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Romans

About this book
Chapter 12

1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God—which is your reasonable service.⁠ 2 Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith. 4 For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, 5 so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. 6 And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; 8 if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness. 9 Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good.⁠ 10 Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality.⁠ 14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people.⁠ 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people. 19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,”⁠ says the Lord.⁠ 20 Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head.⁠ 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Amos 5:15 and Romans 12:9

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Amos urges his audience to hate evil, love good, and uphold justice at the city gate, connecting it with community well-being. In Romans, Paul echoes this language, demanding hatred of what is unrighteous and maintaining devotion to what is good.

Passages

Amos 5:15

Hebrew Bible
13 For this reason whoever is smart keeps quiet in such a time, for it is an evil time. 14 Seek good and not evil so you can live! Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies just might be with you, as you claim he is. 15 Hate what is wrong, love what is right. Promote justice at the city gate. Maybe the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on those who are left from Joseph. 16 Because of Israel’s sins this is what the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, says: “In all the squares there will be wailing; in all the streets they will mourn the dead. They will tell the field workers to lament and the professional mourners to wail. 17 In all the vineyards there will be wailing, for I will pass through your midst,” says the Lord.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Amos

Romans 12:9

New Testament
7 If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; 8 if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness. 9 Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord.
55–58 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Romans

References

"... 'hating the evil, devoted to the good.' ἀποστυγέω is a strong word, "hate violently, abhor". Hence it is no accident that Paul chooses πονηρός (the only time in Romans) as the antithesis to ἀγαθός, instead of the usual since πονηρός is the stronger word ("wicked, evil") as against the less forceful ("bad"). κολλάω is equivalently strong on the other side-'join closely together, unite." In the passive, with the dative, as here, it has the force of 'cling to, enter into a close relation with' (Psalm 119 [LXX 118]:31; Testament of Issachar 6:1; Testament of Dan. 6:10; Testament of Gad 5:2; Testament of Asher 3:1; Testament of Benjamin 8:1; Didache 5:2; and Barnabas 20:2 echo this passage; BGD; Schlier refers also to 1QS 1:4-5). ἀγαθός is the more regular member of the antithesis (2:7,10; 3:8; etc.). Although the form of the contrast is distinctive, the contrast itself is not untypical (e.g., Psalm 34:14; 37:27; Amos 5:15; 1QS 1.4-5); see further on 2:10. The parallel with 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 is particularly worth noting ..."
James D. G. Dunn, Word Biblical Commentary: Romans 9-16 (Dallas: Word, 2009), 740.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Amos 5:15 and Romans 12:9

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