The Ruined Loincloth

1 Thus says the Lord to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, 4 “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. 6 And after many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was ^aspoiled; it was good for nothing.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Thus says the Lord: Even so will I spoil the ^bpride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who ^cstubbornly follow their own heart and have ^dgone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah ^ecling to me, declares the Lord, that they might be for me a people, ^fa name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its ^qpassions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but ^rpresent yourselves to God as those who have been brought ^sfrom death to life, and your members to God as instruments ^tfor righteousness. 14 For sin will have no ^udominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? ^vAre we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves,¹ you are slaves of the one whom you obey, ^weither of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once ^xslaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set ^yfree from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking ^zin human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to ^asanctification.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But ^bwhat fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the ^cfruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 ^dFor the wages of sin is death, but the ^efree gift of God is eternal ^flife in Christ Jesus our Lord.

47 ^dWhoever is of God hears the words of God. ^eThe reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

Before Abraham Was, I Am

48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a ^fSamaritan and ^ghave a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not ^hseek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and ⁱhe is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone ^jkeeps my word, ^khe will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! ^lAbraham died, ^mas did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater ⁿthan our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you ^omake yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who ^pglorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’¹ 55 But you have not ^qknown him. ^rI know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a ^sliar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham ^trejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”² 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^ubefore Abraham was, ^vI am.” 59 ^wSo ^xthey picked up stones to throw at him, ^ybut Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.