The Wisdom of Solomon - Chapters 13-14

Read the following excerpt from this book, found in the Apocryphal writings, that was written by a Greek-
speaking Jew around the time Paul wrote Romans:

Wisdom 13:1- For all people who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature; and they were unable from
the good things that are seen to know the one who exists, nor did they recognize the artisan while paying
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heed to his works; but they supposed that either fire or wind or swift air, or the circle of the stars, or
turbulent water, or the luminaries of heaven were the gods that rule the world.
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If through delight in the beauty of these things people assumed them to be gods, let them know how
much better than these is their Lord, for the author of beauty created them.
4
And if people were amazed at their power and working, let them perceive from them how much
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more powerful is the one who formed them. For from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a
corresponding perception of their Creator.
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Yet these people are little to be blamed, for perhaps they go astray while seeking God and desiring
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to find him. For while they live among his works, they keep searching, and they trust in what they see,
because the things that are seen are beautiful.
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Yet again, not even they are to be excused; for if they had the power to know so much that they
could investigate the world, how did they fail to find sooner the Lord of these things?
10
But miserable, with their hopes set on dead things, are those who give the name "gods" to the
works of human hands, gold and silver fashioned with skill, and likenesses of animals, or a useless stone, the
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work of an ancient hand. A skilled woodcutter may saw down a tree easy to handle and skillfully strip off all
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its bark, and then with pleasing workmanship make a useful vessel that serves life's needs, and burn the
cast-off pieces of his work to prepare his food, and eat his fill.
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But a cast-off piece from among them, useful for nothing, a stick crooked and full of knots, he takes
and carves with care in his leisure, and shapes it with skill gained in idleness; he forms it in the likeness of a
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human being, or makes it like some worthless animal, giving it a coat of red paint and coloring its surface
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red and covering every blemish in it with paint; then he makes a suitable niche for it, and sets it in the wall,
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and fastens it there with iron. He takes thought for it, so that it may not fall, because he knows that it
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cannot help itself, for it is only an image and has need of help! When he prays about possessions and his
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marriage and children, he is not ashamed to address a lifeless thing! For health he appeals to a thing that
is weak; for life he prays to a thing that is dead; for aid he entreats a thing that is utterly inexperienced; for a
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prosperous journey, a thing that cannot take a step; for money-making and work and success with his hands
he asks strength of a thing whose hands have no strength!
14:1 Again, one preparing to sail and about to voyage over raging waves calls upon a piece of wood
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more fragile than the ship that carries him! For it was desire for gain that planned that vessel, and wisdom
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was the artisan who built it; but it is your providence, O Father, that steers its course, because you have
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given it a path in the sea, and a safe way through the waves, showing that you can save from every danger,
so that even a person who lacks skill may put to sea.
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It is your will that works of your wisdom should not be without effect; therefore people trust their lives
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even to the smallest piece of wood, and passing through the billows on a raft they come safely to land. For
even in the beginning, when arrogant giants were perishing, the hope of the world took refuge on a raft, and
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guided by your hand left to the world the seed of a new generation. For blessed is the wood by which
righteousness comes.
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But the idol made with hands is accursed, and so is the one who made it-- he for having made it,
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and the perishable thing because it was named a god. For equally hateful to God are the ungodly and their
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ungodliness; for what was done will be punished together with the one who did it. Therefore there will be
a visitation also upon the heathen idols, because, though part of what God created, they became an
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abomination, snares for human souls and a trap for the feet of the foolish. For the idea of making idols was
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the beginning of fornication, and the invention of them was the corruption of life; for they did not exist from
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the beginning, nor will they last forever. For through human vanity they entered the world, and therefore
their speedy end has been planned.
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For a father, consumed with grief at an untimely bereavement, made an image of his child, who
had been suddenly taken from him; he now honored as a god what was once a dead human being, and
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handed on to his dependents secret rites and initiations. Then the ungodly custom, grown strong with time,
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was kept as a law, and at the command of monarchs carved images were worshiped. When people could
not honor monarchs in their presence, since they lived at a distance, they imagined their appearance far
away, and made a visible image of the king whom they honored, so that by their zeal they might flatter the
absent one as though present.
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Then the ambition of the artisan impelled even those who did not know the king to intensify their
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worship. For he, perhaps wishing to please his ruler, skillfully forced the likeness to take more beautiful
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form, and the multitude, attracted by the charm of his work, now regarded as an object of worship the one
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whom shortly before they had honored as a human being. And this became a hidden trap for humankind,
because people, in bondage to misfortune or to royal authority, bestowed on objects of stone or wood the
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name that ought not to be shared! Then it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of God, but
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though living in great strife due to ignorance, they call such great evils peace! For whether they kill children
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in their initiations, or celebrate secret mysteries, or hold frenzied revels with strange customs, they no
longer keep either their lives or their marriages pure, but they either treacherously kill one another, or grieve
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one another by adultery, and all is a raging riot of blood and murder, theft and deceit, corruption,
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faithlessness, tumult, perjury, confusion over what is good, forgetfulness of favors, defiling of souls, sexual
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perversion, disorder in marriages, adultery, and debauchery! For the worship of idols not to be named is
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the beginning and cause and end of every evil! For their worshipers either rave in exultation, or prophesy
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lies, or live unrighteously, or readily commit perjury; for because they trust in lifeless idols they swear
wicked oaths and expect to suffer no harm.
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But just penalties will overtake them on two counts: because they thought wrongly about God in
devoting themselves to idols, and because in deceit they swore unrighteously through contempt for holiness.
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For it is not the power of the things by which people swear, but the just penalty for those who sin, that
always pursues the transgression of the unrighteous!

Questions to consider:

1. How does this passage compare to what we read in Romans 1?

2. What does the similarity between the two say about Paul’s background knowledge or Jewish
worldview?

3. According to Wisdom 13-14 and Romans 1, why is idolatry so wicked? What is the result of
it?

4. In Paul’s speech to the Athenians at the Areopagus (Acts 17:16ff), what common Jewish
critique of idolatry as found in writings such as Wisdom of Solomon does he proclaim?

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The Letter of Paul to the Romans
Personal study translation by James-Michael Smith
[available at http://jmsmith.org/blog]

1:1 Paul, a slave of The Messiah Jesus,

called as an apostle,
set apart for the Gospel of God.
2
Which was promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy
3
scriptures, regarding his Son,
4
(who was born from the seed of David with according to the flesh,
appointed the Son-of-God in power according to the Spirit of
Holiness by resurrection from the dead)
Jesus the Messiah our Lord
5
(through whom we have received grace and apostleship for
obedience of faith among all the Gentiles on behalf of his name)
6
in whom you also were called by Jesus the Messiah.
7
To all those in Rome who are God’s beloved, called as saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
the Messiah!
8
First, I am thanking my God through Jesus the Messiah about all
of you, because your faith is being reported throughout the whole world!
9
For God, whom I am serving in my spirit through the gospel of his
10
Son, is my witness that I am unceasingly remembering you and I always
begging in my prayers, if somehow now at last I may succeed by the will of
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God to come to you. For I long to see you, so that I may share with you
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some spiritual gift for your strengthening-- that is, that we may be
comforted together by one another's faith, both yours and mine.
13
I do not wish you to be unaware, brothers [and sisters], that often
I planned on coming to you (but have been prevented until now), so that I Intertextual echoes to Genesis 1:26-27
may have some fruit also among you, just as [I already have] among the in Romans 1:18-32
rest of the Gentiles. (Robert Gagnon)
14
I am obligated both to Greeks and to barbarians, wise and foolish. Gen 1:26-27 Rom 1:23; 26-27
15
Thus my eagerness also to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome.
A. God’s likeness and image in humans

16 (1) human (anthropos) likeness (homoioma) (3)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for (2) image (eikon) image (eikon) (2)
salvation to all the believing, first to the Jew and also to the Greek. (3) likeness (homoiosis) human (anthropos) (1)
17
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faithfulness for
B. Dominion over the animal kingdom
faith, just as it is written,
(4) birds (peteina) birds (peteina) (4)
"The righteous one by faith will live." (Hab. 2:4) (5) cattle (ktene) quadrupeds (tetrapoda) (5)
(6) reptiles (herpeta) reptiles (herpeta) (6)
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For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven upon all
C. Male-female differentiation
godlessness and unrighteousness of people who are suppressing truth by
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their unrighteousness, because what is known about God is visible by (7) male (arsen) females (theleiai) (8)
20 (8) female (thelus) males (arsenes) (7)
them, because God has made it visible to them. For since the creation of
the world his unseen works—his eternal power and divinity—have been
The point of these echoes
understood and are being perceived. So that they are without excuse. • Idolatry and same-sex intercourse together
21
Because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God constitute a frontal assault on the work of the
or give him thanks. Rather, they were given over to worthlessness in their Creator in nature
22 o Instead of recognizing their creation in God’s
reasoning and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise,
23 image & dominion over animals
they became foolish and exchanged the glory of the imperishable God for o Instead of acknowledging that God made them
a likeness-image of perishable humans or birds or quadrupeds or reptiles. “male and female”…
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Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to rottenness, • Those who had suppressed the truth about God
25 visible in creation went on to suppress the truth
to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. Whoever
about themselves visible in nature.

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exchanged the truth of God for a lie and venerated and served the creation
instead of the Creator, (who is praised to the ages! Amen!)
26
For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions.
For their females exchanged the natural functions for those contrary to
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nature, and likewise the males also, abandoning the natural functions of
females, were inflamed by their cravings for one another. Males committing
shameless acts with males and received among themselves the penalty
necessary for their error.
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And just as they did not see fit to have knowledge of God, God
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gave them over to a failing mind, to do improper things. They have been
filled with every kind of unrighteousnessHwickednessHcovetousnessH
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evilHfull of envyHmurderHstrifeHdeceitHspitefulnessHgossipersH
slanderersHGod-hatersHinsolentHarrogantHbraggartsHinventors of
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evilHdisobedient to parentsH without understandingH untrustworthyH
unlovingHunmercifulH
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Although they are knowing God's righteous decree that those who
practice such things, whoever they are, are worthy of death, they are not
only doing them but are also approving of those who practice them.

2:1 Therefore you are without excuse, O Person-who-is-judging-

everyone, for in judging another you are condemning yourself, for you the
one judging are practicing the same things!
2
However we know that God's judgment is according to truth, upon
those who are practicing such things.
3
But are you counting on this, O Person-judging-those-practicing-
such-things-yet-doing-them-yourself, that you will escape God's judgment?
4
Or are you despising the wealth of his goodness, tolerance, and
patience, not knowing that God’s goodness is leading you to repentance?
5
Now according to your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing
up for yourself wrath in the Day of wrath and revelation of God’s righteous
judgment!
6
“He will pay back each according to his works” (Psa 62:2; Prov
24:12):
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On the one hand, just as [there will be] Eternal Life to those who by
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perseverance of good work are seeking glory and honor and immortality,
on the other hand [there will be] wrath and anger to those who [live] out of
selfish ambition and are disbelieving the truth, yet being persuaded by
unrighteousness.
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There will be tribulation and distress on every human soul who is
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practicing evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor
and peace to everyone producing good, to the Jew first and also the Greek.
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For there is no favoritism with God.
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For as many as sinned without Law, without Law they will be
destroyed. And as many as sinned within Law, through Law they will be
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judged. For it is not the hearers of Law who are righteous before God, but
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the doers of Law will be justified. ( For when the Gentiles, who don’t have
Law, are doing Law by nature, these who don’t have Law are a law to
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themselves. Whoever they be, they are showing the work of Law written
in their hearts, as conscience is bearing witness to them and conflicting
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thoughts accusing or else defending them on the day when God judges
the secrets of humans according to my gospel through the Messiah Jesus.)
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But if you, being called a Jew and resting on Law and boasting in
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God and are knowing his will and approving of the essential things
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because you are being instructed from Law, and are convinced that you
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yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to the ones in darkness, an
instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have the
outward appearance of knowledge and of the truth by LawH
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therefore you who are teaching another, do you not teach
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yourself?! You who are preaching ‘do not steal,’ do you steal? You who
are tell others ‘do not commit adultery,’ do you commit adultery? You who
abhor idols, are you committing sacrilege [“robbing temples”]?
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Whoever is boasting in Law dishonors God through transgression
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of Law! ForH

"the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles

because of you." (Isa 52:5)
25
Hjust as it is written. For on the one hand, circumcision is beneficial if you
practice Law, but on the other hand, if you are a transgressor of Law, your
circumcision has become uncircumcision.
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Therefore if the uncircumcised man is keeping the righteous
requirements of Law, will not his uncircumcision be considered as
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circumcision? And will not the naturally uncircumcised man who is
fulfilling Law judge you who, [even] with written code and circumcision, are a
transgressor of the law?
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For a Jew is not the one [who is only a Jew] in appearance, nor
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the one having the appearance of being circumcised in the flesh, but one
is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart by the Spirit, not of written
code. Such a person’s praise is not from humans but from God.

3:1 Therefore what is the advantage of the Jew, or what is the value
2
of circumcision? Many in every way!
First, to them were entrusted the words of God.
3
So what? If some didn’t believe, doesn’t their unbelief nullify the
faithfulness of God?
4
May it never be! Even if every human were wrong, God would be
right! [lit. “Let God be true and every human false”] Just as it is written:

"so that you will be justified in your words and will have victory
when you are judged." (Psa 51:4)
5
‘But if our unrighteousness is demonstrating the righteousness of
God, what shall we say? Isn’t it unrighteous if God is inflicting wrath?’ (I am
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speaking in human terms.) May it never be! For otherwise how would God
judge the world?
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‘But if by my falsehood the truth of God abounds to His glory, why
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am I still being judged as a sinner? And why not say that we should do evil
so that good may come about?’ as we are being slandered by some who
are saying of us—and whose condemnation is deserved!
9
What then? Do we have an advantage? Not at all, for we have
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already charged Jews and Greeks all to be under sin, just as it is written:

"There is no one righteous, not even one,

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there is no one understanding,
there is no one seeking God.
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All have turned away,
together they have become worthless;
there is no one doing good,
there is not even one." (Psa 14:1-3)
13
"Their throats are open tombs,
Their tongues were deceiving,
poison of asps is under their lips." (Psa 5:9; 140:3)
14
"6whose mouths are full of curse and bitterness." (Psa 10:7)
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"Their feet are swift to shed blood,
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destruction and misery are in their ways,
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and the way of peace they have not known." (Isa 59:7-8)
18
"There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Psa 36:1)
19
Now we know that whatever Law is saying, it is proclaiming it to
those who are under Law, so that every mouth may be shut and all the
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world may be accountable to God. Because from works of Law no flesh
will be justified before Him, for by Law comes knowledge of sin.
21
But now apart from Law the righteousness of God has been
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manifested (being witnessed to by Law and the Prophets), and the
righteousness of God is through the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah to all
who are believing.
23
For there is no difference, for all sinned and are lacking [Gk.
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“husterountai”] the glory of God , being justified without cost by His grace
25
through the redemption in the Messiah Jesus who God planned
beforehand to be the place of atonement through faith in His blood as a sign
of His righteousness, because of the passing over of the sins that had been
26
done previously by God’s forbearance to show his righteousness in the
present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who lives
out of Jesus' faithfulness.
27
Where, then, is boasting?
It is shut out!
By what kind of law? Of works?
No, but by the law of faith!
28
For we are reckoning that a person is justified faith apart from
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works of Law. Or is He God of the Jews only? Not of the Gentiles also?
30
Yes, of the Gentiles also! Since there is one God who will justify the
circumcised through faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
31
Are we therefore abolishing Law through faith?
May it never be! Rather we are confirming Law.
4:1 What then shall we say Abraham, our ancestor according to the
flesh, to have discovered?
2
For if Abraham was justified out of works, he has grounds to boast
(but not before God).
3
For what does scripture say?

"Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as

righteousness." (Gen 15:6)
4
But to the one working, his wages are not reckoned according to grace but
5
according to what is owed. But to the one not working, but believing upon
the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.
6
Just as also David says about the blessedness of the person to
whom God is reckoning righteousness apart from works:
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"Blessed are those whose lawless deeds were forgiven;
blessed is the one to whom the Lord will by no means reckon sin!"
(Psa 32:1-2)
9
Is this blessedness then for the circumcision or also for the
uncircumcision? For we are saying faithH

“6was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness." (Gen 15:6)

10
How then was it reckoned to him—while he was circumcised or in
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uncircumcision? Not in circumcision but in uncircumcision! And he
received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness of
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uncircumcised faith, so that he would be the father of all the uncircumcised
who are believing—so that righteousness could also be reckoned to them—
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and the father of the circumcised, who are not only circumcised, but who
are also following in the footsteps of the uncircumcised faith of our father
Abraham.
13
For the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he would be heir
14
to the world was not through Law, but through the righteousness of faith.
For if they were heirs from Law, faith has been emptied and the promise has
15
been abolished. For Law is producing wrath; and where there is no law
there is no transgression either.
16
Because of this it is from faith so that it may be according grace,
in order for the promise to be firm to all the seed–-not to the ones from Law
only, but also to those from the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
17
just as it is written,

"I have made you the father of many peoples." (Gen 17:5)

Hwho in the presence of God–-the one who is bringing the dead to

life and calling what does not exist into being as if it does—believed.
18
Hwho against hope believed with hope that he would become the
father of many peoples according to what had been spoken:

"thus will your seed be." (Gen 15:5)

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And not weakening in faith, he observed his own body as already dead
20
(being about 100 years old!) and the deadness of Sarah's womb. But
about the promise of God he did not doubt in unbelief, but rather was
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strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and was fully convinced that he
22
was also able to keep the promise. Therefore it was reckoned to him as
righteousness.
23
But not only was “6it was credited to him6” (Gen 15:6) written
24
on account of Abraham's only, but also on account of us to whom it is
about to be reckoned—[that is,] those who are believing upon the one who
25
raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. [Jesus] who was given over on
account of our transgressions and was raised on account of our justification.

5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we are having peace

2
with God through our Lord Jesus the Messiah, through whom we have also
have been given access by faith into this grace in which we have been
3
established, and we are boasting in the hope of the glory of God. And not
only this, but we are also boasting in sufferings, having realized that
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suffering produces endurance, and endurance, character, and character,
5
hope. And hope is not disappointing, because the love of God has been
poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
6
For while we were still weak—at the appointed time—the Messiah
7
died for the ungodly. (For rarely someone might die on behalf of a
righteous person, though perhaps on behalf of a good person one might
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dare to die.) But God is demonstrating his own love for us in that with our
being sinners, The Messiah died on behalf of us.
9
And not only that, but [lit. “Much more therefore”], now being
10
justified by his blood, we will be saved through him from wrath. For if with
us being hostile we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,
11
how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life?
And not only that, but we are also boasting in God through our Lord Jesus
the Messiah, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
12
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one human and
death through sin, thus death also passed on into all humans, because
13
everyone sinned ( for before Law, sin was in the world, [because even]
14
though sin is not reckoned when there is no law, death reigned from

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Adam until Moses—even over those who did not sin in the same form as
the transgression Adam, who is a type of the coming one).
15
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the trespass of the
one man the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gift
by grace of the one man Jesus the Messiah abound to the many!
16
And the gift is not like [what resulted] through the one having
sinned. For judgment [that resulted] from the one [led] to condemnation, but
17
the gift led to the removal of guilt from many trespasses. For if, by the
trespass of one, death reigned through the one, how much more will the
ones receiving the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in
life through the one, Jesus the Messiah!
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As a result, therefore, through one trespass condemnation [came]
to all humanity, and so also through the one righteous act righteousness of
19
life [came] to all people. For just as through the disobedience of one
human many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one
many will be made righteous.
20
Now the law came in so that it might intensify the trespass, but
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whereas sin increased grace overflowed in abundance, so that just as sin
reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to eternal
life through Jesus The Messiah our Lord.
6:1 What then are we saying? Are we to remain in sin so that grace
will increase?
2
May it never be! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
3
Or don’t you know that as many as were baptized into the Messiah
4
Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him
through baptism into death, so that just as the Messiah was raised from the
5
dead through the glory of the Father, thus we will also walk in a new life.
For if we have become planted together [with him] in the likeness of his
death, then also we will be [planted together with him in] his resurrection.
6
[We are] knowing this: that our old person was crucified with him
so that the body of sin would be abolished, so that we would no longer be
7
enslaved to sin. ( For the one who has died has been made free [lit. “has
been justified”] from sin.)
8
Now if we died with the Messiah, we are believing that we will also
9
live with him. We have come to know that since The Messiah has been
raised from the dead, he will no longer die; death is no longer lord over him.
10
For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he
11
lives to God. So also you [must] reckon yourselves to be dead to sin on
the one hand, but alive to God in The Messiah Jesus on the other hand.
12
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey
13
his desires, nor be presenting your members to sin as tools of
unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the
dead and your members to God as tools of righteousness.
14
For sin will not be lord over you, because you are not under Law
but under grace.
15
‘What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under
grace?’
May it never be!
16
Don’t you know that whoever you are presenting yourselves to as
obedient slaves, you are slaves to whoever you are obeying—either of sin
[leading] into death, or obedience [leading] into righteousness?
17
But thanks be to God that though you were being slaves to sin,
you obeyed from the heart the pattern of teaching that you were handed
18
over to, and now, having been freed from sin, and being slaves to
19
righteousness. (I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness
of your flesh.)
For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity
and unlawfulness [leading] into lawlessness, so now present your members
as slaves to righteousness [leading] into holiness.

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For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from
21
righteousness. So then, what fruit did you have? [Those things] on
account of which you are now ashamed of! For the result of those things is
death!
22
But now, having been freed from sin and being slaves to God,
23
you have your fruit [leading] into holiness, and the result is eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in the
Messiah Jesus our Lord.
7:1 Or are you not knowing, brothers [and sisters]—for I am
speaking to those who are knowing Law—that Law is lord over a person as
2
long as he [or she] is living? For the married woman is has been bound by
law to a living husband, but if the husband dies, she has been released from
3
the law of the marriage. Therefore as a result, if she is joined to another
man while her husband is living, she will be called an adulteress. But if the
husband dies, she is free from the [marriage] law, and if she is joined to
another man, she is not an adulteress.
4
So, my brothers [and sisters], you also died to the law through the
body of the Messiah, in order to be joined to another—to the one having
been raised from the dead—so that you might bear fruit to God.
5
For when we were in the flesh, sinful desire was working through
6
Law in your members to bear fruit for death. But now we have been
released from the law, dying to that which was controlling us, so that we
might be slaves in newness of Spirit and not oldness of written code.
7
‘What therefore are we saying? Is the law sin?’
May it never be!
But I would not have known sin except through Law. For I would not The “I” of Rom.7
Paul’s present Christian experience,
have known desire if the law had not said, Past event, or something else?

"Do not covet." (Exod 20:17; Deut 5:21) Käsemann “Egō means mankind under the shadow
of Adam: hence it does not embrace Christian
8 existence in its ongoing temptation.… What is being
But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in said here is already over for the Christian according
me all kinds of desires. For apart from Law, sin is dead. to ch. 6 and ch. 8.”
9
Now I once lived apart from Law, but the commandment came, sin
10 G. Bray “Most of the Fathers believed that here Paul
came to life and I died. So I discovered that the commandment unto life
11 was adopting the persona of an unregenerate man,
was [actually one] unto death! For sin, seizing the opportunity through the not describing his own struggles as a Christian. As
commandment, enticed and killed me through it! far as they were concerned, becoming a Christian
12
So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, would deliver a person from the kind of dilemma the
13 apostle is outlining here.”
and good. Did that which is good, then, become death to me?
May it never be! Ben Witherington Paul is dealing with the effect of
But sin, in order that it might be revealed as sin, is producing death law or the Law (as a Jew would see it) on any fallen
in me through what is good, so that sin might become utterly sinful through human being, whether it is the law written on the
14 heart or the Law written on tablets.
the commandment. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly,
15
having been sold into slavery under sin. For what I am doing I am not Sometimes it has been argued that Paul must be
understanding. For I am not practicing what I want; rather, I am doing what I specifically referring to Jews in Rom. 7:14–25
hate! because he is talking about someone who is
16 struggling with the Law. But Adam also struggled with
But if I am doing what I don't want, I am agreeing with Law,
17 the Law, and…Gentiles have in some fashion the
namely that [it is] good. But now it is no longer me that is producing it, but Law of God written on their hearts. And the struggle
18
the sin that is dwelling in me. For I know that good is not dwelling in me, depicted in 7:14–25 is internal. Paul does not depict a
that is, in my flesh. For the wish [to produce it] is present in me, but good is person wrestling with an OT text which he quotes and
19 then debates… Paul is speaking as broadly as
not [able] to be produced. For the good I am wanting [to do] I am not
20 possible about humankind in Adam and not singling
doing, but evil I am not wanting, this I am practicing! But if I am doing out Jews for particular attention here, though his
what I am not wanting [to do], no longer am I performing it, but sin dwelling comments can be taken as a Christian critique of the
in me. Jewish dilemma with sin, death, and the Law as well.
21 Throughout this chapter a Christian interpretation of a
So then, I am finding Law--[Namely,] that [though] I am wanting to
22 pre-Christian set of conditions is in view. And Paul
do good, evil is right there with me! For I am joyfully agreeing with the law has couched the discussion in a way that his largely
23
of God according to my inner self. But I am seeing a different law in my Gentile audience could identify with.
members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to
the law of sin that is in my members. Ovid, Metamorphoses 7.19–20: “Desire persuades
24 me one way, reason another. I see the better and
I am a miserable person! approve it, but I follow the worse.”
Who will rescue me from this body of death?!
Epictetus, Discourses “What I wish, I do not do, and
9 what I do not wish, I do” (2.26.4).
10
25
( But thanks to God through Jesus The Messiah our Lord!)
Therefore I am a slave to Law of God with my mind, but to the law of
sin with my flesh.
8:1 Therefore now there is no condemnation for the ones who are in
2
the Messiah Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in the Messiah Jesus
set you free from the law of sin and death.
3
For concerning sin, God Himself [did] what was impossible for
those who were weakened by the flesh [to do] under Law by sending the
4
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. He condemned sin in the flesh so that
the righteousness of Law might be fulfilled in us, who are not walking
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5
For those who are living according to the flesh are thinking about
things of the flesh, but those living according to the Spirit [are thinking about]
6
things of the Spirit. For the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset
7
of the Spirit is life and peace, because the mindset of the flesh is hostile to
8
God, for it is not submitting to the law of God, nor is it able to! And those
who are in living in the flesh are not able to please God.
9
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of
God is dwelling in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of the
Messiah, this person is not His.
10
But if the Messiah is in you, your body is dead through sin, but the
11
Spirit is life through of righteousness. And if the Spirit of the one raising
Jesus from the dead is dwelling in you, the one who raised the Messiah
from the dead will also make your dead bodies alive through his Spirit who
is dwelling in you.
12
So then, brothers (and sisters), we are debtors, not to the flesh, to
13
live according to the flesh (for if you live according to the flesh, you are
about to die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you
14
will live). For as many as are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the
15
sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery [leading] again to
fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we are calling out,
16
"Abba, Father!" The Spirit himself testifies alongside our spirit that we are
17
children of God. And if children, then also heirs—heirs of God on the one
hand but also fellow heirs with the Messiah—if indeed we are suffering with
him so we may also be glorified along with him!
18
For I am reckoning that our present sufferings are not worthy [of
19
comparison] to the glory that is about to be revealed to us. For it is with
eager expectation of the revelation of the sons of God that creation is
20
eagerly awaiting. For the creation became subjected to futility (not
21
willingly but through the one subjecting it) in hope that creation itself will
also be freed from the slavery of corruption into the glorious freedom of the
children of God.
22
For we know that all creation is groaning and suffering agony
23
together thus far. Not only this, but we ourselves, having the firstfruits of
the Spirit, are also ourselves groaning inwardly, eagerly awaiting adoption,
[that is] the redemption of our bodies.
24
For in hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is not hope, for
25
who hopes for something he sees? But if we are hoping for what we don’t
see, we are eagerly awaiting it through perseverance.
26
In the same way, the Spirit also is coming to our aid in our
weakness, for we don’t know what might be necessary for us to pray for, but
the Spirit himself is interceding [on our behalf with] inexpressible inward
27
groanings. And the One searching the heart knows the mindset of the
Spirit, because according to God He is pleading on behalf of the saints.
28
And we know that He is working everything together for good to
29
the ones loving God, to the ones being called according to his plan,
because those whom He knew in advance He also predestined [to be]
conformed to the image of his Son, in order for Him to be the firstborn
30
among many brothers (and sisters). And those He predestined, these He

10
 11
also called; and those He called, these He also justified; and those he
justified, these He also glorified.
31
‘What, therefore, are we saying to these?’
If God is on our behalf, who is against us?!
32
Indeed, the One who did not spare His own Son, but handed Him
over on behalf of us all—how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us
everything?
33
Who will bring accusations against God’s chosen ones?? God is
the one who justifies!
34
Who is the one condemning?? Messiah Jesus is the one who
died (and more than that, he was raised!), who is also at the right hand of
God, who also is pleading on our behalf!
35
Who will separate us from the love of the Messiah? [Will]
SufferingHor distressHor persecutionHor famineHor nakednessHor
36
dangerHor sword?? As it has been written,

"On account of you we are being put to death all day long;
We have been reckoned as sheep for slaughter." (Psa 44:22)
37
But in all these things we are completely conquering through the One
loving us!!
38
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
39
rulers, nor things present, nor things about to be, nor powers, nor height,
nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the
love of God in the Messiah Jesus our Lord!

9:1 I am speaking the truth in the Messiah (I am not lying, for my

2
conscience is testifying with me in the Holy Spirit), that my grief is great
3
and [there is] unceasing pain in my heart. For I could wish that I myself
were anathema—[cut off] from The Messiah on behalf of my brothers, my
4
kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites—to whom belong
sonship status, the glory, the covenants, the possession of the law, the
5
worship, and promises— to whom belong the patriarchs, and from them,
according to the flesh, the Messiah, who is God over all, blessed to the
ages! Amen.
6
It is not as though the word of God has fallen away. For not all the
7
ones from Israel are themselves Israel, nor are all the children the seed of
Abraham; rather

"through Isaac will your seed be called." (Gen 21:12)

8
This is, not the children of the flesh who are the children of God; rather, the
children of promise are reckoned as seed.
9
For this is the word of promise:

"According to this appointed time I will return and Sarah will

have a son." (Gen 18:10, 14)
10
Not only that, but also Rebekah, having [conceived] by one sexual act [lit.
11
“from one bed”] our ancestor Isaac, even before they had been born or
had performed anything good or bad (so that God's purpose according to
12
election would remain, not from works but from the calling), it was said to
her that,

"The older will serve the younger" (Gen 25:23)

13
just as it is written:

"Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." (Mal 1:2-3)

11
12
14
What then are we saying? Is there unrighteousness with God?
May it never be!
15
For to Moses he says:

"I will have mercy on whoever I may have mercy, and I will have
compassion on whoever I may have compassion." (Exod 33:19)
16
So then, [it depends] not [on] the one willing, nor the one running, but [on]
17
the one having mercy: God. For the scripture says to Pharaoh that,

"For this itself I have raised you up, so that I might demonstrate
my power in you, and so that my name may be proclaimed in all the
earth." (Exod 9:16)
18
So then, he shows mercy to whom he wishes, and he hardens whom we
wishes.
19
You will say to me then, "Why is he still blaming? For who has
ever resisted his will?"
20
O human, on the contrary, who are you to be answering back to
God? The thing formed does not say to the one forming it, "Why have you
21
made me like this?" Doesn’t the potter have authority over the clay to
make from the same lump one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
22
And what if God, desiring to show wrath and to make known his
power, bore with much patience vessels of wrath having been prepared for
23
destruction in order to make known the wealth of his glory on the vessels
24
of mercy that he prepared beforehand for glory– even us, whom he has
25
called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? As it even says
in Hosea:

"I will call the ones who are not my people, 'My people,' and the
ones not having been loved, ‘Having been loved.’" (Hos 2:23)
26
"And it will be that in the place where it was said to them,
'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'sons of the living
God.'" (Hos 1:10)
27
And Isaiah is crying out on behalf of Israel,

"Though the number of the children of Israel are like the sand
28
of the sea, the remnant will be saved, for the Lord will carry out his
word on the earth completely and quickly." (allusion to Isa 10:22-23)
29
Just as Isaiah said beforehand,

"If the Lord of armies had not left us seed, like Sodom we
would have become, and to Gomorrah we would have been compared."
(Isa 1:9)
30
What then are we saying? That the Gentiles who were not seeking
righteousness obtained righteousness—though a righteousness that is from
31
faith— but Israel, seeking a law of righteousness from law did not reach it.
32
Why not?
Because they [sought it] not from faith but as [if] from works. They
33
stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written,

"Look, I am putting in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock that

makes people fall, but the ones believing in him will not be put to
shame." (Isa 28:16; 8:14)

12
 13
10:1 Brothers [and sisters], my heart's desire and supplication to
God on behalf them is for salvation.
2
For I am testifying about them that they are zealous for God, but
3
not according to knowledge, because [they are not knowing] the
righteousness of God. But seeking to put forth one’s own righteousness,
they have not become subject to God's righteousness.
4
For the goal of Law is the Messiah, for righteousness for all who
5
are believing. Moses writes about the righteousness from Law that:

"The one doing these things will live in/by them." (Lev 18:5)
6
But [about] the righteousness from faith he says:

"Do not say in your heart (Deut 9:4), 'Who will go up into
heaven?'" (that is, to bring the Messiah down)
7
or

"Who will go down into the abyss?" (Deut 30:14) (that is, to bring
the Messiah up from the dead).
8
But what is does he say?

"The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (Deut
30:14) (that is, the word of faith that we are preaching),
9
because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in
10
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For by
the heart it is believed unto righteousness and by the mouth it is confessed
11
unto salvation. For Scripture says,

"Everyone believing upon him will not be put to shame." (Isa

28:16)
12
For there is no distinction—Jew or Greek—for he [is] Lord of all, richly
blessing all who are calling on him.
13
For whoever may call upon the name of the Lord will be
saved. (Joel 2:32)
14
How then might they call on one in whom they have not believed?
And how will they believe in one of whom they have not heard?
And how will they hear without someone preaching?
15
And how will they preach if they are not sent?

As it is written,

"How timely is the arrival [lit. “are the feet”] of the ones
proclaiming good [or “good news”]." (Isa 52:7; Nah 1:15)
16
But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says,

"Lord, who has believed our report?" (Isa 53:1)

17
Therefore faith [comes] from report, and report [comes] through the word
of the Messiah.
18
‘But,’ I say, ‘have they not heard?’
Yes, they have:

13
14
Their voice went out to all the earth, and their words to the
ends of the inhabited world. (Psa 19:4)
19
‘But,’ I say, ‘Did Israel not understand?’
First Moses says,

"I will provoke you to jealousy by [those who are] not a nation;
by a nation without understanding I will provoke you to anger." (Deut
32:21)
20
And Isaiah says boldly,

"I was found by the ones who are not seeking me; I became
visible to the ones not inquiring about me." (Isa 65:1)
21
But about Israel he says,

"All day long I stretched out my hands to people who are

disobedient and stubborn!" (Isa 65:2)

11:1 I say then, hasn’t God rejected his people?

May it never be! For I also am an Israelite, from the seed of
2
Abraham, the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he
foreknew! Or do you not know what the scripture says about Elijah, how he
pleads with God about Israel?
3
"Lord, they killed your prophets, they have tore down your
altars; and I alone am left and they are seeking my life!" (1Kgs 19:10,
14)
4
But what did the divine response say to him?

"I have kept for myself 7,000 men who have not bent the knee
to Baal." (1Kgs 19:18)
5
So then also at the present time there is a remnant according to the choice
6
grace. And if [it’s] from grace, [it’s] no longer from works, otherwise grace
would no longer be grace.
7
What then?
Israel did not obtain what it was seeking, but the elect obtained it.
8
And the rest were hardened, as it is written,

"God gave to them a spirit of numbness/stupor, eyes not to see

and ears not to hear, until this very day." (Deut 29:4; Isa 29:10)
9
And David says,

"Let their table be a snare and trap,

a stumbling block and a retribution to them;
10
let their eyes be darkened so they can’t see,
and make their backs bend continually." (Psa 69:22-23)
11
‘I say then, did they not stumble in order that they might
completely fall?’
May it never be! But their trespass [is] salvation to Gentiles, to
12
provoke them [i.e. Israel] to jealousy. Now if their trespass [is] riches for
the world and their loss [is] riches for Gentiles, how much more [will] their
fullness [bring]?!
13
Now I am speaking to you, Gentiles. Insomuch as I am an apostle
14
to the Gentiles, I am magnify my ministry, in order that somehow I might
14
 15
15
provoke my people [lit. “my flesh”] to jealousy and save some of them.
For if their rejection [is] reconciliation of the world, what [will their]
16
acceptance [be] if not life from the dead? For if the first portion [is] holy,
then so is [the rest of] the dough, and if the root [is] holy, so too [are] the
branches.
17
But if some of the branches were broken off, though you, being a
wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and have become a partaker
18
of the rich sap of the olive tree’s root, do not boast over the branches. And
if you are boasting, [remember that] you are not supporting the root, but the
19
root [is supporting] you!
Then you will say, "The branches were broken off so that I might be
20
grafted in!" Well said! They were broken off because of unbelief, but you
21
are standing because of belief. Do not be arrogant, rather be afraid! For if
God did not spare the natural branches, in no way will he spare you!
22
Therefore observe the kindness and severity of God—on the one
hand, severity toward those who have fallen, but on the other hand God's
kindness to you, if you continue in kindness; otherwise you also will be cut
off!
23
But those—if they do not continue in unbelief—will be grafted in,
24
for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is
by nature a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature, were grafted into a
cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted
back into their own olive tree?!
25
For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers (and
sisters), so that you may not be wise in your own sight: A hardness in part
has happened to Israel until [the time in] which the fullness of the Gentiles
26
may come in. And thus all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

"The Rescuer will come out of Zion; he will remove

27
ungodliness from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them, (Isa
59:20-21)

when I take away their sins." (Isa 27:9; Jer 31:33-34)

28
According to the Gospel they are enemies on account of you, but
according to choice/election they are dearly loved on account of the fathers.
29
For the gifts and the calling of God are not to be taken back.
30
For just as you once were disobedient to God, but have now been
31
shown mercy due to their disobedience, thus also these are now
disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they might now be
32
shown mercy as well. For God confined everyone to disobedience so that
he may show mercy to all.
33
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
34
How unfathomable [are] his judgments and unsearchable [are] his ways!
35
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his advisor?
36
Or who gave first to him, that he needs to be repaid by him? For from him
and through him and to him [is] everything. To him be glory to the ages!
Amen.

12:1 Therefore I am appealing to you, brothers (and sisters),

according to the compassion of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice–
2
living, holy, and pleasing to God– [which is] your reasonable service. And
do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by renewal of
mind in order for you to [be able to] approve what is the will of God—good,
pleasing and perfect.
3
For I am saying according to the grace given to me to all of you not
to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think sensibly,
4
as God has divide a measure of faith [among] each of you. For just as in
one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the

15
16
5
same function, thus we who are many are one body in the Messiah, and
as one we are members of one another.
6
And we are having different gifts according to the grace given to
7
us. If prophecy, [then it’s] according to the proportion of faith. If service,
8
[then it’s] in serving; if teaching, [then it’s] in teaching; if exhorting, [then
it’s] in exhortation; if giving, [then it’s] in generosity; if leading, [then it’s] in
diligence; if showing mercy, [then it’s] in gladness.
9
Love [is to be] genuine,
utterly hating evil,
being glued to good,
10
devoted to one another in brotherly love,
competitive in honoring one another,
11
diligent, not idle,
boiling in the Spirit,
being a slave to the Lord,
12
rejoicing in hope,
enduring in tribulation,
being persist in prayer,
13
sharing in the needs of the saints,
pursuing hospitality to strangers,
14
blessing the ones persecuting you—bless and don’t curse!
15
Rejoice with the ones rejoicing,
weep with the ones weeping,
16
having the same mindset towards one another,
not being haughty,
but coming alongside the lowly.
Do not be wise according to yourselves,
17
repaying no one evil for evil,
being concerned for good before all people.
18
If possible from you, be at peace with all people,
19
not avenging yourselves, beloved,
but leave a place for [God's] wrath, for it is written,

"Vengeance is mine, I will repay," (Deut 32:35)

20
says the Lord. But,

“6if your enemy is hungry, give him some morsels;

if he is thirsty, give him something to drink;
for in doing this you will heap burning coals on his head.”
(Prov 25:21-22)
21
Do not be conquered by evil,
but conquer evil with good.

13:1 Let every soul be subject to the authorities having authority.

For there is no authority except by God, and the existing authorities are
2
[ones] that have been put in place by God. So the one opposing authority
has resisted the ordinance of God, and the ones having resisted will recieve
3
judgment upon themselves (for rulers are no fear regarding good conduct
but regarding bad). Do you wish to not fear authority? Do good and you will
4
have praise from it, for it is God's servant to you for good. But if you do
evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword in vain. It is God's servant, and
5
avenger wrath to the evildoer. Therefore it is necessary to be in
subjection, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience.
6
For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are public servants of
7
God, attending to this very thing. Repay every debt: taxes to [whom] taxes
[are owed], revenue to [whom] revenue [is owed], fear to [whom] fear [is
owed], honor to [whom] honor [is owed].
16
 17
8
Owe nothing to anyone, except the love of one another, for the
9
one who loving another has fulfilled the law. For,

"You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder,

You shall not steal, You shall not covet,"
(Exod 20:13-15, 17; Deut 5:17-19, 21)

(and if [there] is any other commandment) is summed up in this word:

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Lev 19:18)

10
Love does no evil to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of Law.
11
And having understood that this is the appointed time, that it is
now the hour for us to awake from sleep, for salvation is nearer to us now
12
than when we [first] believed. The night has advanced and the day is
near. Therefore let us lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the
13
weapons of light. Let us walk about properly as in the daytime, not
reveling and drunk, not promiscuous and in debauchery, not in strife and
14
jealousy; Rather, put on the Lord Jesus the Messiah, and don’t make
provision for the desires of the flesh.
14:1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, and do not quarrel
2
over opinions. One believes in eating everything, but the weak person is
3
eating only vegetables. The one who eating [everything] must not despise
the one not eating [everything], and the one not eating [everything] must not
4
judge the one eating [everything], for God accepts him. Who are you to
pass judgment on another's servant? Before his own Lord he is standing or
falling. And he will be stood, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5
One person judges one day holier than another day [lit. “day by
day”], and another judges every day the same [lit. “judges every day”]. Each
6
must be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observing the day
observes it to the Lord, and the one eating [everything] eats to the Lord
because he is giving thanks to God, and the one not eating [everything] is
abstaining to the Lord, and he is giving thanks to God.
7 8
For none of us is living to himself and no one is dying to himself.
If we are living, we are living to the Lord; if we are dying, we are dying to the
9
Lord. Therefore, whether we are living or dying, we are the Lord's. For this
reason the Messiah died and lived, so that he would be Lord of both the
dead and the living.
10
But you– why are you judging your brother (or sister)? And you
also– why are you despising your brother (or sister)? For we will all be stood
11
before the judgment seat of God. For it is written,

"As I live, says the Lord, to me every knee will bow, and every
tongue will confess to God." (Isa 45:23)
12
Therefore, each of us will give an account concerning himself to God.
13
Therefore no longer are we to judging on one another, but rather
judge this way—to never put an obstacle or a stumbling block before a
14
brother (or sister). I have realized and been persuaded in the Lord Jesus
that nothing is unclean in and of itself; yet, it is unclean to the one who is
15
reckoning it to be unclean. For if your brother (or sister) is distressed
because of food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let your food ruin
16
one on behalf of whom the Messiah died. Therefore do not let what is
17
good be reviled. For the kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking,
18
but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. For serving the
Messiah in this way is well-pleasing to God and approved by people.
19
So then, let us pursue the things of peace and the things building
20
one another up. Do not on account of food destroy the work of God. On
the one hand all things are clean, but on the other hand it is evil to the
21
person who is eating on account of an obstacle. It is good not to eat meat
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or drink wine or [do] what your brother is stumbling [over]. The faith
you have, keep to yourself before God. Blessed is the one who is not
23
judging himself by what he is approving. But the one doubting, if he eats,
has been condemned since [he does] not [act] out of faith (and everything
that is not from faith is sin). 15:1 But we who able are owing [it to them] to
bear with the weakness of the ones who are unable, and not to please
2
ourselves. Let each of us strive to please his neighbor for good, for
3
building up. For even the Messiah did not strive to please himself, rather,
as it is written,

"The insults of the ones insulting you fell upon me." (Psa 69:9)
4
(For everything written in former times was written for our instruction, so
that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures we
are having hope.)
5
Now may the God of endurance and comfort give you the same
6
mindset about one another in accordance with the Messiah Jesus, so that
in one accord with one mouth you might glorify the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus the Messiah.
7
For this reason, accept one another, just as the Messiah also
8
accepted you, to the glory of God. For I am saying that the Messiah has
become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God's truth in order to
9
secure the promises of the fathers, and [in order for] the gentiles to glorify
God on account of mercy. As it is written,

"Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles, and I

will sing praises to your name." (Psa 18:49)
10
And again it says:

"Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." (Deut 32:43)

11
And again,

"Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him."
(Psa 117:1)
12
And again Isaiah says,

"The root of Jesse will come,

and the one who rises to rule the Gentiles,
in him Gentiles will hope." (Isa 11:10)
13
Now may the God of hope fill you with every joy and peace as you believe
in him, so that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
14
And I am convinced about you, my brothers (and sisters)—even I
myself!—that you yourselves are also full of goodness, having been filled
15
with all knowledge, and able also to instruct one another. But I have
written rather boldly to you in part to again remind you, according to the
16
grace given to me by God to be a servant of the Messiah Jesus to the
Gentiles, serving the Gospel of God like a priest, so that the offering of the
Gentiles [might be] acceptable, having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
17
Therefore I have a [reason for] boasting in the Messiah Jesus
18
[about] the things [pertaining] to God. For I will not dare to speak of
anything that is not what the Messiah has produced through me [in order] to
19
[bring about] the obedience of the Gentiles in word and deed, in the power
of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem
20
even as far as Illyricum I have fulfilled the Gospel of the Messiah. And
thus [I am] aspiring to proclaim the Gospel where the Messiah has not been
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named, so that I might not build on another’s foundation, but as it is
written:

"Those to whom it was not proclaimed about him will see, and
those who have not heard will understand." (Isa 52:15)
22
And so I was often hindered from coming to you.
23
But now that I no longer have a place in these regions, and for
24
many years I have had a longing to come to you as I proceed to Spain.
For I hope, as I am traveling through, to visit with you and to be sent forth by
you [after] I have first been refreshed by you for a while there.
25 26
But now I am proceeding to Jerusalem to serve the saints. For
Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make some contribution for the poor
27
among the saints in Jerusalem. For they were pleased [to do so], and
they are indebted to them. For if they shared in their spiritual gifts, they are
28
also obligated to minister to them by fleshly gifts. Therefore completing
this and safely delivering to them this fruit, I will depart for Spain by way of
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you; and I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the
Messiah's blessing.
30
And I am urging you, brothers (and sisters), through our Lord
Jesus the Messiah and through the love of the Spirit, to strive together with
31
me in prayers to God on my behalf. So that I might be rescued from
those who are disobedient in Judea and that my ministry in Jerusalem might
32
be acceptable to the saints, so that according to God's will in coming to
33
you with joy I might find rest with you. And [may] the God of peace [be
]with all of you. Amen.
16:1 Now I am commending to you our sister Phoebe, who is also a
2
deacon of the church in Cenchrea, so that you may receive her in the Lord
in a manner worthy of the saints and stand by her with whatever thing she
may need from you, for she also was a patron of many, even me myself.
3 4
Greet Prisca and Aquila—my co-workers in the Messiah Jesus,
who risked their own necks for my life, for whom not only I, but all the
5
churches of the Gentiles are giving thanks— and the church in their house.
Greet my Epenetus, my beloved, who is the firstfruit of the Messiah
in Asia Minor.
6
Greet Mary, who has toiled greatly for you.
7
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners
who are outstanding among the apostles, and who were also in the Messiah
before me.
8
Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.
9
Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in the Messiah, and Stachys my
beloved.
10
Greet Apelles, who is tested in the Messiah.
Greet the ones from [the household of] Aristobulus.
11
Greet Herodion, my kinsman.
Greet the ones from [the household of] Narcissus who are in the
Lord.
12
Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, laborers in the Lord.
Greet the beloved Persis, who has toiled greatly in the Lord.
13
Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother who was also [a
mother to] me.
14
Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the
brothers (and sisters) with them.
15
Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas,
and all the saints with them.
16
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the churches of The Messiah greet you.
17
Now I urge you, brothers (and sisters), to watch out for the ones
(causing) dissensions and putting obstacles alongside the teaching that you
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learned, and to turn away from them! For such ones as these are the
not serving our Lord the Messiah, but their own appetites, and by smooth
19
speechs and flattery they are enticing the hearts of the naive. Your
obedience has been made known everywhere, therefore I rejoice on
account of you and I want you to be wise to what is good and innocent to
20
what is evil. The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet with
swiftness. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
21
Timothy, my co-worker, greets you; so do Lucius, Jason, and
Sosipater, my kinsmen.
22
( I, Tertius, who am writing this letter, also greet you in the Lord.)
23
Gaius, my host and [host to] the whole church, greets you.
Erastus, the director of the city, greets you, along with our brother
Quartus.
24
[Later MSS contain the phrase: “The grace of our Lord Jesus be
with you” at this point in the text. The earliest MSS do not.]
25
Now to the one who is able to establish you according to my
Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus the Messiah, according to the
26
revelation of the mystery having been kept secret from time eternal, but
now being made known, (and is made known through prophetic Scripture
according to the command of the eternal God, in order [to bring about] the
27
obedience of faith in all Gentiles) to the only wise God, through Jesus the
Messiah, be the glory to the ages! Amen.

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