Romans 13:4

Holy Bible: Easy-to-Read Version

Rulers are God’s servants to help you. But if you do wrong, you have reason to be afraid. They have the power to punish, and they will use it. They are God’s servants to punish those who do wrong.

Cross References

Romans 12:19

My friends, don’t try to punish anyone who does wrong to you. Wait for God to punish them with his anger. In the Scriptures the Lord says, “I am the one who punishes; I will pay people back.”Deuteronomy 32:35

Proverbs 20:2

An angry king is like a roaring lion. If you make him angry, you could lose your life.

Proverbs 16:14

When a king gets angry, he can put someone to death. So it is wise to keep the king happy.

2 Chronicles 19:6

He told the judges, “Be careful in what you are doing, because you are not judging for people, but for the Lord. He will be with you when you make decisions.

1 Thessalonians 4:6

Never wrong any of your fellow believers or cheat them in this way. The Lord will punish those who do that. We have already told you this and warned you about it.

Romans 13:6

And this is why you pay taxes too. Those rulers are working for God, and they give all their time to the work of ruling.

Micah 3:9

Leaders of Jacob and rulers of Israel, listen to me! You hate the right way of living! If something is straight, then you make it crooked!

Ezekiel 25:14

I will use my people Israel and get even against Edom. In this way the people of Israel will show my anger against Edom. Then the people of Edom will know that I punished them.” This is what the Lord GOD said.

Ezekiel 22:27

“The leaders in Jerusalem are like a wolf eating the animal it has caught. They attack people and kill them just to get rich.

Jeremiah 5:28

They have grown big and fat from the evil they have done. There is no end to the evil they do. They will not plead the case of children who have no parents. They will not help these orphans. They will not let the poor be judged fairly.

Isaiah 1:17

Learn to do good. Treat people fairly. Punish those who hurt others. Speak up for the widows and orphans. Argue their cases for them in court.

Proverbs 20:26

Like a farmer who separates wheat from the chaff, a wise king will decide who is wrong and crush them.

Proverbs 20:8

When the king sits and judges people, he must look carefully to separate the evil from the good.

1 Kings 10:9

Praise the Lord your God! He was pleased to make you king of Israel. Because of the Lord’s unending love for Israel, he has made you king to rule with justice and fairness.”

Joshua 20:9

All Israelites or any foreigners living among them who killed someone by accident were allowed to run away to one of these cities of safety. They could be safe there and not be killed by anyone chasing them. The court in that city would judge them.

Joshua 20:5

If someone chases you and follows you to that city, the leaders of the city must not give you up. They must protect you because you came to them for safety after killing someone by accident—you were not angry and did not plan to kill the person. It was something that just happened.

1 Peter 2:14

And obey the leaders who are sent by the king. They are sent to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do good.