Romans 13

¹Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except [that which is from] God. [The authorities] that exist have been appointed by God.

²Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who [do so] will bring judgment on themselves.

³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? [Then] do what [is] right, and you will have his approval.

⁴For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.

⁵Therefore [it is] necessary to submit [ to authority ], not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience.

⁶This is also why you pay taxes. For [the authorities] are God’s servants, who devote themselves to [their work].

⁷Pay everyone what you owe [him]: taxes to whom taxes [are due], revenue to whom revenue [is due], respect to whom respect [is due], honor to whom honor [is due].

⁸Be indebted to no one, except to one another [in] love. For he who loves [his] neighbor has fulfilled [the] law.

⁹The [commandments] “Do not commit adultery,”“Do not murder,”“Do not steal,”“Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this [one] decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

¹⁰Love does no wrong to [its] neighbor. Therefore love [is] [the] fulfillment of [the] law.

¹¹And [do] this, understanding the occasion. [The] hour has come for you to wake up from [your] slumber, for our salvation [is] nearer now than when we {first} believed.

¹²The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

¹³Let us behave decently, as in [the] daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

¹⁴Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for [the] desires of the flesh.