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I Urge You To Present Your Bodies To God As a Living Sacrifice, And Renew Your Mind

12 Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the compassions[a] of God, to present[b] your bodies as a living holy sacrifice pleasing to God, as your spiritual[c] worship[d]. And do not be conformed[e] to this age[f], but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may be approving what[g] is the good and pleasing and perfect will of God.

Think Sound-Mindedly About Yourself As God Has Apportioned You The Faith

For I say to everyone being among you through the grace having been given to me not to be thinking-highly of yourself beyond what you ought-to think, but to be thinking so as to be sound-minded, as God apportioned[h] to each a measure[i] of faith.

For We Are One Body In Christ. Use The Gifts And Faith God Has Given You

For just as we have many body-parts in one body and all the body-parts do not have the same function, in this manner we the many are one body in Christ, and individually body-parts of one another. And having different grace-gifts according-to the grace having been given to us, exercise them accordingly[j]: whether prophecy, in accordance with the proportion[k] of your faith[l]; or service[m], in-the-sphere-of [n] your service[o]; or the one teaching, in the sphere of your teaching[p]; or the one exhorting[q], in the sphere of your exhortation[r]; the one giving, with[s] generosity[t]; the one leading[u], with diligence; the one showing-mercy, with cheerfulness.

Think And Diligently Act In Love, Faith, And Holiness

I say[v] to let your love be sincere[w], while abhorring the evil, clinging[x] to the good; 10 to be affectionate[y] to one another in brotherly-love, preferring[z] one another in honor; 11 to not be hesitant in diligence; to be boiling in spirit, serving the Lord, 12 rejoicing in hope, enduring in affliction, devoting-yourselves to prayer, 13 sharing in the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality. 14 Be blessing the ones persecuting you— be blessing and not cursing[aa]. 15 I say to rejoice with rejoicing ones, to weep with weeping ones; 16 to be thinking the same thing toward one another, not thinking lofty[ab] things, but being carried-along-with[ac] the lowly[ad] (do not be wise among yourselves); 17 to be giving-back evil for evil to no one; to be providing-for[ae] good things in the sight of all people, 18 living-in-peace with all people if possible— as far as from you; 19 to not be avenging yourselves, beloved, but give a place to the wrath of God. For it has been written: “Vengeance is for Me, I will repay, says the Lord” [Deut 32:35]. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give-a-drink to him. For doing this, you will heap coals of fire upon his head” [Prov 25:21-22]. 21 Do not be overcome by[af] evil, but be overcoming evil with good.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 12:1 Or, acts-of-compassion.
  2. Romans 12:1 Or, offer.
  3. Romans 12:1 Or, reasonable, thoughtful, pertaining to the real (spiritual) nature of things.
  4. Romans 12:1 Or, service.
  5. Romans 12:2 Or, molded.
  6. Romans 12:2 Or, world.
  7. Romans 12:2 what is... God. Or, what is the will of God— the thing good and pleasing and perfect.
  8. Romans 12:3 Or, divided, distributed.
  9. Romans 12:3 Or, a quantity, a measured-portion.
  10. Romans 12:6 At some point Paul transitions from explanation to exhortation, intending the reader to supply the commands needed. Some add a single command here; others a command after each gift mentioned next.
  11. Romans 12:6 That is, your measure of faith. Or, the right-relationship to the faith.
  12. Romans 12:6 Or, the faith given.
  13. Romans 12:7 Or, ministry.
  14. Romans 12:7 Or, with, by. Both the gift and the sphere or realm in which it is used are gifts from God.
  15. Romans 12:7 Or, the service given.
  16. Romans 12:7 Or, the teaching given.
  17. Romans 12:8 Or, encouraging, comforting.
  18. Romans 12:8 Or, the exhortation given.
  19. Romans 12:8 Paul changes from referring to the sphere in which the gift is used to the manner in which it is used.
  20. Romans 12:8 Or, simplicity (that is, without any self-seeking motive or partiality), sincerity.
  21. Romans 12:8 Or, managing, ruling, being at the head, presiding over.
  22. Romans 12:9 What follows is clearly a series of exhortations, so most make them all commands. Here they are given as Paul wrote them, with words supplied in italics to make the sense clear. Since there is no clear indication of a change of subject, they are listed as a continuation of what Paul wants to ‘say to everyone being among you’, v 3.
  23. Romans 12:9 Or, genuine, without-hypocrisy.
  24. Romans 12:9 Or, joining oneself to, associating with.
  25. Romans 12:10 Or, warmly-devoted, tenderly-loving.
  26. Romans 12:10 Paul may mean leading the way for one another in honor; or, being first to honor one another; or, esteeming one another more highly in honor.
  27. Romans 12:14 That is, calling down curses.
  28. Romans 12:16 Or, high, proud.
  29. Romans 12:16 Or, accommodating to, associating with.
  30. Romans 12:16 Or, humble.
  31. Romans 12:17 Or, planning for, taking thought for.
  32. Romans 12:21 That is, by the evil done to you. Do not be controlled or directed by it, but take the lead yourself with good.

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