And why? Simply because Israel has relied not on faith but on what they could do. They have stumbled over the stone that makes men stumble ??33 as it is written, Here I lay a stone in Sion that will make men stumble, even a rock to trip them up; but he who believes in Him will never be disappointed.

as the Scripture says: "See, I put on Zion a stone for causing people to stumble, a rock to trip them on, but no one who puts his faith in it will ever be put to shame."

Brothers, my heart's good will goes out for them, and my prayer to God is that they may be saved.

For Moses says of the law-way to right standing with God that whoever can perform the law will live by it.

But here is what the faith-way to right standing says, "Do not say to yourself, 'Who will go up to heaven?'" that is, to bring Christ down;

or "'Who will go down into the depths?'" that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.

For if with your lips you acknowledge the fact that Jesus is Lord, and in your hearts you believe that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

For the Scripture says, "No one who puts his faith in Him will ever be put to shame."

For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

How then will they call upon [him] in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe [in him] about whom they have not heard? And how will they hear about [him] without one who preaches [to them]?

And how will they preach, unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How timely [are] the feet of those who bring good news of good things."

But, some will say, they have not all hearkened to the Good News. No, for Isaiah asks, "Lord, who has believed the Message they have heard from us?"

But again I ask, Israel did not understand, did they? For in the first place Moses says: "I will make you jealous of a nation that is no nation; I will provoke you to anger at a senseless nation."

Then Isaiah broke out boldly and said, "I have been found by men who were not looking for me, I have shown myself to men who were not asking what my will was."

You will say then, hath God discarded his people? by no means. for I my self am an Israelite, of the posterity of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

But what say to him the intimations of divine will I have left to myself seven thousand men, who bent not the knee to Baal.

You will say then, "were they suffer'd to stumble meerly for their ruin?" no: but that thro' their fall, salvation might be offer'd to the Gentiles, in order to provoke their emulation.

But if their stumbling has resulted in the enrichment of the world, and their overthrow becomes the enrichment of heathen peoples, how much richer the result will be when the full quota of Jews comes in!

I speak to you gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the gentiles I will magnify mine office

For if the rejection of them has resulted in the reconciling of the world, what will the result be of the final reception of them but life from the dead?

And if the first portion of the dough is holy, so also will be the lump; and if the root is holy, so will be the branches.

If some of the branches have been broken off, and yet you, although you were wild olive suckers, have been grafted in among the native branches, and been made to share the rich sap of the native olive's root,

Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.

for if God did not spare the natural branches, certainly He will not spare you.

So take a look at the goodness and the severity of God; severity to those who have fallen, but goodness to you, on condition that you continue to live by His goodness; otherwise, you too will be pruned away.

And they too, if they do not continue to live by their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is amply able to graft them in.

For if you were cut off from an olive wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted on to a fine olive stock, how much easier will it be for the natural branches to be grafted on to their own olive stock?

For I want to let you know about this secret, brothers, so that you will not claim to be wiser than you are: Stubbornness has come to part of Israel until the full number of the gentiles comes to faith.

and so in that way all Israel will be saved, just as the Scripture says: "From Zion the Deliverer will come; He will remove ungodliness from Jacob;

And this is my agreement with them, when I will take away their sins.

Or who has given in advance to him, and it will be paid back to him?"

For this reason I make request to you, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you will give your bodies as a living offering, holy, pleasing to God, which is the worship it is right for you to give him.

Stop living in accordance with the customs of this world, but by the new ideals that mold your minds continue to transform yourselves, so as to find and follow God's will; that is, what is good, well-pleasing to Him, and perfect.

Never return injury for injury. Aim at doing what all men will recognize as honorable.

Stop taking revenge on one another, beloved, but leave a place for God's anger, for the Scripture says, "Vengeance belongs to me; I will pay them back, says the Lord."

Do the opposite. If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink, for if you act in this way, you will heap burning coals upon his head!

Let every one obey the supreme Authorities. For no Authority exists except by the will of God, and the existing Authorities have been appointed by God.

so that anyone who resists the authorities sets himself against what God has established, and those who set themselves against Him will get the penalty due them.

For civil authorities are not a terror to the man who does right, but they are to the man who does wrong. Do you want to have no dread of the civil authorities? Then practice doing right and you will be commended for it.

If you love your neighbor, you will not do anything wrong to him. So, to love people is the way to fulfill [the requirements of] the law [See Matt. 22:39].

Let's behave decently, as people who live in the light of day. No wild parties, drunkenness, sexual immorality, promiscuity, quarreling, or jealousy!

The man who will eat anything must not look down on the man who abstains from some things, and the man who abstains from them must not criticize the one who does not, for God has accepted him.

Who are you to criticize another man's servant? It is his own master's business whether he stands or falls, and he will stand, for the Lord has power to make him stand.

If we live, we live to be at the Lord's will. And if we die, we die at the Lord's will.

Why, then, do you criticize your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? For all of us will stand before the judgment seat of God.

For it is written, "As certainly as I live, declares the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will praise God."

Consequently, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

now if your brother be endanger'd by your eating, you violate the obligations of love: for such a matter as eating, will you risk his life, for whom Christ died?

Let us, therefore, keep before us whatever will contribute to peace and the development of one another.

The faith which you have [that gives you freedom of choice], have as your own conviction before God [just keep it between yourself and God, seeking His will]. Happy is he who has no reason to condemn himself for what he approves.

and for the heathen peoples to praise God for His mercy, as the Scripture says: "For this I will give thanks to you among the heathen, and will sing praises to your name."

And again Isaiah says: "The noted Son of Jesse will come, even He who rises to rule the heathen; on Him the heathen will set their hope."

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

For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,

And so, having as my ambition to proclaim the gospel where Christ has not been named, in order that I will not build on the foundation belonging to someone else,

but, as the Scripture says: "They will see who were never told of Him, and they will understand who have not heard."

but now having no more to detain me in these parts, and having had a great desire for many years to come to you, when I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you:

Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.

When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.

And I know that when I come to you I will come with the full blessing of the Messiah.

Now I make request to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, that you will be working together with me in your prayers to God for me;

to be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea [i.e., unbelieving Jews]. And [pray] that my service for Jerusalem [i.e., the offering for poor people. See verses 25-26] will be acceptable to God's people there.

so that, if it is God's will, I may come with a happy heart to see you and have a refreshing rest while with you.

That you will take her in kindly, after the way of the saints, as one who is the Lord's, and give her help in anything in which she may have need of you: because she has been a help to a great number and to myself.

Now, it is my desire, brothers, that you will take note of those who are causing division and trouble among you, quite against the teaching which was given to you: and keep away from them.

Now the peace-giving God will soon crush Satan under your feet. The spiritual blessing of our Lord Jesus be with you.

[i.e., so they will believe and obey the truth]. May it be so.