Romans 13:4 — Bible Verse (KJV)
“For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”
Romans 13:4 — King James Version (KJV), 1611
Romans 13:4 in 6 Bible Translations
Read Romans 13:4 in the King James Version (KJV) and 5 other free, public-domain translations side by side.
Romans 13:4 WEB — World English Bible (2000)
“for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn’t bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil.”
Romans 13:4 — World English Bible
Romans 13:4 ASV — American Standard Version (1901)
“for he is a minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is a minister of God, an avenger for wrath to him that doeth evil.”
Romans 13:4 — American Standard Version
Romans 13:4 YLT — Young's Literal Translation (1862)
“for of God it is a ministrant to thee for good; and if that which is evil thou mayest do, be fearing, for not in vain doth it bear the sword; for of God it is a ministrant, an avenger for wrath to him who is doing that which is evil.”
Romans 13:4 — Young's Literal Translation
Romans 13:4 DBY — Darby Translation (1890)
“for it is God's minister to thee for good. But if thou practisest evil, fear; for it bears not the sword in vain; for it is God's minister, an avenger for wrath to him that does evil.”
Romans 13:4 — Darby Translation
Romans 13:4 GEN — Geneva Bible (1599)
“For he is ye minister of God for thy wealth, but if thou do euill, feare: for he beareth not the sworde for nought: for he is the minister of God to take vengeance on him that doeth euill.”
Romans 13:4 — Geneva Bible
Romans 13:4 in Context — Romans 13
2 C’est pourquoi celui qui s’oppose à l’autorité résiste à l’ordre que Dieu a établi, et ceux qui résistent attireront une condamnation sur eux-mêmes.
3 Ce n’est pas pour une bonne action, c’est pour une mauvaise, que les magistrats sont à redouter. Veux-tu ne pas craindre l’autorité? Fais le bien, et tu auras son approbation.
4 Le magistrat est serviteur de Dieu pour ton bien. Mais si tu fais le mal, crains; car ce n’est pas en vain qu’il porte l’épée, étant serviteur de Dieu pour exercer la vengeance et punir celui qui fait le mal.
5 Il est donc nécessaire d’être soumis, non seulement par crainte de la punition, mais encore par motif de conscience.
6 C’est aussi pour cela que vous payez les impôts. Car les magistrats sont des ministres de Dieu entièrement appliqués à cette fonction.
What Does Romans 13:4 Mean?
Romans 13:4 is a verse from the Book of Romans, part of the New Testament. It appears in Romans chapter 13. Use The Living Sword's word-by-word study mode to explore every word in the original Greek.
Also explore: Bible verses by topic | Read the full Bible free