For I have a strong desire to see you, and to give you some grace of the spirit, so that you may be made strong;

Because the knowledge of God may be seen in them, God having made it clear to them.

For from the first making of the world, those things of God which the eye is unable to see, that is, his eternal power and existence, are fully made clear, he having given the knowledge of them through the things which he has made, so that men have no reason for wrongdoing:

Because the work of the law is seen in their hearts, their sense of right and wrong giving witness to it, while their minds are at one time judging them and at another giving them approval;

The true Jew is not one who is only so publicly, and circumcision is not that which may be seen in the flesh:

In no way: but let God be true, though every man is seen to be untrue; as it is said in the Writings, That your words may be seen to be true, and you may be seen to be right when you are judged.

But if, because I am untrue, God being seen to be true gets more glory, why am I to be judged as a sinner?

For this reason it is of faith, so that it may be through grace; and so that the word of God may be certain to all the seed; not only to that which is of the law, but to that which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,

Who without reason for hope, in faith went on hoping, so that he became the father of a number of nations, as it had been said, So will your seed be.

Even so see yourselves as dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus.

Was then that which is good, death to me? In no way. But the purpose was that sin might be seen to be sin by working death to me through that which is good; so that through the orders of the law sin might seem much more evil.

So I see a law that, though I have a mind to do good, evil is present in me.

But I see another law in my body, working against the law of my mind, and making me the servant of the law of sin which is in my flesh.

I am of the opinion that there is no comparison between the pain of this present time and the glory which we will see in the future.

For our salvation is by hope: but hope which is seen is not hope: for who is hoping for what he sees?

But if we have hope for that which we see not, then we will be able to go on waiting for it.

And they are not all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, In Isaac will your seed be named.

That is, it is not the children of the flesh, but the children of God's undertaking, who are named as the seed.

For the holy Writings say to Pharaoh, For this same purpose did I put you on high, so that I might make my power seen in you, and that there might be knowledge of my name through all the earth.

What if God, desiring to let his wrath and his power be seen, for a long time put up with the vessels of wrath which were ready for destruction:

And, as Isaiah had said before, If the Lord of armies had not given us a seed, we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.

As it is said, See, I am putting in Zion a stone causing a fall, and a rock in the way: but he who has faith in him will not be put to shame.

And Isaiah says without fear, Those who were not searching for me made discovery of me; and I was seen by those whose hearts were turned away from me.

So I say, Has God put his people on one side? Let there be no such thought. For I am of Israel, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

As it was said in the holy Writings, God gave them a spirit of sleep, eyes which might not see, and ears which have no hearing, to this day.

Let their eyes be made dark so that they may not see, and let their back be bent down at all times.

See then that God is good but his rules are fixed: to those who were put away he was hard, but to you he has been good, on the condition that you keep in his mercy; if not, you will be cut off as they were.

See then that the time has come for you to be awake from sleep: for now is your salvation nearer than when you first had faith.

But as it is said in the holy Writings, They will see, to whom the news of him had not been given, and those to whose ears it had not come will have knowledge.

Whenever I go to Spain (for it is my hope to see you on my way, and to be sent on there by you, if first I may in some measure have been comforted by your company)--