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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.
Romans 13:11 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB 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.
  • 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 5:5–8Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
  • 1 Pet 4:7But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
  • Eph 5:14Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
  • Mark 13:35–37Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
  • 1 Cor 15:34Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
  • Matt 24:42–44Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
  • 1 Th 5:1–3But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
  • 2 Pet 3:13–15Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
  • Rev 22:20He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
  • Luke 21:28And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
  • Rev 22:12And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
  • Matt 25:5–7While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
  • Matt 26:40–41And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
  • 1 Cor 7:29–31But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;
  • 1 Cor 10:11Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
  • Eccl 9:10Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
  • Jonah 1:6So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
  • Isa 21:11–12The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
  • Matt 16:3And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not 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.