(for not yet having been born, nor having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to selection might remain, not from works, but from him who calls),

not from works but from the One who calls—she was told: The older will serve the younger.

What will we say then? Is there injustice from God? May it not happen!

And from this we learn that everything is dependent not on man's will or endeavour, but upon God who has mercy. For the Scripture said to Pharaoh,

For the scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very thing I have raised thee up from amongst men, that I might thus shew in thee my power, and so that my name should be declared in all the earth.

Or has the potter no right over the clay, to make from the same lump one piece of pottery for honor and another for dishonor?

so as to show all the wealth of his glory in dealing with the objects of his mercy, whom he has prepared from the beginning to share his glory,

Whom he also called, even us, not only from among Jews, but also from among the nations, what then?

And Isaiah calls out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is only the remnant [a small believing minority] that will be saved [from God’s judgment];

For the Lord will carry out His word in the world [i.e., He will require an accounting from the people] quickly and decisively."

It is as Isaiah foretold,

“If the Lord of Hosts had not left us seed [future generations from which a believing remnant of Israelites came],
We would have become like Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah [totally rejected and destroyed]!”

What should we say then? Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained righteousness—namely the righteousness that comes from faith.

Why? Because it was not from faith but as from works of law. For they stumbled at the stone of stumbling,

Because they disregarded the righteousness from God and attempted to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted themselves to God’s righteousness.

For Moses writes about the righteousness that is from the law: The one who does these things will live by them.

But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)

Or, Who shall descend into the abyss? That is, to bring up, Christ, from among the dead;

(that is, to bring Christ again from the dead) But what saith he? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith which we preach:

That, if thou shalt confess the declaration with thy mouth - That Jesus is, Lord, and shalt believe with thy hear - That, God, raised him from among the dead, thou shalt be saved; -

And the Jew is not different from the Greek: for there is the same Lord of all, who is good to all who have hope in his name:

How then shall they call upon him in whom they did not believe? and how shall they believe on him of whom they did not hear? and how shall they hear apart from one preaching?

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?"

So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.

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.

I ask, then, has God rejected His people? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

God has not repudiated his people, which he had marked out from the first. Do you not know what the Scripture says in speaking of Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel?

And if it is by grace, it is no longer from works, otherwise grace becomes no longer grace. But if it is from works it is no longer grace, otherwise work is no longer work.

What follows from this? Why, that Israel as a nation failed to secure what it was seeking, while those whom God selected did secure it.

And King David said [Psa. 69:22-23], "Let their table ensnare and trap them [i.e., let the Jews' devotion to such things as lavish feasts become the occasion for leading them astray], and become an occasion for their falling [away from God]. And let them be repaid [for such conduct with punishment].

I say then, did the Jews trip [over Jesus] just so they could fall [away from God]? Certainly not! [There was another reason]: Instead, it was by means of their sin that salvation was made available to the Gentiles, so that the Jews might become jealous of them [i.e., causing them to want what the Gentiles now had].

And, if their falling away has enriched the world, and their failure has enriched the Gentiles, how much more will result from their full restoration!

If by any means I may provoke to jealousy my own flesh, and save some from among them; -

For, if, the casting away of them, hath become the reconciling of a world, what shall, the taking of them in addition, be, but life from among the dead?

But some of the branches [of a cultivated olive tree] were broken off [i.e., God's rejection of the Jews] and you [Gentiles], representing a wild olive tree [branch], were grafted into it. So then, you [Gentiles] were able to benefit from the roots and sap of the olive tree, along with the Jews.

Moreover, if they turn from their unbelief, they too will be grafted in. For God is powerful enough to graft them in again;

For if you were cut off from your native wild olive and against nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these—the natural branches—be grafted into their own olive tree?

I would not that this secret should be hid from you my brethren, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits: that partly blindness is happened in Israel, until the fullness of the gentiles be come in.

And, so, all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written - There shall have come out of Zion the Deliverer, - He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;

And, this, for them, is the covenant from me, as soon as I take away their sins.

As far as the good news is in question, they are cut off from God on account of you, but as far as the selection is in question, they are loved on account of the fathers.

[Note: The following are rhetorical questions raised from their reading of the Old Testament]. For who has known [what goes on in] the Lord's mind? Or, who has been His advisor?

Or, who has first given to him, and received from him a recompense?

For from Him and through Him
and to Him are all things.
To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Your love must be true. You must always turn in horror from what is wrong, but keep on holding to what is right.

In your diligence be free from sloth. Be glowing in spirit. Slave for the master.

If possible from you, keeping peace with all men,

Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God.

So then, the one who resists authority resists the ordinance [which is] from God, and those who resist will receive condemnation on themselves.

For those ruling are not a terror to the good works, but to the evil; and dost thou wish not to be afraid of the authority? that which is good be doing, and thou shalt have praise from it,

wherefore you ought to submit not only from an apprehension of punishment, but

from a principle of conscience. for this is the reason why you also pay tribute, because under God, they are continually

In all cases pay what is due from you--tribute where tribute is due, taxes where taxes are due, respect where respect is due, and honor where honor is due.

Be in debt to no man ??apart from the debt of love one to another. He who loves his fellow-man has fulfilled the law.

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.

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 make yourself a judge of another man's servant? it is to his master that he is responsible for good or bad. Yes, his place will be safe, because the Lord is able to keep him from falling.

One man judgeth one day different from another day: another judgeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

he that observes a day, and he that obobserves it not, act both from a sense of duty. he that eats, consisiders it as the bounty of his Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that forbeareth to eat, considers his forbearance as enjoined by his Lord, and giveth God thanks for the rest.

So, we should stop judging one another any more. But instead, you people should determine not to put anything in your brother's way [to cause him] to trip or fall [away from God].

For God's kingdom is not a matter of what people eat or drink, but [instead, it is a matter] of doing what is right, having peace [of heart] and having [inner] joy, which come from the Holy Spirit.

Do not destroy God's work [i.e., someone's life] for the sake of something to eat. All foods are truly clean [ceremonially]; however, it is wrong for a person to eat something when it causes another person to fall [away from God].

it is better to abstain from flesh, and wine, and every thing whereby your brother is in danger of falling off.

But whoever doubts stands condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from a conviction, and everything that is not from a conviction is sin.

Christ certainly did not please himself, but, as it is written, The reproaches of those who denounced Thee have fallen upon me. ??4 All such words were written of old for our instruction, that by remaining stedfast and drawing encouragement from the scriptures we may cherish hope.

For whatever things were written previously [i.e., in the Old Testament], were intended for us to learn from, so that we could have hope [i.e., in the face of difficult times] through remaining steadfast, and through the encouragement [received] from reading the Scriptures.

May God, from whom steadfastness and encouragement come, give you such harmony with one another, in following the example of Christ Jesus,

And again, Isaiah says [11:10], "A root [i.e., a descendant] from Jesse will appear [i.e., Christ], and He will rise up to rule over the nations, and the Gentiles will place their hope in Him."

But as to you, brethren, I am convinced-- yes, I Paul am convinced--that, even apart from my teaching, you are already full of goodness of heart, and enriched with complete Christian knowledge, and are also competent to instruct one another.

Howbeit, the more boldly, have I written unto you, - in some measure, as bringing it back to your minds, - by reason of the favour given unto me from God, -

And I will keep myself from talking of anything but those things which Christ has done by me to put the Gentiles under his rule in word and in act,

By signs and wonders, in the power of the Holy Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have given all the good news of Christ;

For which reason I was frequently kept from coming to you:

But now, having no more place in these regions, and having a great desire from many years to come to you,

whenever I go to Spain I will come to you. For I hope to see you while passing through, and there to be helped on the way by you, if first I may be partly satisfied from you.

and I know that when I come to you it will be with a vast amount of blessing from Christ.

So that I may be kept safe from those in Judaea who have not put themselves under the rule of God, and that the help which I am taking for Jerusalem may be pleasing to the saints;

in order that you may welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever task she may have need from you, for she herself also has been a helper of many, even me myself.

They risked their own lives for me, so not only I, but also all the Gentile churches [i.e., people converted from among the Gentiles] are grateful to them [for this].

Greet also the church that meets in their home.
Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia.

Salute Apelles, a man reliable in Christ. Salute the men from those of Aristobulus.

Salute Herodion my kinsman. Salute the men from those of Narcissus who are in Lord.

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.

Turn away from them. For men of that stamp are not the slaves of Christ, but are slaves to their own appetites. By their smooth and fair speech they beguile the hearts of the innocent.

Now to him that is able to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, conformable to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret from antient times, but now is laid open,

but now has been made known through the prophets to all the gentiles, in keeping with the decree of the eternal God to bring them to the obedience that springs from faith

To the same God, which alone is wise, be praise through Jesus Christ for ever Amen. {To the Romans. Sent from Corinth by Phoebe, she that was the minister unto the congregation at Cenchreae}

[This letter is from] Paul, who was called by the will of God to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, and [from] our brother Sosthenes;

From Paul, who has been called to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, And from Sosthenes, our Brother.

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

Who will give you strength to the end, to be free from all sin in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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

I give praise to God that not one of you had baptism from me, but Crispus and Gaius;

so as to keep anyone from saying that you were baptized in my name.

And I gave baptism to the house of Stephanas; but I am not certain that any others had baptism from me.

My mission from Christ was not to baptize, but to tell the Good News; not, however, in the language of philosophy, lest the cross of the Christ should be robbed of its meaning.

[This is] because the foolishness of God [is not foolishness at all and] is wiser than men [far beyond human comprehension], and the weakness of God is stronger than men [far beyond the limits of human effort].

Brothers, consider your calling: Not many are wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth.

to prevent any mortal man from boasting in the presence of God.

But, of him, are, ye, in Christ Jesus, who hath been made wisdom unto us, from God, - both righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

And I did not use persuasive words of [human] wisdom in my message and preaching, but they were [accompanied by] a demonstration of the Holy Spirit and power [from God]. [Note: This "demonstration" could have included the evidence of miraculous spiritual gifts which Paul utilized while there in Corinth. See 14:18].