So, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, instinctively do what the law demands, they are a law to themselves even though they do not have the law.

For when the Gentiles, who have not a law, do, by nature, the things of the law, these who have not a law, are a law to themselves,

For, as it is written: The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.

if therefore an uncircumcised Gentile keep the moral precepts contained in the law, shall not he be reckon'd, as if he were circumcised?

and shall not a Gentile, tho' he is not actually circumcised, if he fulfil the law, condemn thee, who, tho' literally circumcised, dost yet transgress the law?

What advantage then does the Jew have [i.e., over the Gentile]? Or what value is there in circumcision?

What then? Are we any better? Not at all! For we have previously charged that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin,

Now we [all] know that everything the law says applies to those who are under [obligation to obey] that law, [Note: Here "the law" appears to refer to the Old Testament Scriptures generally, since Psalms and Isaiah are quoted. See verses 10-18]. This is so that the mouth of every objector may be stopped [i.e., from making excuses for his sin], and thereby bring the entire world under God's judgment [i.e., both Jews and Gentiles].

I mean a righteousness coming from God through faith in Jesus Christ, for all who believe. For there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile,

Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:

since it is one God, who will justify both the Jews and the Gentiles, through faith.

Is this blessing experienced by the circumcised ones [i.e., the Jews only] or by the uncircumcised ones [i.e., the Gentiles] also? We are saying, "Abraham's faith was credited to him for righteousness."

This is why righteousness is of faith, that it may be a free gift; so that the promise stands firm to all Abraham's posterity; not to his children of his faith. For in the sight of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead, and calls into being that which is not, Abraham is the father of us all both Jews and Gentiles,

What if he means to show the wealth that lies in his glory for the objects of his mercy, whom he has made ready beforehand to receive glory ??24 that is, for us whom he has called from among the Gentiles as well as the Jews?

Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.

In reality there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile: they have all the same Lord, who is bountiful to all that call upon him.

But I say, Did Israel not know? First Moses says. I will provoke you to jealousy with that which is no nation; Against a Gentile nation, void of understanding, will I anger you.

Then Isaiah boldly said [Isa. 45:1], "I [i.e., God] was found by a people [i.e., the Gentiles] who were not looking for me. I became known to people who were not asking for me."

I ask, then, have they stumbled in order to fall? Absolutely not! On the contrary, by their stumbling, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.

Now if their stumbling brings riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full number bring!

Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. In view of the fact that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,

Being myself an Apostle to the Gentiles, I exalt my office, in the hope that I may stir my countrymen to rivalry, and so save some of them.

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.

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.

But you [Gentiles] will then say, "The branches were broken off so that we could be grafted in."

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.

For if God did not spare the natural branches [i.e., the Jews], He will not spare you [Gentiles] either.

So, look at God's kindness and severity. He was severe with those [Jews] who have fallen, but He is kind to you [Gentiles], if you continue to accept His kindness [i.e., by living for Him faithfully]. Otherwise, you too will be cut off [like the Jews were].

For you [Gentiles] were cut off from a natural wild olive tree and [then], contrary to the natural process, were grafted into a cultivated olive tree. [Since that has happened], how much more likely is it for these [Jews], who are the natural branches, to be grafted [back] into their own olive tree [again]?

So that you will not be conceited, brothers, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery: A partial hardening has come to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

[A summary of Jer. 31:31-34 says], "And I [i.e., God] will make this Agreement with them [i.e., Jewish and Gentile believers] when I take away their sins."

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 you Gentiles were disobedient to God in the past, but now you have obtained [God's] mercy by means of the disobedience of the Jews.

So, now these [same] Jews have also been disobedient [to God], so that they may also now obtain [God's] mercy by means of the mercy [He has] shown to you [Gentiles].

And so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercy; as it is said, For this reason I will give praise to you among the Gentiles, and I will make a song to your name.

And again he says, Take part, you Gentiles, in the joy of his people.

And again, Give praise to the Lord, all you Gentiles; and let all the nations give praise to him.

And again Isaiah says, There will be the root of Jesse, and he who comes to be the ruler over the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles put their hope.

nevertheless, brethren, I have writ to the Gentile part of you, and admonish'd you with the greater freedom by virtue of the commission that God has given me,

To be a servant of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, doing the work of a priest in the good news of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles might be pleasing to God, being made holy by the Holy Spirit.

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,

Yes, it has been their good pleasure; and they are in their debt. For if the Gentiles have had a part in the things of the Spirit which were theirs, it is right for them, in the same way, to give them help in the things of the flesh.

Who for my life put their necks in danger; to whom not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are in debt:

but by all the churches among the Gentiles. Salute likewise the church that meets in their home. Salute Epaenetus, my dearly beloved, the first man in Roman Asia to believe in Christ.

and by the writings of the prophets (according to the commandment of the eternal God) made known to all the Gentiles, to induce them to obey the faith:

Now Jews ask for [miraculous] signs and Greeks [i.e., Gentiles] are looking for wisdom,

But we give the good news of Christ on the cross, a hard thing to the Jews, and a foolish thing to the Gentiles;

both Jews and Gentiles, he is the Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

It is said, in fact, that there is among you a sin of the flesh, such as is not seen even among the Gentiles, that one of you has his father's wife.

I did not mean the vicious Gentiles, the misers, the raparees, or with idolaters; for then you must have gone out of the world.

How is it, that if any one of you has a cause at law against another, he takes it before a Gentile judge and not before the saints?

But a brother who has a cause at law against another takes it before Gentile judges.

does a Jew turn Christian? let him not pretend to be uncircumcised: does a Gentile turn Christian? let him not become circumcised.

for tho' there are several titular deities, both in heaven and on earth: such as the whole crowd of gods, and lords among the Gentiles;

I [also] behaved like a person without [obligation to observe] the law [i.e., a Gentile] in front of those who are not obligated to it, although I was not [really] without obligation to God's law; but was under [obligation to] Christ's law. I did this to win those who are without [obligation to observe] the law [i.e., Gentiles].

What I say is that the things offered by the Gentiles are offered to evil spirits and not to God; and it is not my desire for you to have any part with evil spirits.

If a Gentile makes a feast for you, and you are pleased to go as a guest, take whatever is put before you, without question of right or wrong.

Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:

You are conscious that when you were Gentiles, in whatever way you were guided, you went after images without voice or power.

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

In journeyings oft, in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers, in perils from my own race, in perils from Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the desert, in perils by the sea, in perils among false brethren,

and had called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach his gospel among the Gentiles, without consulting a human being,

(I went up at that time in obedience to a revelation). And I laid before them the gospel which I am wont to preach among the Gentiles. I did this privately before those in authority, lest by any means I should be running, or should already have run, in vain.

But they did not even require that Titus, a Greek [i.e., a Gentile] who was with me, become circumcised.

on the contrary, when they perceived that I had the province of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, as Peter had that of preaching it to the Jews,

(for he who has equipped Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised, equipped me also for the apostleship to the Gentiles),

and when they recognized the grace which had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, then thought to be pillars, gave to Barnabas and to me the right hand of fellowship. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the Jews.

For until certain men came from James he used to eat with the Gentile Christians, but when they came, he began to draw back and to separate himself, because he was afraid of the circumcision party.

Then the rest of the Jews also discontinued [eating with Gentiles] along with Peter, until even Barnabas was influenced to go along with this hypocritical practice.

But when I saw that they were not walking a straight path, in the presence of the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all. "If you, although you are a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, why do you try to compel the Gentiles to become Jews?

"We are Jews by birth, and not 'Gentile sinners';

and not sinners of the Gentiles, Even we (knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ) have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

But, if while we were trying to be made right with God through a relationship with Christ, we were discovered to still be sinners [by acting like unsaved Gentiles], does that mean Christ is responsible for our sin? Of course not.

And the Scripture, anticipating God's justification of the Gentiles by faith, announced the gospel to Abraham beforehand in the words, In thee shall all the Gentiles be blessed.

to the end that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that through faith we might receive the promised Spirit.

Now is there no Jew, neither gentile, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither man nor woman: but ye are all one thing in Christ Jesus.

But once, when you Gentiles had no knowledge of God, you were slaves to gods which have no real being.

Believers, I beg of you, become as I am [free from the bondage of Jewish ritualism and ordinances], for I have become as you are [a Gentile]. You did me no wrong [when I first came to you; do not do it now].

And in him, because you listened to the proclamation of the truth, the evangel of your salvation, and trusted it, you Gentiles too were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

And so God has given life to you Gentiles also, who were once dead in your trespasses and sins,

of which number we all have formerly been, leading our dissolute lives in gratifying the desires of our sensual imaginations: and were indeed obnoxious to the divine displeasure, as other. Gentiles were:

Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, who are called “Uncircumcision” by those who called themselves “Circumcision,” [itself a mere mark] which is made in the flesh by human hands—

But now [that you are] in [fellowship with] Christ, you [Gentiles], who were once far away [from God], have been brought near [to Him] through the blood of Christ.

For He Himself is our peace and our bond of unity. He who made both groups—[Jews and Gentiles]—into one body and broke down the barrier, the dividing wall [of spiritual antagonism between us],

by abolishing in His fleshly body the [entire Jewish] law of commandments contained in decrees. [This was] so that He could create in [unity with] Himself one new person [i.e., the church] out of the two peoples [i.e., Jews and Gentiles], thereby bringing about peace [between them].

And [that He] might reconcile them both [Jew and Gentile, united] in one body to God through the cross, thereby putting to death the hostility.

So he came preaching "Peace" to you Gentiles who were afar off, and "Peace" to us Jews who were near;

For through Him we [Jews and Gentiles] both have access to the Father by means of one Holy Spirit.

So then, you [Gentiles] are no longer foreigners and aliens [i.e., to God's promises. See verse 12], but you are fellow-citizens with the saints [i.e., God's holy people], and are part of God's family.

For this reason [because I preach that you and believing Jews are joint heirs] I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—

if so be you have heard of the charge, which God has graciously dispens'd to me for you Gentiles;

[It is] that God's secret plan [i.e., revealed in the Gospel preached to Gentiles. See verse 6] was made known to me by way of a revelation. [See Acts 9:15; 22:21]. I have already written to you [about this] briefly [i.e., probably a reference to 1:9ff].

which in other generations was not made known to men, as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be co-heirs,

[it is this:] that the Gentiles are now joint heirs [with the Jews] and members of the same body, and joint partakers [sharing] in the [same divine] promise in Christ Jesus through [their faith in] the good news [of salvation].

To me, [though I am] the very least of all the saints (God’s people), this grace [which is undeserved] was graciously given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the good news of the incomprehensible riches of Christ [that spiritual wealth which no one can fully understand],

and to make plain [to everyone] the plan of the mystery [regarding the uniting of believing Jews and Gentiles into one body] which [until now] was kept hidden through the ages in [the mind of] God who created all things.

So this I say, and solemnly affirm together with the Lord [as in His presence], that you must no longer live as the [unbelieving] Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds [and in the foolishness and emptiness of their souls],

God [in His eternal plan] chose to make known to them how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in and among you, the hope and guarantee of [realizing the] glory.

Even you, who were in a dying sinful state, and were uncircumcised Gentiles, has God raised to life, as he did Christ, having pardoned all your sins: