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.

For I want you to know this secret, brothers, so you will not become conceited: Part of the Israelites have become [spiritually] insensitive [to God], [and will remain that way] until the fullness of the Gentiles occurs. [Note: As with verse 12, concerning the Jews, "fullness" here may mean either a large or the complete number of Gentiles who will be saved].

And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

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

As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.

For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

so they too have now become disobedient so that they too may one day receive mercy because of the mercy shown to you.

For God has made all men prisoners of disobedience so as to have mercy upon them all.

"Who has first given God anything, so as to receive payment in return?"

Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.

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.

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

so we, who are many, are [nevertheless just] one body in Christ, and individually [we are] parts one of another [mutually dependent on each other].

And having different qualities by reason of the grace given to us, such as the quality of a prophet, let it be made use of in relation to the measure of our faith;

as to brotherly love, kindly affectioned towards one another: as to honour, each taking the lead in paying it to the other:

as to diligent zealousness, not slothful; in spirit fervent; serving the Lord.

As regards hope, rejoicing: as regards tribulation, enduring: as regards prayer, persevering:

Ask God's blessing on people who persecute you, instead of cursing them.

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

If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

The man who does right has nothing to fear from the magistrates, as the wrongdoer has. If you want to have no fear of the authorities, do right, and they will commend you for it,

for he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou dost evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is also the minister of God, as an avenger to execute his wrath upon the malefactor.

Therefore one must be subject [to civil authorities], not only to escape the punishment [that comes with wrongdoing], but also as a matter of principle [knowing what is right before God].

for the same reason as you pay taxes ??since magistrates are God's officers, bent upon the maintenance of order and authority.

For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self." the benevolent never does wrong to his neighbour: therefore benevolence is the fulfilling of the law.

Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

As for the one whose faith is weak, accept him [into your fellowship], but not for [the purpose of] quarreling over his opinions.

One man has faith to take all things as food: another who is feeble in faith takes only green food.

One person regards one day as better [or more important] than another, while another regards every day [the same as any other]. Let everyone be fully convinced (assured, satisfied) in his own mind.

He who regards the day as sacred, so regards it for the Master's sake; and he who eats certain food eats it for the Master's sake, for he gives thanks to God; and he who refrains from eating it refrains for the Master's sake, and he also gives thanks to God.

For every man's life and every man's death has a relation to others as well as to himself.

As long as we have life we are living to the Lord; or if we give up our life it is to the Lord; so if we are living, or if our life comes to an end, we are the Lord's.

But you, why do you make yourself your brother's judge? or again, why have you no respect for your brother? because we will all have to take our place before God as our judge.

For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

I know and am convinced [as one] in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean [ritually defiled, and unholy] in itself; but [nonetheless] it is unclean to anyone who thinks it is unclean.

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?

Do not allow what seems good to you to be spoken of as evil.

Do not for the sake of food undo the work of God. All things indeed are clean; but that which is pure is evil for that man who eateth so as to be an occasion of sin.

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.

He, however, who has misgivings stands condemned if he still eats, because his doing so is not the result of faith. And anything not done as the result of faith is a sin.

As for us who are strong, our duty is to bear with the weaknesses of those who are not strong, and not seek our own pleasure.

For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

For as many things as have been written before have been written for our instruction, that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

Now may God, the source of endurance and encouragement, allow you to live in harmony with each other as you follow the Messiah Jesus,

Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.

For I tell you that Christ was [appointed] to be a servant of the circumcised ones [i.e., the Jews], in order to uphold the truth of God. This was so He could confirm [as valid] the promises made to our forefathers,

And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.

or again, as Isaiah says, Then shall the Scion of Jessai live, he who rises to rule the Gentiles; on him shall the Gentiles set their hope.

Now may God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace as you believe, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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.

Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God,

for me to be minister of Christ Jesus to the nations, carrying on as a sacrificial service the message of glad tidings of God, in order that the offering up of the nations might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, as I have fellowship with Christ Jesus, I am proud of my service to God.

For I will not [even] presume to speak of anything except what Christ has done through me [as an instrument in His hands], resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles [to the gospel], by word and deed,

in power of signs and wonders, in power of the Spirit of God; so that I, from Jerusalem, and in a circle as far as Illyricum, have fully preached the good news of the Christ;

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 it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.

But now, as there is no more unoccupied ground in this part of the world, and I have for years past been eager to pay you a visit,

whenever I should go to Spain; (for I hope to see you as I go through, and by you to be set forward thither, if first I shall have been in part filled with your company;)

they have thought fit, I say, and they owed them as much. for if the Gentiles have participated of their spirituals, they are bound on their side to minister to them in their temporals.

That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.

who have risked their lives for me; I thank them, and not only I but all the Gentile churches as well.

Give my greeting, also, to the Church that meets at their house, as well as to my dear friend Epaenetus, one of the first in Roman Asia to believe in Christ;

I value as a good christian. salute Urbane my assistant in the cause of Christ,

Salute my fellow-countryman Herodion. Salute such members of the household of Narcissus as are in the Lord.

Greet Rufus, an eminent and choice man in the Lord, also his mother [who has been] a mother to me as well.

for such as these serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own selfishness; and by flourish and flattery, deceive the open-hearted simple.

For your obedience has reached to all. I rejoice therefore as it regards you; but I wish you to be wise as to that which is good, and simple as to evil.

Timothy, my fellow worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

I, Tertius, who write this letter, wish to be remembered to you as a fellow-Christian.

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

Now to him that is able to establish you, according to my glad tidings and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, as to which silence has been kept in the times of the 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

Paul, called as an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Sosthenes our brother:

To God’s church at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus and called as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord—both their Lord and ours.

Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:

so that you do not lack in any spiritual gift [as you] eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

I mean, that each of you saith, as if of different parties, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, I of Cephas, and I of Christ.

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

(Well, I did baptize the household of Stephanas, but no one else, as far as I remember.)

As it says in the holy Writings, I will put an end to the wisdom of the wise, and will put on one side the designs of those who have knowledge.

For after the world by its wisdom--as God in His wisdom had ordained--had failed to gain the knowledge of God, God was pleased, by the apparent foolishness of the Message which we preach, to save those who accepted it.

Seeing that Jews ask for signs, and Greeks seek after wisdom:

for this divine doctrine, as foolish and weak as men may think it, far surpasses all their wisdom, and baffles all their power.

Look at the facts of your Call, Brothers. There are not many among you who are wise, as men reckon wisdom, not many who are influential, not many who are high-born;

But God has chosen the things which the world regards as foolish, in order to put its wise men to shame; and God has chosen the things which the world regards as destitute of influence, in order to put its powerful things to shame;

God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something,

But it is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God [revealing His plan of salvation], and righteousness [making us acceptable to God], and sanctification [making us holy and setting us apart for God], and redemption [providing our ransom from the penalty for sin],

That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

And when I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming to you the testimony of God [concerning salvation through Christ], I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom [no lofty words of eloquence or of philosophy as a Greek orator might do];

For I determined to be utterly ignorant, when among you, of everything except of Jesus Christ, and of Him as having been crucified.

And so far as I myself was concerned, I came to you in conscious feebleness and in fear and in deep anxiety.

Yet there is a wisdom that we impart when we are with people who have a mature faith, but it is not what this world calls wisdom, nor what the authorities of this world, doomed as they are to pass away, would call so.

rather, we are setting forth a wisdom that came from God, once a covered secret but now uncovered, which God marked off as His plan for bringing us to glory.

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

But, as for us, - not the spirit of the world, have we received, but the Spirit which is of God, - that we might know the things which, by God, have been given in favour unto us: -

Of these we speak--not in language which man's wisdom teaches us, but in that which the Spirit teaches--adapting, as we do, spiritual words to spiritual truths.

For who has known the mind and purposes of the Lord, so as to instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ [to be guided by His thoughts and purposes].