Berean Standard Bible
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
King James Version
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
About this verse
This is a list, and the list is doing deliberate work. Paul writes in pairs designed to close every loophole — "neither death nor life," "neither the present nor the future," "neither height nor depth" — and then, in case anything slipped through, "nor anything else in all creation." He writes like a lawyer sealing a contract against every contingency. And he begins, "For I am convinced" — not a mood, a verdict he has reached.
These verses are the summit of Romans 8, in a letter Paul wrote in the mid-50s AD to Roman believers he had never met. The chapter opens with no condemnation and closes with no separation. Paul is not speculating; by this point he had personally survived a good portion of the list — dangers, powers, the threat of death — and the conviction held.
Read the list slowly and notice what it has in common: everything on it is outside you. Circumstances, spiritual forces, time in both directions, space in both directions. The verse is for the person who fears their failures or their future might finally outrun the love of God. Paul's answer is that nothing in all creation has that kind of reach.
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