nam principes non sunt timori boni operis, sed mali. Vis autem non timere potestatem? Bonum fac: et habebis laudem ex illa: 4 Dei enim minister est tibi in bonum. Si autem malum feceris, time: non enim sine causa gladium portat. Dei enim minister est: vindex in iram ei qui malum agit. 5 Ideo necessitate subditi estote non solum propter iram, sed etiam propter conscientiam. 6 Ideo enim et tributa præstatis: ministri enim Dei sunt, in hoc ipsum servientes. 7 Reddite ergo omnibus debita: cui tribulatum, tributum: cui vectigal, vectigal: cui timorem, timorem: cui honorem, honorem. 8 Nemini quidquam debeatis, nisi ut invicem diligatis: qui enim diligit proximum, legem implevit. 9 Nam: non adulterabis: non occides: non furaberis: non falsum testimonium dices: non concupisces: et si quod est aliud mandatum, in hoc verbo instauratur: diliges proximum tuum sicut teipsum. 10 Dilectio proximi malum non operatur. Plenitudo ergo legis est dilectio.

[1] ‘Do not let anybody have a claim on you’, etc., this is usually explained as meaning that we are to be diligent in paying off our debts, except that debt of mutual love, which can never be paid off, but always urges. In view of what immediately follows, it seems likely St Paul also means, that we shall seldom have scruples of conscience over the obligations of human justice, if we live by the law of divine love.

[2] Ex. 20.13-17; Lev. 19.18.

[3] The connexion of this passage with what goes before is only general; it is more closely related to what follows, viz. the anxiety of St Paul over the want of unity among Christians at Rome.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd