Romans 13:7
New International Version
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.

New Living Translation
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.

English Standard Version
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.

Berean Standard Bible
Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

Berean Literal Bible
Render to all their dues: tax to whom tax, revenue to whom revenue, respect to whom respect, honor to whom honor.

King James Bible
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 King James Version
Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

New American Standard Bible
Pay to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor.

NASB 1995
Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

NASB 1977
Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

Legacy Standard Bible
Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

Amplified Bible
Pay to all what is due: tax to whom tax is due, customs to whom customs, respect to whom respect, honor to whom honor.

Christian Standard Bible
Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.

American Standard Version
Render to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

Contemporary English Version
Pay all that you owe, whether it is taxes and fees or respect and honor.

English Revised Version
Render to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Pay everyone whatever you owe them. If you owe taxes, pay them. If you owe tolls, pay them. If you owe someone respect, respect that person. If you owe someone honor, honor that person.

Good News Translation
Pay, then, what you owe them; pay them your personal and property taxes, and show respect and honor for them all.

International Standard Version
Pay everyone whatever you owe them—taxes to whom taxes are due, tolls to whom tolls are due, fear to whom fear is due, honor to whom honor is due.

Majority Standard Bible
Therefore pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

NET Bible
Pay everyone what is owed: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

New Heart English Bible
Give therefore to everyone what you owe: taxes to whom taxes are due; customs to whom customs; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor.

Webster's Bible Translation
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

Weymouth New Testament
Pay promptly to all men what is due to them: taxes to those to whom taxes are due, toll to those to whom toll is due, respect to those to whom respect is due, honour to those to whom honour is due.

World English Bible
Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
render, therefore, to all [their] dues; to whom tribute, the tribute; to whom custom, the custom; to whom fear, the fear; to whom honor, the honor.

Berean Literal Bible
Render to all their dues: tax to whom tax, revenue to whom revenue, respect to whom respect, honor to whom honor.

Young's Literal Translation
render, therefore, to all their dues; to whom tribute, the tribute; to whom custom, the custom; to whom fear, the fear; to whom honour, the honour.

Smith's Literal Translation
Therefore restore debts to all; to whom tribute, tribute; to whom recompense, recompense; to whom fear, fear; to whom honour, honour.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Render therefore to all men their dues. Tribute, to whom tribute is due: custom, to whom custom: fear, to whom fear: honour, to whom honour.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Therefore, render to all whatever is owed. Taxes, to whom taxes is due; revenue, to whom revenue is due; fear, to whom fear is due; honor, to whom honor is due.

New American Bible
Pay to all their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, toll to whom toll is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

New Revised Standard Version
Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Render therefore, to every one as is due to him: head tax to him who is in charge of head tax, duty to him who is in charge of custom; reverence to whom reverence is due, and honor to whom honor is due.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Pay every person what is owed to him: to whomever head tax, pay head tax, and to whomever a tribute tax, a tribute tax, and to whomever reverence, reverence, and to whomever honor, honor.
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
Render, therefore, to all their dues; tribute, to whom tribute is due; custom, to whom custom; fear, to whom fear; honor, to whom honor is due.

Godbey New Testament
Give to all their dues: custom to whom custom is due; tribute to whom tribute is due; fear to whom fear is due; honor to whom honor is due.

Haweis New Testament
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour.

Mace New Testament
attending upon the publick administration, render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, reverence to whom reverence, honour to whom honour.

Weymouth New Testament
Pay promptly to all men what is due to them: taxes to those to whom taxes are due, toll to those to whom toll is due, respect to those to whom respect is due, honour to those to whom honour is due.

Worrell New Testament
Render to all their dues; tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

Worsley New Testament
Render therefore to all what is their due: tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, reverence to whom reverence, honor to whom honor.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Submission to Authorities
6This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work. 7Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. 8Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.…

Cross References
Matthew 22:21
“Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

1 Peter 2:17
Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

Mark 12:17
Then Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they marveled at Him.

Luke 20:25
So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

Proverbs 3:27
Do not withhold good from the deserving when it is within your power to act.

1 Timothy 5:18
For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The worker is worthy of his wages.”

Malachi 1:6
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

Leviticus 19:13
You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.

Deuteronomy 24:15
You are to pay his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

1 Corinthians 9:7-14
Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk? / Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? / For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? ...

Galatians 6:6
Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word must share in all good things with his instructor.

James 5:4
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

Matthew 17:24-27
After they had arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your Teacher pay the two drachmas?” / “Yes,” he answered. When Peter entered the house, Jesus preempted him. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs and taxes: from their own sons, or from others?” / “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus said to him. ...

Nehemiah 5:4
Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards.

Exodus 22:25-27
If you lend money to one of My people among you who is poor, you must not act as a creditor to him; you are not to charge him interest. / If you take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him by sunset, / because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? And if he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.


Treasury of Scripture

Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

therefore.

Luke 20:25
And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's.

fear to.

Leviticus 19:3
Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

1 Samuel 12:18
So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

Proverbs 24:21
My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:

honour to.

Exodus 20:12
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Leviticus 19:32
Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.

Ephesians 6:2,3
Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) …

Jump to Previous
Custom Customs Due Dues Fear Honor Honour Owe Pay Payment Promptly Render Respect Right Tax Taxes Toll Tribute
Jump to Next
Custom Customs Due Dues Fear Honor Honour Owe Pay Payment Promptly Render Respect Right Tax Taxes Toll Tribute
Romans 13
1. Subjection, and many other duties, we owe to the authorities.
8. Love is the fulfillment of the law.
11. The acts of darkness are out of season in the time of the Gospel.














Pay everyone what you owe him
This phrase emphasizes the Christian duty to fulfill obligations. The Greek word for "pay" is "ἀπόδοτε" (apodote), which means to give back or restore. It implies a moral and ethical responsibility to settle debts and fulfill commitments. In the historical context of the Roman Empire, where Paul was writing, financial and social obligations were taken seriously. This instruction aligns with the broader biblical principle of integrity and honesty in dealings with others, reflecting God's justice and righteousness.

taxes to whom taxes are due
The word "taxes" comes from the Greek "φόρους" (phorous), referring to the compulsory levies imposed by governing authorities. In the Roman context, taxes were a significant part of life, funding the empire's vast infrastructure and military. Paul acknowledges the legitimacy of these obligations, urging believers to comply as a testimony of their respect for authority and order, which are ordained by God (Romans 13:1).

revenue to whom revenue is due
"Revenue" is translated from the Greek "τέλη" (telē), which can also mean tolls or duties. This phrase extends the principle of paying taxes to other forms of financial obligations, such as customs or fees. The historical context suggests a society with various forms of taxation, and Paul encourages Christians to honor these as part of their witness to the world, demonstrating that their faith does not exempt them from civic responsibilities.

respect to whom respect is due
The Greek word for "respect" is "φόβον" (phobon), which can also mean fear or reverence. This phrase calls for an attitude of honor towards those in positions of authority. In a Roman society structured around hierarchy and power, showing respect was crucial. For Christians, this respect is not just societal but rooted in the understanding that all authority is established by God (Romans 13:1-2).

honor to whom honor is due
"Honor" comes from the Greek "τιμήν" (timēn), signifying value or esteem. This phrase encourages believers to recognize and affirm the worth of individuals, particularly those in leadership or authority. In the biblical context, honor is a reflection of God's image in humanity and a recognition of His sovereign order. By honoring others, Christians demonstrate the transformative power of the Gospel in their relationships and communities.

(7) Tribute.--Rather, taxes--i.e., taxes upon person or property as opposed to the customs levied upon goods. These were collected by different officers.

Fear . . . honour.--There would be one class of officers who could claim respect for their official position, though they had no special means of enforcing it. Another class would have the power of inflicting punishment. This last would necessarily be feared, looked upon with a certain awe and reverence, as well as honoured.

Verse 7. - Render to all their dues; tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. Whatever, either by law or by the constituted order of society, may be due to any, in the way of deference and honour, as well as payments, Christians, as members of society, are bound to render.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Pay
ἀπόδοτε (apodote)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 591: From apo and didomi; to give away, i.e. Up, over, back, etc.

everyone
πᾶσιν (pasin)
Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3956: All, the whole, every kind of. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole.

what
τὰς (tas)
Article - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

you owe [him]:
ὀφειλάς (opheilas)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 3782: A debt, a duty, what is due. From opheilo; indebtedness, i.e. a sum owed; figuratively, obligation, i.e. duty.

taxes
φόρον (phoron)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5411: A tax, tribute, especially on persons. From phero; a load, i.e. a tax.

to whom
τῷ (tō)
Article - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

taxes [are due],
φόρον (phoron)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5411: A tax, tribute, especially on persons. From phero; a load, i.e. a tax.

revenue
τέλος (telos)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 5056: (a) an end, (b) event or issue, (c) the principal end, aim, purpose, (d) a tax.

to whom
τῷ (tō)
Article - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

revenue [is due],
τέλος (telos)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 5056: (a) an end, (b) event or issue, (c) the principal end, aim, purpose, (d) a tax.

respect
φόβον (phobon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5401: (a) fear, terror, alarm, (b) the object or cause of fear, (c) reverence, respect. From a primary phebomai; alarm or fright.

to whom
τῷ (tō)
Article - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

respect [is due],
φόβον (phobon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5401: (a) fear, terror, alarm, (b) the object or cause of fear, (c) reverence, respect. From a primary phebomai; alarm or fright.

honor
τιμήν (timēn)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 5092: A price, honor. From tino; a value, i.e. Money paid, or valuables; by analogy, esteem, or the dignity itself.

to whom
τῷ (tō)
Article - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

honor [is due].
τιμὴν (timēn)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 5092: A price, honor. From tino; a value, i.e. Money paid, or valuables; by analogy, esteem, or the dignity itself.


Links
Romans 13:7 NIV
Romans 13:7 NLT
Romans 13:7 ESV
Romans 13:7 NASB
Romans 13:7 KJV

Romans 13:7 BibleApps.com
Romans 13:7 Biblia Paralela
Romans 13:7 Chinese Bible
Romans 13:7 French Bible
Romans 13:7 Catholic Bible

NT Letters: Romans 13:7 Give therefore to everyone what you owe: (Rom. Ro)
Romans 13:6
Top of Page
Top of Page