God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness
18 kFor the lwrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and munrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For nwhat can be known 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, ohave been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,1 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 pthey became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, qthey became fools, 23 and rexchanged the glory of the immortal God for images sresembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore tGod gave them up in the ulusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a vlie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable 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, wmen committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due xpenalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what 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, yhaughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s zrighteous decree that those who practice such things adeserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
God’s Righteous Judgment
1 bTherefore you have cno excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For din passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the ejudgment of God rightly falls on fthose 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 the riches of his kindness and gforbearance and hpatience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up iwrath for yourself on the jday of wrath when God’s krighteous judgment will be revealed.
6 He will render to each one laccording to his works: 7 to those who by mpatience nin well-doing oseek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking2 and pdo not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, qthe Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God rshows no partiality.
God’s Judgment and the Law
12 For all who have sinned swithout the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned tunder the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is unot 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, by 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 written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse vor even excuse them 16 on that wday when, according to my gospel, xGod judges the secrets of men yby Christ Jesus.
17 But if you call yourself a Jew and zrely aon the law and boast in God 18 and bknow his will and capprove what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself are a dguide 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 the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 eyou 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, fdo you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who gboast in the law dishonor God by hbreaking the law. 24 For, as it is written, i“The name of God is blasphemed jamong the Gentiles because of you.”
25 kFor lcircumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 mSo, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded3 as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically4 uncircumcised but keeps the law will ncondemn you who have the owritten code5 and circumcision but break the law. 28 For pno one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and qcircumcision is a matter of the heart, rby the Spirit, not by the letter. sHis 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, tthe Jews were entrusted with the uoracles of God. 3 vWhat if some were unfaithful? wDoes their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written,
x“That you may be justified in your words,
and prevail when you are judged.”
5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, ywhat shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could zGod judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And awhy not do 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 Jews6 any better off?7 No, not at all. For we have already charged that ball, both cJews and dGreeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:
e“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
13 f“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
g“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 h“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 i“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 j“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are kunder the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For lby works of the law no human being8 will be justified in his sight, since mthrough the law comes knowledge of sin.
The Righteousness of God Through Faith
21 But now the nrighteousness of God has been omanifested apart from the law, palthough the Law and the Prophets qbear witness to it— 22 the rrighteousness of God through sfaith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is tno distinction: 23 for uall have vsinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are wjustified xby his grace as a ygift, through the zredemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a apropitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine bforbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of cthe one who has faith in Jesus.
27 Then what becomes of our dboasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the elaw of faith. 28 For fwe hold that one is gjustified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 hOr is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since iGod is one—jwho will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 kDo we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
Abraham Justified by Faith
1 lWhat then shall we say was gained by Abraham, mour forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to nboast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? o“Abraham believed God, and it was pcounted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now qto 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 rbelieves in9 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:
7 s“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not tcount his sin.”
9 Is this ublessing then only for the circumcised, vor also for the uncircumcised? For 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 He received wthe sign of circumcision as a seal of the xrighteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to 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 the ypromise to Abraham and his offspring zthat he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 aFor if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but bwhere there is no law cthere is no transgression.
16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to dthe one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, e“I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God fin whom he believed, who ggives life to the dead and calls into existence the 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, h“So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith iwhen he considered his own body, which was jas good as dead (since he was about ka hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness10 of Sarah’s womb. 20 No lunbelief 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 God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was m“counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but nfor ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in ohim who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up pfor our trespasses and qraised for our rjustification.
God’s Sovereign Choice
1 sI am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that tI have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were uaccursed and cut off from Christ vfor the sake of my brothers,1 my kinsmen waccording to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the xadoption, the yglory, zthe acovenants, bthe cgiving of the law, the dworship, and the epromises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and ffrom their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God gover all, blessed forever. Amen.
6 hBut it is not as though the word of God has failed. For inot all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but j“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 the kchildren of the promise are lcounted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: m“About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also nwhen 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 opurpose of pelection might continue, qnot because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, r“The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, s“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
14 tWhat shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, u“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends vnot on human will or exertion,2 but on God, who has wmercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, x“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 yhardens whomever he wills.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For zwho can resist his will?” 20 But awho are you, O man, to 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 epatience vessels of wrath fprepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the griches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has hprepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, inot from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,
j“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
26 k“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: l“Though mthe number of the sons of Israel3 be as the sand of the sea, only 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,
n“If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,
we would have been like Sodom
and become like Gomorrah.”
Israel’s Unbelief
30 oWhat shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a prighteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness4 qdid 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 rstumbling stone, 33 as it is written,
s“Behold, I am laying in Zion ta stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and uwhoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
1 Brothers,5 vmy heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a wzeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the xrighteousness of God, and yseeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For zChrist is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.6
The Message of Salvation to All
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that athe person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the brighteousness based on faith says, c“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you dconfess with your mouth that eJesus is Lord and fbelieve in your heart that gGod raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, h“Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is ino distinction between jJew and Greek; for the same Lord is kLord of all, lbestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For m“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?7 And nhow are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, o“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But pthey have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, q“Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So rfaith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
18 But I ask, have they not heard? sIndeed they have, for
t“Their voice has gone out uto all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.”
19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,
v“I will wmake you jealous of those who are not a nation;
with a foolish nation I will make you angry.”
20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,
x“I have been found yby those who did not seek me;
I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”
21 But of Israel he says, z“All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
The Remnant of Israel
1 I ask, then, has God arejected his people? By no means! For bI myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,8 a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he cforeknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 d“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God’s reply to him? e“I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a fremnant, chosen by grace. 6 But gif it is by grace, it is hno longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be igrace.
7 What then? Israel jfailed to obtain what it was seeking. The kelect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,
l“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
meyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
9 And David says,
n“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
Gentiles Grafted In
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass osalvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to pmake Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion9 mean!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an qapostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus rsave some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the sreconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 If the dough offered as tfirstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 uBut if some of the branches were broken off, and you, valthough a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root10 of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. wSo do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, xprovided you continue in his kindness. yOtherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation
25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this zmystery, brothers:11 a partial ahardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
b“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
27 “and this will be my covenant with them
cwhen I take away their sins.”
28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are dbeloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the egifts and the fcalling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now12 receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned gall to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! hHow unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 i“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 j“Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36 For kfrom him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another
1 As for the one who is oweak in faith, welcome him, but not to pquarrel over opinions. 2 qOne person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and rlet not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 sWho are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master1 that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 tOne person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, usince he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For vnone of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, wwe live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord xboth of the dead and of the living.
10 yWhy do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the zjudgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
a“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess2 to God.”
12 So then each of us will bgive an account of himself to God.
Do Not Cause Another to Stumble
13 Therefore clet us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a dstumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that enothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean ffor anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are gno longer walking in love. hBy what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For ithe kingdom of God is jnot a matter of eating and drinking kbut of righteousness and lpeace and mjoy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is nacceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us opursue what makes for peace and for mutual pupbuilding.
20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. qEverything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.3 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But rwhoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. sFor whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.4
The Example of Christ
1 We who are strong have an obligation to tbear with the failings of the uweak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us vplease his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For wChrist did not please himself, but as it is written, x“The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days ywas written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to zlive in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles
8 For I tell you that aChrist became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
b“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name.”
10 And again it says,
c“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”
11 And again,
d“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him.”
12 And again Isaiah says,
e“The froot of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
in him will the Gentiles hope.”
13 May the God of hope fill you with all gjoy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
