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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Romans 13 CEV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/romans/13.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/romans/13-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">CEV</a> > Romans 13</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../romans/12.htm" title="Romans 12">◄</a> Romans 13 <a href="../romans/14.htm" title="Romans 14">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Contemporary English Version</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s1">Obey Rulers</h3><p class="par"><span class="v45_13_1"><span class="reftext" id="Rom.13.1" class="v45_13_1">1</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Rom.13.1!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Obey the rulers who have authority over you. Only God can give authority to anyone, and he puts these rulers in their places of power. </span><span class="v45_13_2"><span class="reftext" id="Rom.13.2" class="v45_13_2">2</span>People who oppose the authorities are opposing what God has done, and they will be punished. </span><span class="v45_13_3"><span class="reftext" id="Rom.13.3" class="v45_13_3">3</span>Rulers are a threat to evil people, not to good people. There is no need to be afraid of the authorities. Just do right, and they will praise you for it. </span><span class="v45_13_4"><span class="reftext" id="Rom.13.4" class="v45_13_4">4</span>After all, they are God's servants, and it is their duty to help you.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v45_13_4">If you do something wrong, you ought to be afraid, because these rulers have the right to punish you. They are God's servants who punish criminals to show how angry God is. </span><span class="v45_13_5"><span class="reftext" id="Rom.13.5" class="v45_13_5">5</span>But you should obey the rulers because you know it is the right thing to do, and not just because of God's anger.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v45_13_6"><span class="reftext" id="Rom.13.6" class="v45_13_6">6</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Rom.13.6!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> You must also pay your taxes. The authorities are God's servants, and it is their duty to take care of these matters. </span><span class="v45_13_7"><span class="reftext" id="Rom.13.7" class="v45_13_7">7</span>Pay all that you owe, whether it is taxes and fees or respect and honor.</span></p><h3 class="s1">Love</h3><p class="par"><span class="v45_13_8"><span class="reftext" id="Rom.13.8" class="v45_13_8">8</span>Let love be your only debt! If you love others, you have done all that the Law demands. </span><span class="v45_13_9"><span class="reftext" id="Rom.13.9" class="v45_13_9">9</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Rom.13.9!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> In the Law there are many commands, such as, “Be faithful in marriage. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not want what belongs to others.” But all of these are summed up in the command that says, “Love others as much as you love yourself.” </span><span class="v45_13_10"><span class="reftext" id="Rom.13.10" class="v45_13_10">10</span>No one who loves others will harm them. So love is all that the Law demands.</span></p><h3 class="s1">The Day When Christ Returns</h3><p class="par"><span class="v45_13_11"><span class="reftext" id="Rom.13.11" class="v45_13_11">11</span>You know what sort of times we live in, and so you should live properly. It is time to wake up. You know that the day when we will be saved is nearer now than when we first put our faith in the Lord. </span><span class="v45_13_12"><span class="reftext" id="Rom.13.12" class="v45_13_12">12</span>Night is almost over, and day will soon appear. We must stop behaving as people do in the dark and be ready to live in the light. </span><span class="v45_13_13"><span class="reftext" id="Rom.13.13" class="v45_13_13">13</span>So behave properly, as people do in the day. Don't go to wild parties or get drunk or be vulgar or indecent. Don't quarrel or be jealous. </span><span class="v45_13_14"><span class="reftext" id="Rom.13.14" class="v45_13_14">14</span>Let the Lord Jesus Christ be as near to you as the clothes you wear. Then you won't try to satisfy your selfish desires.</span></p> </div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Bible text from the Contemporary English Version 2nd Edition (CEV®) is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by American Bible Society, 101 North Independence Mall East, Floor 8, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2155 (<a href="http://www.americanbible.org">www.americanbible.org</a>). Learn more at <a href="http://www.cev.bible">www.cev.bible</a>. 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