Romans 13:1-3 Everybody must obey the civil authorities that are over him, for no authority exists except by God's permission; the existing authorities have been established by Him,

Williams⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ Everybody must obey the civil authorities that are over him, for no authority exists except by God's permission; the existing authorities have been established by Him, ² so that anyone who resists the authorities sets himself against what God has established, and those who set themselves against Him will get the penalty due them. ³ For civil authorities are not a terror to the man who does right, but they are to the man who does wrong. Do you want to have no dread of the civil authorities? Then practice doing right and you will be commended for it.