It was about His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born as a physical descendant of King David.

It was through Jesus, and for His name's sake, that we [i.e., I] received God's favor to become an apostle, in order to bring about obedience based on faith from among people of all nations.

First of all, I want to thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being told about throughout the whole world.

For what is known about God is plain to these people [i.e., to the Gentiles], because God has made it clear to them.

Now we [Jews] know that God's judgment against people who practice such things [i.e., the Gentiles] is according to truth. [Note: Some use "You say," at the beginning of the sentence, making it an assertion of the Jews which Paul sets about to answer].

But if you call yourselves "Jews," and [claim to] rely on the law of Moses, and brag about [belonging to] God;

You boast about having the law of Moses, [but] do you dishonor God by breaking that law?

Now if our wrongdoing serves to emphasize more clearly that God does what is right, what should we say about that? Is God being unjust for sending [His] wrath [on the world]? (I am raising a human objection).

But if my "lie" [i.e., as you Jews call it] would result in God's truthfulness [about you Jews] increasing the honor He receives, why am I also still judged to be a sinner [by you]?

What should we say then [about what] our forefather Abraham discovered?

For if Abraham had been made right with God by doing good deeds he would have had something to boast about, but not in God's presence.

Abraham's faith did not become weak [even though] he was about one hundred years old and considered his body almost dead and Sarah's womb incapable of conceiving a child.

For those people who are [controlled] by the flesh think about [i.e., desire] what the flesh wants; but those who are [controlled] by the Holy Spirit [desire] what the Holy Spirit wants.

And Isaiah declares about [the nation of] Israel [Isa. 10:22-23], "[Even] if the number of Israelites were [as many] as the grains of sand in the ocean, [still only] a small minority will be saved.

For they did not know about God's way of making people right with Himself, so they attempted to establish their own way. In doing this they did not submit to God's way for being made right with Him.

For Moses wrote [Lev. 18:5] about a person being made right with God by obeying the requirements of the law of Moses, that he would gain [never ending] life for doing this.

But what does the Scripture say [about being made right with God]? [Deut. 30:14 says], "The message of God is near you [i.e., it is not difficult to comprehend]. It is on your lips and in your heart." This is the message of faith [in Christ] which we [apostles] preach.

[But] how can they appeal to Him if they have not [first] believed in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have not [first] heard [about Him]? And how can they hear [about Him] if there is no preacher?

So, faith results from [people] hearing, and [their] hearing results from [the preaching of] the message about Christ.

But Isaiah said about the Israelites [Isa. 40:2], "I reached out all day long to [help] people who disobeyed and spoke against [me]."

Therefore, you should not brag [about your superiority] over the [natural] branches [i.e., the rejected Jews]. But, if you must brag, it should not be over you [Gentiles] nourishing the roots [i.e., the Jews], but over the roots nourishing you.

True, but they [i.e., the Jews] were [really] broken off because they did not believe [in Christ], and you [Gentiles] remain [in God's favor] because you do believe [in Him]. So, do not become arrogant [about it], but be fearful.

Now in response to the [proclamation of the] good news [about Christ], the Jews became [God's] enemies for the sake of you [Gentiles]. But concerning [God's] select people, these Jews became [God's] dearly loved ones for the sake of their forefathers [i.e, who believed God's promises regarding their descendants].

For God does not change His mind about the gifts He gives and the people He calls [to Him].

Do not [try to] pay back a wrong done to you by doing something wrong to the other person. Think about how to live honorably in front of all people.

Now this [is another reason for observing the law of love]: You should know that it is about time to wake up out of your [spiritual] sleep, because [the day of our final] salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed [in Christ].

Therefore, whatever you believe about this matter should be held between you and God. That person is happy who does not condemn himself for practicing something he believes is right.

But the person who has doubts about eating [a certain food] is self-condemned if he [goes ahead and] eats it, because his action is not based on faith [i.e., if he lacks the conviction that he is doing what is right]. And whatever is not done with such a conviction is a sin.

And I, myself, am convinced about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, and have been filled with all kinds of knowledge and are capable of counseling one another.

For I will not dare to speak about anything, except what Christ has done through me in bringing about the obedience of the Gentiles. He accomplished this by my message and my deeds,

in the power demonstrated by [miraculous] signs and wonders, [produced] by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, I have completed preaching the good news about Christ from Jerusalem, all the way around [the area] to Illyricum [Note: This country was located northwest of Greece and in present-day Croatia].

But, as it is written [Isa. 52:15], "Those people who had not been told about Him will see [the truth], and those who have not heard [the message] will understand [it]." [Note: Paul here applies a Messianic prediction to his ambition of doing pioneer evangelism].

I recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church at Cenchrea. [Note: This was a seaport town about seven miles east of Corinth].

For everyone has heard about your obedience [to the truth], and [because of this], I am very happy over you. But I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil.

Now may there be glory for ever, through Jesus Christ, to the only wise God, who is able to make you stand firm [in the faith], according to the good news and proclamation of Jesus Christ. This message is the secret which was [eventually] revealed, after having been kept quiet about for long ages.

It is now being made known through the writings of the prophets, as commanded by the eternal God, to [people of] all the nations, in order to bring about their obedience to the faith