David Avenges the Gibeonites

1 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David ^zsought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” 2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but ^aof the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. 3 And David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And how shall I make atonement, that you may bless ^bthe heritage of the Lord?” 4 The Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “What do you say that I shall do for you?” 5 They said to the king, “The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel, 6 let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the Lord at ^cGibeah of Saul, ^dthe chosen of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.”

7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of ^ethe oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 The king took the two sons of ^fRizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab¹ the daughter of Saul, whom ^gshe bore to ^hAdriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; 9 and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, ⁱat the beginning of barley harvest.

10 ^jThen Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day, or the beasts of the field by night. 11 When David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, 12 David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, ^kwho had stolen them from the public square of ^lBeth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. 13 And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged. 14 And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in ^mZela, in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that ⁿGod responded to the plea for the land.

War with the Philistines

15 There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. 16 And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants ^oof the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels² of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, ^p“You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench ^qthe lamp of Israel.”

18 ^rAfter this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then ^sSibbecai ^tthe Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants ^uof the giants. 19 And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and ^vElhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, ^wthe shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.³ 20 And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended ^xfrom the giants. 21 And when ^yhe taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. 22 These four were descended ^xfrom the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Tell the Coming Generation

A Maskil¹ of ^hAsaph.

Released from the Law

1 Or do you not know, brothers¹—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For ^ea married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.² 3 Accordingly, ^fshe will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

4 Likewise, my brothers, ^gyou also have died ^hto the law ⁱthrough the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, ^jin order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work ^kin our members ^lto bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the ^mnew way of ⁿthe Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.³

The Law and Sin

7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, ^oI would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if ^pthe law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, ^qseizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. ^rFor apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment ^sthat promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, ^tseizing an opportunity through the commandment, ^udeceived me and through it killed me. 12 So ^vthe law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, ^wsold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For ^xI do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with ^ythe law, that it is good. 17 So now ^zit is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells ^ain me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 ^bFor I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, ^cit is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For ^dI delight in the law of God, ^ein my inner being, 23 but I see in my members ^fanother law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from ^gthis body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Life in the Spirit

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.⁴ 2 For the law of ^hthe Spirit of life ⁱhas set you⁵ free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For ^jGod has done what the law, ^kweakened by the flesh, ^lcould not do. ^mBy sending his own Son ⁿin the likeness of sinful flesh and ^ofor sin,⁶ he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that ^pthe righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, ^qwho walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For ^rthose who live according to the flesh set their minds on ^sthe things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on ^tthe things of the Spirit. 6 For to set ^uthe mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is ^vhostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; ^windeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact ^xthe Spirit of God dwells in you. ^yAnyone who does not have ^zthe Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of ^ahim who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus⁷ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies ^bthrough his Spirit who dwells in you.

Heirs with Christ

12 So then, brothers,⁸ we are debtors, ^cnot to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you ^dput to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are ^eled by the Spirit of God are ^fsons⁹ of God. 15 For ^gyou did not receive ^hthe spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of ⁱadoption as sons, by whom we cry, ^j“Abba! Father!” 16 ^kThe Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then ^lheirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, ^mprovided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Future Glory

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time ⁿare not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for ^othe revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation ^pwas subjected to futility, not willingly, but ^qbecause of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that ^rthe creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that ^sthe whole creation ^thas been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have ^uthe firstfruits of the Spirit, ^vgroan inwardly as ^wwe wait eagerly for adoption as sons, ^xthe redemption of our bodies. 24 For ^yin this hope we were saved. Now ^zhope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we ^await for it with patience.

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For ^bwe do not know what to pray for as we ought, but ^cthe Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And ^dhe who searches hearts knows what is ^ethe mind of the Spirit, because¹⁰ the Spirit ^fintercedes for the saints ^gaccording to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together ^hfor good,¹¹ for ⁱthose who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he ^jforeknew he also ^kpredestined ^lto be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be ^mthe firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also ⁿjustified, and those whom he justified he also ^oglorified.

God’s Everlasting Love

31 What then shall we say to these things? ^pIf God is for us, who can be¹² against us? 32 ^qHe who did not spare his own Son but ^rgave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? ^sIt is God who justifies. 34 ^tWho is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—^uwho is at the right hand of God, ^vwho indeed is interceding for us.¹³ 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

37 No, in all these things we are more than ^yconquerors through ^zhim who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God’s Sovereign Choice

1 ^aI am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For ^bI could wish that I myself were ^caccursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers,¹⁴ my kinsmen ^daccording to the flesh. 4 They are ^eIsraelites, and to them belong ^fthe adoption, ^gthe glory, ^hthe covenants, ⁱthe giving of the law, ^jthe worship, and ^kthe promises. 5 To them belong ^lthe patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, ^mwho is God over all, ⁿblessed forever. Amen.

6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham ^obecause they are his offspring, but ^p“Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but ^qthe children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: ^r“About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but ^salso when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of ^thim who calls— 12 she was told, ^u“The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, ^v“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

14 What shall we say then? ^wIs there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, ^x“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion,¹⁵ but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ^y“For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For ^zwho can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, ^ato answer back to God? ^bWill what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 ^cHas the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump ^done vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience ^evessels of wrath ^fprepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known ^gthe riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he ^hhas prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he ⁱhas called, ^jnot from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,

27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: ⁿ“Though the number of the sons of Israel¹⁶ be as the sand of the sea, ^oonly a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted,

Israel’s Unbelief

30 What shall we say, then? ^sThat Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, ^ta righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel ^uwho pursued a law that would lead to righteousness^{17 v}did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the ^wstumbling stone, 33 as it is written,