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Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.
Romans 13:11 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
  • BSB And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
  • NKJV And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
  • NASB Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed.
  • NLT This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Understand the time: it is the hour to wake from sleep, for salvation is nearer than when you first believed.

Overview

Paul adds urgency to his moral exhortations by pointing to the times. The night of this present age is passing, and the day of completed salvation, Christ's return, draws ever nearer. This eschatological awareness should rouse believers from spiritual slumber to wakeful, holy living.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 19

  • 1 Th 5:5–8You are all children of light, and children of the day. We don’t belong to the night, nor to darkness,
  • 1 Pet 4:7But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer.
  • Eph 5:14Therefore he says, “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
  • Mark 13:35–37Watch therefore, for you don’t know when the lord of the house is coming, whether at evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning;
  • 1 Cor 15:34Wake up righteously, and don’t sin, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
  • Matt 24:42–44Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes.
  • 1 Th 5:1–3But concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that anything be written to you.
  • 2 Pet 3:13–15But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
  • Rev 22:20He who testifies these things says, “Yes, I come quickly.” Amen! Yes, come, Lord Jesus.
  • Luke 21:28But when these things begin to happen, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near.”
  • Rev 22:12“Behold, I come quickly. My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to his work.
  • Matt 25:5–7Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
  • Matt 26:40–41He came to the disciples, and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What, couldn’t you watch with me for one hour?
  • 1 Cor 7:29–31But I say this, brothers: the time is short, that from now on, both those who have wives may be as though they had none;
  • 1 Cor 10:11Now all these things happened to them by way of example, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
  • Eccl 9:10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going.
  • Jonah 1:6So the ship master came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God! Maybe your God will notice us, so that we won’t perish.”
  • Isa 21:11–12The burden of Dumah. One calls to me out of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?”
  • Matt 16:3In the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but you can’t discern the signs of the times!

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Romans videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Romans 13:11YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on RomansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.

How Romans 13:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.