Absalom’s Conspiracy

1 After this Absalom ^vgot himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him. 2 And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside ^wthe way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And when he said, “Your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel,” 3 Absalom would say to him, “See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you.” 4 Then Absalom would say, ^x“Oh that I were judge in the land! Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice.” 5 And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. 6 Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

7 And at the end of four¹ years Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to the Lord, in Hebron. 8 For your servant ^zvowed a vow ^awhile I lived at Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘If the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will offer worship to² the Lord.’” 9 The king said to him, ^b“Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. 10 But Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then say, ‘Absalom is king at Hebron!’” 11 With Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem ^cwho were invited guests, and they went in their innocence and knew nothing. 12 And while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for^{3 d}Ahithophel the Gilonite, ^eDavid’s counselor, from his city ^fGiloh. And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom ^gkept increasing.

David Flees Jerusalem

13 And a messenger came to David, saying, ^h“The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.” 14 Then David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us ⁱflee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Go quickly, lest he overtake us quickly and bring down ruin on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” 15 And the king’s servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king decides.” 16 So the king went out, and all his household after him. And the king left ^jten concubines to keep the house. 17 And the king went out, and all the people after him. And they halted at the last house.

18 And ^kall his servants passed by him, and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from ^lGath, passed on before the king. 19 Then the king said to ^mIttai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home. 20 You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, since I go ⁿI know not where? Go back and take your brothers with you, and may the Lord show⁴ steadfast love and faithfulness to you.” 21 But Ittai answered the king, ^o“As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, ^pwherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.” 22 And David said to Ittai, “Go then, pass on.” So Ittai the Gittite passed on with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. 23 And all the land wept aloud as all the people passed by, and the king crossed ^qthe brook ^rKidron, and all the people passed on toward ^sthe wilderness.

24 And ^tAbiathar came up, and behold, ^uZadok came also with all the Levites, ^vbearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God until the people had all passed out of the city. 25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will ^wbring me back and let me see both it and his ^xdwelling place. 26 But if he says, ‘I have no ^ypleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, ^zlet him do to me what seems good to him.” 27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a ^aseer? Go back⁵ to the city in peace, with ^byour two sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. 28 See, I will wait at ^cthe fords of ^sthe wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there.

30 But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, ^dbarefoot and ^ewith his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, ^fweeping as they went. 31 And it was told David, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, please ^gturn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”

32 While David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, behold, Hushai ^hthe Archite came to meet him ⁱwith his coat torn and ⁱdirt on his head. 33 David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be ^ja burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ^k‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so now I will be your servant,’ then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel. 35 Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So whatever you hear from the king’s house, ^ltell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. 36 Behold, ^mtheir two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son, ^mand by them you shall send to me everything you hear.” 37 So Hushai, ⁿDavid’s friend, came into the city, ^ojust as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause

A Maskil¹ of ^rAsaph.

Greeting

1 Paul, ^aa servant¹ of Christ Jesus, ^bcalled to be an apostle, ^cset apart for the gospel of God, 2 which ^dhe promised beforehand ^ethrough his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, ^fwho was descended from David^{2 g}according to the flesh 4 and ^hwas declared to be the Son of God ⁱin power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom ^jwe have received grace and ^kapostleship ^lto bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name ^mamong all the nations, 6 including you who are ⁿcalled to belong to Jesus Christ,

7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

^oGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Longing to Go to Rome

8 First, ^pI thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, ^qbecause your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 ^rFor God is my witness, ^swhom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, ^tthat without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow ^uby God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For ^vI long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged ^wby each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,³ that ^xI have often intended to come to you (but ^ythus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some ^zharvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 ^aI am under obligation both to Greeks and to ^bbarbarians,⁴ both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

16 For ^dI am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is ^ethe power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew ^ffirst and also to ^gthe Greek. 17 For in it ^hthe righteousness of God is revealed ⁱfrom faith for faith,^{5 j}as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”⁶

God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

18 For ^kthe wrath of God ^lis revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be ^mknown about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, ⁿhave been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,⁷ in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they ^obecame futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 ^pClaiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and ^qexchanged the glory of ^rthe immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore ^sGod gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to ^tthe dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for ^ua lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ^vwho is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason ^wGod gave them up to ^xdishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, ^ymen committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, ^zGod gave them up to ^aa debased mind to do ^bwhat ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know ^cGod’s righteous decree that those who practice such things ^ddeserve to die, they not only do them but ^egive approval to those who practice them.

God’s Righteous Judgment

1 Therefore you have ^fno excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For ^gin passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on ^hthe riches of his kindness and ⁱforbearance and ^jpatience, ^knot knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are ^lstoring up ^mwrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

6 ⁿHe will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who ^oby patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking⁸ and ^pdo not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress ^qfor every human being who does evil, the Jew ^rfirst and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and ^speace for everyone who does good, ^tthe Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For ^uGod shows no partiality.

God’s Judgment and the Law

12 For all who have sinned ^vwithout the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For ^wit is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, ^xby nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is ^ywritten on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 ^zon that day when, ^aaccording to my gospel, God judges ^bthe secrets of men ^cby Christ Jesus.

17 But if you call yourself a Jew and ^drely on the law and boast in God 18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself are ^ea guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law ^fthe embodiment of ^gknowledge and truth— 21 ^hyou then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you ⁱrob temples? 23 You who ^jboast in the law ^kdishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, ^las it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed ^mamong the Gentiles because of you.”

25 For circumcision indeed is of value ⁿif you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if ^oa man who is uncircumcised keeps ^pthe precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded⁹ as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically¹⁰ uncircumcised but keeps the law ^qwill condemn you who have ^rthe written code¹¹ and circumcision but break the law. 28 For ^sno one is a Jew ^twho is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one ^uinwardly, and ^vcircumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. ^wHis praise is not from man but from God.

God’s Righteousness Upheld

1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, ^xthe Jews were entrusted with ^ythe oracles of God. 3 ^zWhat if some were unfaithful? ^aDoes their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! ^bLet God be true though ^cevery one were a liar, as it is written,

5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict ^fwrath on us? (^gI speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could ^hGod judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, ⁱwhy am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not ^jdo evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

No One Is Righteous

9 What then? Are we Jews¹² any better off?¹³ No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both ^kJews and ^lGreeks, are ^munder sin, 10 as it is written:

19 Now we know that whatever ^vthe law says it speaks to those who are under the law, ^wso that every mouth may be stopped, and ^xthe whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For ^yby works of the law no human being¹⁴ will be justified in his sight, since ^zthrough the law comes knowledge of sin.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith

21 But now ^athe righteousness of God ^bhas been manifested apart from the law, although ^cthe Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God ^dthrough faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. ^eFor there is no distinction: 23 for ^fall have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 ^gand are justified ^hby his grace as a gift, ⁱthrough the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God ^jput forward as ^ka propitiation ^lby his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in ^mhis divine forbearance he had passed over ⁿformer sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 ^oThen what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith ^papart from works of the law. 29 Or ^qis God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since ^rGod is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and ^sthe uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.