Romans 2 - Easy To Read Version

¹ So do you think that you can judge those other people? You are wrong. You too are guilty of sin. You judge those people, but you do the same bad things they do. So when you judge them, you are really judging yourself guilty.

² God judges the people that do those wrong things. And we know that God’s judgment is right.

³ You also judge the people that do those wrong things. But you do those wrong things too. So surely you understand that God will judge you. You will not be able to escape.

⁴ God has been very kind to you. And he has been patient with you. God has been waiting for you to change. But you think nothing of his kindness. Maybe you don’t understand that God is kind to you so that you will change your hearts and lives.

⁵ But you people are hard and stubborn. You refuse to change. So you are making your own punishment greater and greater. You will get that punishment on the day when God will show his anger. On that day people will see God’s right judgments.

⁶ God will reward or punish every person for the things that person has done.

⁷ Some people live for God’s glory, for honor, and for life that cannot be destroyed. Those people live for those things by always continuing to do good. God will give life forever to those people.

⁸ But other people are selfish and refuse to follow truth. Those people follow evil. God will give those people his punishment and anger.

⁹ God will give trouble and suffering to every person that does evil—to the Jews first and also to the non-Jews.

¹⁰ But God will give glory, honor, and peace to every person that does good—to the Jews first and also to the non-Jews.

¹¹ God judges all people the same.

¹² People that have the law {\cf2\super [14]} and people that have never heard of the law are all the same when they sin. People that don’t have the law and are sinners will be lost. And, in the same way, people that have the law and are sinners will be judged by the law.

¹³ Hearing the law does not make people right with God. The law makes people right with God only if those people always obey everything the law says.

¹⁴ (The non-Jews don’t have the law. But when they naturally do things that the law commands without even knowing the law, then they are their own law. This is true even though they don’t have the written law.

¹⁵ They show that in their hearts they know what is right and wrong, the same as the law commands. And those people also show this by the way they feel about right and wrong. Sometimes their thoughts tell them that they did wrong, and this makes them guilty. And sometimes their thoughts tell them that they did right, and this makes them not guilty.)

¹⁶ All these things will happen on the day when God will judge the secret things inside of people. The Good News {\cf2\super [15]} that I tell people says that God will judge people through Christ Jesus.

¹⁷ What about you? You say you are a Jew. You trust in the law and boast that you are close to God.

¹⁸ You know what God wants you to do. And you know the things that are important, because you have learned the law.

¹⁹ You think you are a guide for people that don’t know the right way. You think you are a light for people that are in darkness (sin).

²⁰ You think you can show foolish people what is right. And you think you are a teacher for people that still need to learn. You have the law and so you think that you know everything and have all truth.

²¹ You teach other people. So why don’t you teach yourself? You tell people not to steal. But you yourselves steal.

²² You say that people must not do the sin of adultery. {\cf2\super [16]} But you yourselves are guilty of that sin. You hate idols. {\cf2\super [17]} But you steal from temples. {\cf2\super [18]}

²³ You boast about God’s law. But you bring shame to God by breaking his law.

²⁴ It is written in the Scriptures {\cf2\super [19]} : “The non-Jews say bad things about God because of you \{Jews\}.” {\cf2\super [20]}

²⁵ If you follow the law, {\cf2\super [21]} then your circumcision {\cf2\super [22]} has meaning. But if you break the law, then it is like you were never circumcised.

²⁶ The non-Jews are not circumcised. But if they do what the law says, then it is like they were circumcised.

²⁷ You Jews have the written law and circumcision, but you break the law. So the people that are not circumcised in their bodies, but still obey the law, will show that you people are guilty.