New King James Version
Romans 13:7
7Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Romans 13:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
- New International Version (NIV)Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.
Context of Romans 13:7
5Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. 8Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Read all of Romans 13Romans 13:7 word by word
ἀπόδοτε πᾶσιν τὰς ὀφειλάς, τῷ τὸν φόρον τὸν φόρον, τῷ τὸ τέλος τὸ τέλος, τῷ τὸν φόβον τὸν φόβον, τῷ τὴν τιμὴν τὴν τιμήν.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Romans 13:7
- Luke 20:25And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
- Leviticus 19:3‘Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.
- 1 Samuel 12:18So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.
- Proverbs 24:21My son, fear the Lord and the king; Do not associate with those given to change;
- Ephesians 5:33Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
- Ephesians 6:5Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ;
- 1 Peter 2:18Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.
- Exodus 20:12“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
- Leviticus 19:32‘You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord.
- Ephesians 6:2“Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise:
- 1 Timothy 5:13And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not.
- 1 Timothy 6:1Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed.
- 1 Peter 2:17Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
- 1 Peter 3:7Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
Commentaries on Romans 13:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Render therefore to all their dues - This is an extensive command. Be rigidly just; withhold neither from the king nor his ministers, nor his officers of justice and revenue, nor from even the lowest of the community, what the laws of God and your country require you to pay. Tribute to whom tribute - · This word probably means such taxes as were levied on persons and estates. Custom to whom custom - · This word probably means such duties as were laid upon…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Render therefore - This injunction is often repeated in the Bible; see the notes at Matthew 22:21; see also Matthew 17:25-27; 1 Peter 2:13-17; Proverbs 24:21. It is one of the most lovely and obvious of the duties of religion. Christianity is not designed to break in upon the proper order of society, but rather to establish and confirm that order. It does not rudely assail existing institutions: but it comes to put them on a proper footing, to diffuse a…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-14This section of Romans explains the moral and ethical demands of the gospel. God’s gift of salvation in Christ calls for a response from believers. God not only forgives sin. He also wants to transform how people live. Much of what Paul teaches here about the moral duties of believers also appears in his other letters. However, Paul also addresses issues that were especially important for the church in Rome. One key issue was the disagreement between…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 6-76-7. For, for this cause pay ye--rather, "ye pay" tribute also--that is, "This is the reason why ye pay the contributions requisite for maintaining the civil government." for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing--"to this very thing."Read the comment
Topics related to Romans 13:7
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Romans 13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries