So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.
- KJV Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
- BSB Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience.
- NKJV Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.
- NASB Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for the sake of conscience.
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
Submit to authority not only to avoid punishment but for conscience' sake.
Overview
Paul gives a deeper motive for submission than mere fear of penalty: a conscience instructed by the knowledge that authority is God-ordained. The believer obeys out of reverence for God, not merely dread of consequences. This internalizes civic obedience as part of Christian discipleship.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Acts 24:16Herein I also practice always having a conscience void of offense toward God and men.
- Eccl 8:2I say, “Keep the king’s command!” because of the oath to God.
- 1 Pet 2:19For it is commendable if someone endures pain, suffering unjustly, because of conscience toward God.
- 1 Pet 2:13–15Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether to the king, as supreme;
- 1 Sam 24:5–6Afterward, David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.
- Titus 3:1–2Remind them to be in subjection to rulers and to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
- Heb 13:18Pray for us, for we are persuaded that we have a good conscience, desiring to live honorably in all things.
- 1 Pet 3:16having a good conscience; that, while you are spoken against as evildoers, they may be disappointed who curse your good way of life in Christ.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 13:5 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.