Joab Rebukes David

1 It was told Joab, “Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.” 2 So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard that day, “The king is grieving for his son.” 3 And the people stole into the city that day as people steal in who are ashamed when they flee in battle. 4 The king ^pcovered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, ^q“O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!” 5 Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “You have today covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who have this day saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives and your concubines, 6 because you love those who hate you and hate those who love you. For you have made it clear today that commanders and servants are nothing to you, for today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased. 7 Now therefore arise, go out and speak ^rkindly to your servants, for I swear by the Lord, if you do not go, not a man will stay with you this night, and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.” 8 Then the king arose and took his ^sseat in the gate. And the people were all told, “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” And all the people came before the king.

David Returns to Jerusalem

Now Israel had ^tfled every man to his own home. 9 And all the people were arguing throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, ^u“The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and ^vsaved us from the hand of the Philistines, and now ^whe has fled out of the land from Absalom. 10 But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?”

11 And King David sent this message to ^xZadok and Abiathar the priests: “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house, when the word of all Israel has come to the king?¹ 12 You are my brothers; ^yyou are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’ 13 And say to Amasa, ^z‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? ^aGod do so to me and more also, if you are not ^bcommander of my army from now on in place of Joab.’” 14 And he swayed the heart of all the men of Judah ^cas one man, so that they sent word to the king, “Return, both you and all your servants.” 15 So the king came back to the Jordan, and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and to bring the king over the Jordan.

Who Can Stand Before You?

To the choirmaster: with ^cstringed instruments. A Psalm of ^dAsaph. A Song.

Abraham Justified by Faith

1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, ^tour forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but ^unot before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? ^v“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now ^wto the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but ^xbelieves in¹ him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

9 Is this blessing then only for ^athe circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? ^bFor we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 ^cHe received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was ^dto make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

The Promise Realized Through Faith

13 For ^ethe promise to Abraham and his offspring ^fthat he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 ^gFor if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For ^hthe law brings wrath, but ⁱwhere there is no law ^jthere is no transgression.

16 That is why it depends on faith, ^kin order that the promise may rest on grace and ^lbe guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, ^mwho is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, ⁿ“I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, ^owho gives life to the dead and calls into existence ^pthe things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ^q“So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was ^ras good as dead (^ssince he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered ^tthe barrenness² of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that ^uGod was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But ^vthe words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us ^wwho believe in ^xhim who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 ^ywho was delivered up for our trespasses and raised ^zfor our justification.

Peace with God Through Faith

1 ^aTherefore, since we have been justified by faith, ^bwe³ have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also ^cobtained access by faith⁴ into this grace ^din which we stand, and ^ewe⁵ rejoice⁶ in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we ^frejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering ^gproduces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and ^hhope does not put us to shame, because God’s love ⁱhas been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

6 For ^jwhile we were still weak, at the right time ^kChrist died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but ^lGod shows his love for us in that ^mwhile we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, ⁿwe have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from ^othe wrath of God. 10 For if ^pwhile we were enemies ^qwe were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by ^rhis life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received ^sreconciliation.

Death in Adam, Life in Christ

12 Therefore, just as ^tsin came into the world through one man, and ^udeath through sin, and ^vso death spread to all men⁷ because ^wall sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but ^xsin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not ^ylike the transgression of Adam, ^zwho was a type of ^athe one who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for ^bmany. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For ^cthe judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought ^djustification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness ^ereign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

18 Therefore, as one trespass⁸ led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness⁹ leads to justification and life for ^fall men. 19 For as by the one man’s ^gdisobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s ^hobedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now ⁱthe law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, ^jgrace abounded all the more, 21 so that, ^kas sin reigned in death, ^lgrace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

1 What shall we say then? ^mAre we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can ⁿwe who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us ^owho have been baptized ^pinto Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were ^qburied therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as ^rChrist was raised from the dead by ^sthe glory of the Father, we too might walk in ^tnewness of life.

5 For ^uif we have been united with him in ^va death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that ^wour old self^{10 x}was crucified with him in order that ^ythe body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For ^zone who has died ^ahas been set free¹¹ from sin. 8 Now ^bif we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that ^cChrist, being raised from the dead, will never die again; ^ddeath no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, ^eonce for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves ^fdead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12 Let not ^gsin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 ^hDo not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but ⁱpresent yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For ^jsin ^kwill have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? ^lAre we to sin ^mbecause we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves ⁿto anyone as obedient slaves,¹² you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But ^othanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the ^pstandard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, ^qhaving been set free from sin, ^rhave become slaves of righteousness. 19 ^sI am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For ^tjust as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members ^uas slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

20 ^vFor when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 ^wBut what fruit were you getting at that time from the things ^xof which you are now ashamed? ^yFor the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you ^zhave been set free from sin and ^ahave become slaves of God, ^bthe fruit you get leads to sanctification and ^cits end, eternal life. 23 ^dFor the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.