Romans 13:6

Romans 13:6, in plain English

Paying taxes to the government is part of this same principle—the authorities are God's workers, and taxes support the work they do.

Why it's here

Tax collectors were despised in Jewish culture. For Paul to say you should pay taxes to Rome—to the pagan occupiers—would have shocked some people. But he's consistent: if you respect authority, you support it financially. The government needs resources to do its job of maintaining order and protecting people.

Who's speaking

Paul

Where it sits in the story

Jesus himself said to pay taxes to Caesar. Paul applies that principle here, showing that supporting government through taxes is a way of honoring God's appointed structures, not just surrendering to Rome's demands.

The scholarly reading

Paying taxes supports government officials who labor in their divinely appointed work, making taxation an extension of the principle of submission to authority.

Language and setting

First-century Roman taxation was notoriously onerous and often corrupt—tax farmers (publicani) enriched themselves at the expense of provincials, and Roman citizens in Rome itself resented direct taxation. For Jews in particular, paying taxes to a pagan overlord raised acute theological problems: How could one honor God's exclusive sovereignty while funding idolatrous governance? This context makes Paul's straightforward endorsement striking. He uses the term leitourgoi (those who serve in liturgical function), employing religious vocabulary to describe tax collectors—a remarkable move given that tax collectors were despised in Jewish society (cf. Matthew 9:10-13). Paul's argument: these officials, however imperfect, perform a public service that reflects God's ordering of human affairs.

Voice

Paul the apostle

Significance

This directly echoes Jesus's teaching on taxes (Mark 12:17: 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's'), though Paul expands the theological rationale. It also connects to the broader biblical principle that submission to earthly powers is compatible with ultimate allegiance to God alone.

4For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.

5Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience.

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.

Read all of Romans 13 — Obey governing authorities, pay your debts, and put on the armor of light. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.