Day 24 of 30

¹I tell the truth in Christ. I am not lying, my conscience testifying with me in the Holy Spirit,

²that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart.

³For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brothers' sake, my relatives according to the flesh,

⁴who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service, and the promises;

⁵of whom are the fathers, and from whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen.

⁶But it is not as though the word of God has come to nothing. For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel.

⁷Neither, because they are Abraham's seed, are they all children. But, "In Isaac will your seed be called."

⁸That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as a seed.

⁹For this is a word of promise, "At the appointed time I will come, and Sarah will have a son."

¹⁰Not only so, but Rebekah also conceived by one, by our father Isaac.

¹¹For being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls,

¹²it was said to her, "The elder will serve the younger."

¹³Even as it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

¹⁴What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? May it never be!

¹⁵For he said to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

¹⁶So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy.

¹⁷For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I caused you to be raised up, that I might show in you my power, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

¹⁸So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.

¹⁹You will say then to me, "Why does he still find fault? For who withstands his will?"

²⁰But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed ask him who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?"

²¹Or hasn't the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel for honor, and another for dishonor?

²²What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath made for destruction,

²³and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory,

²⁴us, whom he also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles?

²⁵As he says also in Hosea, "I will call them 'my people,' which were not my people; and her 'beloved,' who was not beloved."

²⁶"It will be that in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' There they will be called 'children of the living God.'"

²⁷Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, "If the number of the sons of Israel are as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant who will be saved;

²⁸for the Lord will fulfill his word completely and without delay upon the earth."

²⁹As Isaiah has said before, "Unless the Lord of hosts had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and would have been made like Gomorrah."

³⁰What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who did not follow after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith;

³¹but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law.

³²Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone;

³³even as it is written, "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock that will make them fall; and no one who believes in him will be put to shame."

¹Brothers, my heart's desire and my prayer to God is for them, that they may be saved.

²For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

³For being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.

⁴For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

⁵For Moses writes about the righteousness of the law, "The one who does them will live by them."

⁶But the righteousness which is of faith says this, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down);

⁷or, 'Who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.)"

⁸But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart;" that is, the word of faith, which we proclaim:

⁹that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

¹⁰For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

¹¹For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed."

¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord of all is rich to all who call on him.

¹³For, "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved."

¹⁴How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? How will they hear without a proclaimer?

¹⁵And how will they proclaim unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!"

¹⁶But they did not all listen to the glad news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?"

¹⁷So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

¹⁸But I say, did they not hear? Yes, truly, "Their sound went out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

¹⁹But I ask, did not Israel know? First Moses says, "I will provoke you to jealousy with that which is no nation, with a nation void of understanding I will make you angry."

²⁰Isaiah is very bold, and says, "I was found by those who did not seek me. I was revealed to those who did not ask for me."

²¹But as to Israel he says, "All day long I stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people."

¹I ask then, did God reject his people? May it never be! For I also am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

²God did not reject his people, which he foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah? How he pleads with God against Israel:

³"Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have broken down your altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life."

⁴But how does God answer him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal."

⁵Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

⁶And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace.

⁷What then? That which Israel seeks for, that he did not obtain, but the chosen ones obtained it, and the rest were hardened.

⁸According as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, to this very day."

⁹David says, "Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, a stumbling block, and a retribution to them.

¹⁰Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see. Bow down their back always."

¹¹I ask then, did they stumble that they might fall? May it never be! But by their fall salvation has come to the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy.

¹²Now if their fall is the riches of the world, and their loss the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?

¹³For I speak to you who are Gentiles. Since then as I am an apostle to Gentiles, I glorify my ministry;

¹⁴if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh, and may save some of them.

¹⁵For if the rejection of them is the reconciling of the world, what would their acceptance be, but life from the dead?

¹⁶If the first fruit is holy, so is the lump. If the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them, and became partaker with them of the root and of the richness of the olive tree;

¹⁸do not boast over the branches. But if you boast, it is not you who support the root, but the root supports you.

¹⁹You will say then, "Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in."

²⁰True; by their unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;

²¹for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.

²²See then the goodness and severity of God. Toward those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in his goodness; otherwise you also will be cut off.

²³They also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

²⁴For if you were cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more will these, which are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

²⁵For I do not desire you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you won't be wise in your own conceits, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in,

²⁶and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, "There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.

²⁷This is my covenant to them, when I will take away their sins."

²⁸Concerning the Good News, they are enemies for your sake. But concerning the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sake.

²⁹For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

³⁰For as you in time past were disobedient to God, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience,

³¹even so these also have now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to you they may also obtain mercy.

³²For God has shut up all to disobedience, that he might have mercy on all.

³³Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!

³⁴"For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"

³⁵"Or who has first given to him, and it will be repaid to him again?"

³⁶For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.

¹Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.

²And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.

³For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith.

⁴For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members do not have the same function,

⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

⁶Having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, if prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith;

⁷or service, let us give ourselves to service; or he who teaches, to his teaching;

⁸or he who exhorts, to his exhorting: he who gives, let him do it with liberality; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

⁹Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good.

¹⁰In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate one to another; outdo one another in showing honor;

¹¹not lagging in diligence; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

¹²rejoicing in hope; enduring in troubles; continuing steadfastly in prayer;

¹³contributing to the needs of the saints; given to hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse.

¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.

¹⁶Be of the same mind one toward another. Do not be arrogant, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own conceits.

¹⁷Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men.

¹⁸If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men.

¹⁹Do not seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God's wrath. For it is written, "Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord."

²⁰Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head."

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

¹Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God.

²Therefore he who resists the authority, withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment.

³For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same,

⁴for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil.

⁵Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience' sake.

⁶For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God's service, attending continually on this very thing.

⁷Give therefore to everyone what you owe: taxes to whom taxes are due; customs to whom customs; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor.

⁸Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

⁹For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not covet," and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

¹⁰Love does not harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.

¹¹Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.

¹²The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let us therefore throw off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

¹³Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy.

¹⁴But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.

¹Now accept one who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions.

²One man has faith to eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.

³Do not let him who eats despise him who does not eat. Do not let him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him.

⁴Who are you who judge another's servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for the Lord has power to make him stand.

⁵One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind.

⁶He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. He who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.

⁷For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself.

⁸For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord. If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord's.

⁹For to this end Christ died, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

¹¹For it is written, "'As I live,' says the Lord, 'to me every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess to God.'"

¹²So then each one of us will give account of himself to God.

¹³Therefore let us not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother's way, or an occasion for falling.

¹⁴I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself; except that to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

¹⁵Yet if because of food your brother is grieved, you walk no longer in love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.

¹⁶Then do not let your good be slandered,

¹⁷for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.

¹⁹So then, let us follow after things which make for peace, and things by which we may build one another up.

²⁰Do not overthrow God's work for food's sake. All things indeed are clean, however it is evil for that man who creates a stumbling block by eating.

²¹It is good to not eat meat, drink wine, nor do anything by which your brother stumbles.

²²Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not judge himself in that which he approves.

²³But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it is not of faith; and whatever is not of faith is sin.

¹Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

²Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, to be building him up.

³For even Christ did not please himself. But, as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me."

⁴For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through patience and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

⁵Now the God of patience and of encouragement grant you to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus,

⁶that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷Therefore accept one another, even as Christ also accepted you, to the glory of God.

⁸Now I say that Christ has been made a servant of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given to the fathers,

⁹and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore will I give praise to you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name."

¹⁰Again he says, "Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people."

¹¹Again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Let all the peoples praise him."

¹²Again, Isaiah says, "There will be the root of Jesse, he who arises to rule over the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles will hope."

¹³Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁴I myself am also persuaded about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish others.

¹⁵But I write the more boldly to you in part, as reminding you, because of the grace that was given to me by God,

¹⁶that I should be a servant of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest the Good News of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be made acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷I have therefore my boasting in Christ Jesus in things pertaining to God.

¹⁸For I will not dare to speak of any things except those which Christ worked through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed,

¹⁹in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and around as far as to Illyricum, I have fully preached the Good News of Christ;

²⁰yes, making it my aim to proclaim the Good News, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build on another's foundation.

²¹But, as it is written, "They will see, to whom no news of him came. They who have not heard will understand."

²²Therefore also I was hindered these many times from coming to you,

²³but now, no longer having any place in these regions, and having these many years a longing to come to you,

²⁴whenever I journey to Spain. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while.

²⁵But now, I say, I am going to Jerusalem, serving the saints.

²⁶For it has been the good pleasure of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are at Jerusalem.

²⁷Yes, it has been their good pleasure, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, they owe it to them also to serve them in fleshly things.

²⁸When therefore I have accomplished this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will go on by way of you to Spain.

²⁹I know that, when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of the Christ.

³⁰Now I beg you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,

³¹that I may be delivered from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints;

³²that I may come to you in joy through the will of God, and together with you, find rest.

³³Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

¹I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is a servant of the church that is at Cenchreae,

²that you receive her in the Lord, in a way worthy of the saints, and that you assist her in whatever matter she may need from you, for she herself also has been a helper of many, and of my own self.

³Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,

⁴who for my life, laid down their own necks; to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

⁵Greet the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first fruits of Asia to Christ.

⁶Greet Mary, who labored much for you.

⁷Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives and my fellow prisoners, who are notable among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

⁸Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.

⁹Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys, my beloved.

¹⁰Greet Apelles, the approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus.

¹¹Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet them of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord.

¹²Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. Greet Persis, the beloved, who labored much in the Lord.

¹³Greet Rufus, the chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.

¹⁴Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them.

¹⁵Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.

¹⁶Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.

¹⁷Now I beg you, brothers, look out for those who are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and turn away from them.

¹⁸For those who are such do not serve our Lord, Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and flattering speech, they deceive the hearts of the innocent.

¹⁹For your obedience has become known to all. I rejoice therefore over you. But I desire to have you wise in that which is good, but innocent in that which is evil.

²⁰And the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

²¹Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives.

²²I, Tertius, who write the letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³Gaius, my host and host of the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, as does Quartus, the brother.

²⁴The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all! Amen.

²⁵Now to him who is able to establish you according to my Good News and the proclaiming of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret through long ages,

²⁶but now is revealed, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known for obedience of faith to all the nations;

²⁷to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

¹Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

²to the church of God which is at Corinth; those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours:

³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴I always thank my God concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus;

⁵that in everything you were enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge;

⁶even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:

⁷so that you come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ;

⁸who will also confirm you until the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

¹⁰Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

¹¹For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are from Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you.

¹²Now I mean this, that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," "I follow Apollos," "I follow Cephas," and, "I follow Christ."

¹³Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?

¹⁴I thank God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius,

¹⁵so that no one should say that you had been baptized into my own name.

¹⁶(I also baptized the household of Stephanas; besides them, I do not know whether I baptized any other.)

¹⁷For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to proclaim the Good News-not in wisdom of words, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.

¹⁸For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are saved it is the power of God.

¹⁹For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing."

²⁰Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the Law scholar of this world? Hasn't God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

²¹For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know God, it was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of the proclaiming to save those who believe.

²²For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom,

²³but we proclaim Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Gentiles,

²⁴but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

²⁵Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

²⁶For you see your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble;

²⁷but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;

²⁸and God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are:

²⁹that no flesh should boast before God.

³⁰But of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:

³¹that, according as it is written, "He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord."