Blessed Are the Forgiven

A Maskil¹ of David.

26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. 27 And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and ^wshe became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

Nathan Rebukes David

1 And the Lord sent ^xNathan to David. He came to him and said to him, ^y“There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms,¹ and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, ^z“As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb ^afourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ^b‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 ^cWhy have you despised the word of the Lord, ^dto do what is evil in his sight? ^eYou have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and ^fhave taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’

13 ^hDavid said to Nathan, ⁱ“I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, ^j“The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly ^kscorned the Lord,¹ the child who is born to you shall die.”

Justified by Faith

15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not ^mGentile sinners; 16 yet we know that ⁿa person is not justified¹ by works of the law ^obut through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, ^pbecause by works of the law no one will be justified.

17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found ^qto be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I ^rdied to the law, so that I might ^slive to God. 20 I have been ^tcrucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives ^uin me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, ^vwho loved me and ^wgave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for ^xif righteousness² were through the law, ^ythen Christ died for no purpose.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

10 For all who rely on works of the law are ^munder a curse; for it is written, ⁿ“Cursed be everyone who does not ^oabide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that ^pno one is justified before God by the law, for ^q“The righteous shall live by faith.”¹ 12 But the law is not of faith, rather ^r“The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ ^sredeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ^t“Cursed is everyone who is hanged ^uon a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might ^vcome to the Gentiles, so that ^wwe might receive ^xthe promised Spirit² through faith.

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

36 ^uOne of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37 ^vAnd behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and ^wwiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If ^xthis man were ^ya prophet, he ^zwould have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred ^adenarii, and the other fifty. 42 ^bWhen they could not pay, he ^ccancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; ^dyou gave me no water for my feet, but ^eshe has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 ^fYou gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to ^gkiss my feet. 46 ^hYou did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, ⁱwhich are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, ^j“Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among¹ themselves, ^k“Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, ^l“Your faith has saved you; ^mgo in peace.”

Women Accompanying Jesus

1 Soon afterward he went on ⁿthrough cities and villages, proclaiming and ^obringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also ^psome women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: ^qMary, called Magdalene, ^rfrom whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and ^sJoanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them² out of their means.