English Bible Presentation Sharing - Romans Book, chapter 13, verse 23 in Erven Version

Romans 13 : 1 (ERVEN)

All of you must obey the government rulers. Everyone who rules was given the power to rule by God. And all those who rule now were given that power by God.

Romans 13 : 2 (ERVEN)

So anyone who is against the government is really against something God has commanded. Those who are against the government bring punishment on themselves.

Romans 13 : 3 (ERVEN)

People who do right don't have to fear the rulers. But those who do wrong must fear them. Do you want to be free from fearing them? Then do only what is right and they will praise you.

Romans 13 : 4 (ERVEN)

Rulers are God's servants to help you. But if you do wrong, you have reason to be afraid. They have the power to punish, and they will use it. They are God's servants to punish those who do wrong.

Romans 13 : 5 (ERVEN)

So you must obey the government, not just because you might be punished, but because you know it is the right thing to do.

Romans 13 : 6 (ERVEN)

And this is why you pay taxes too. Those rulers are working for God, and they give all their time to the work of ruling.

Romans 13 : 7 (ERVEN)

Give everyone what you owe them. If you owe them any kind of tax, then pay it. Show respect to those you should respect. And show honor to those you should honor.

Romans 13 : 8 (ERVEN)

You should owe nothing to anyone, except that you will always owe love to each other. The person who loves others has done all that the law commands.

Romans 13 : 9 (ERVEN)

The law says, "You must not commit adultery, you must not murder anyone, you must not steal, you must not want what belongs to someone else." All these commands and all other commands are really only one rule: "Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself."

Romans 13 : 10 (ERVEN)

Love doesn't hurt others. So loving is the same as obeying all the law.

Romans 13 : 11 (ERVEN)

I say this because you know that we live in an important time. Yes, it is now time for you to wake up from your sleep. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

Romans 13 : 12 (ERVEN)

The night is almost finished. The day is almost here. So we should stop doing whatever belongs to darkness. We should prepare ourselves to fight evil with the weapons that belong to the light.

Romans 13 : 13 (ERVEN)

We should live in a right way, like people who belong to the day. We should not have wild parties or be drunk. We should not be involved in sexual sin or any kind of immoral behavior. We should not cause arguments and trouble or be jealous.

Romans 13 : 14 (ERVEN)

But be like the Lord Jesus Christ, so that when people see what you do, they will see Christ. Don't think about how to satisfy your sinful self and the bad things you want to do.