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.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

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 they did not all hearken to the glad tidings. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

But I say, Did they not hear? Yea, verily, Their sound went out into all the earth, And their words unto the ends of the world.

But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.

Then Isaiah is very bold and says,

“I have been found by those who did not seek Me;
I have shown Myself to those who did not [consciously] ask for Me.”

But as to Israel he saith, All the day long did I spread out my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

I say then, Did God cast off his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

God did not cast off his people which he foreknew. Or know ye not what the scripture saith of Elijah? how he pleadeth with God against Israel:

'Lord, Thy prophets they did kill, and Thy altars they dug down, and I was left alone, and they seek my life;'

but what saith the divine answer to him? 'I left to Myself seven thousand men, who did not bow a knee to Baal.'

What then? What Israel doth seek after, this it did not obtain, and the chosen did obtain, and the rest were hardened,

as it has been written [Isa. 19:10], "God gave them a spirit of numbness [i.e., they developed a spiritual insensitivity to God and His word]. [He gave them] eyes to see with [but they would not look], and ears to hear with [but they did not listen]. And they still have this spirit."

I say then, Did they stumble that they might fall? God forbid: but by their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy.

For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

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 the natural branches did not spare -- lest perhaps He also shall not spare thee.

for as ye also once did not believe in God, and now did find kindness by the unbelief of these:

so also these now did not believe, that in your kindness they also may find kindness;

for God did shut up together the whole to unbelief, that to the whole He might do kindness.

for who did know the mind of the Lord? or who did become His counsellor?

or who did first give to Him, and it shall be given back to him again?

For I say, through the grace that was given to me, to every one who is among you, not to think above what it behoveth to think; but to think so as to think wisely, as to each God did deal a measure of faith,

Do not take revenge on someone who has wronged you, but leave it up to God's wrath [to take care of it], for it is written [Deut. 22:35], "The Lord says, I will pay people back [for doing wrong] because taking revenge belongs to me."

For rulers are not a [cause of] terror for a good deed, but for bad [conduct]. So do you want not to be afraid of authority? Do what [is] good, and you will have praise from it,

And this, knowing the time, that for us, the hour already is to be aroused out of sleep, for now nearer is our salvation than when we did believe;

the night did advance, and the day came nigh; let us lay aside, therefore, the works of the darkness, and let us put on the armour of the light;

let not him who is eating despise him who is not eating: and let not him who is not eating judge him who is eating, for God did receive him.

For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

But the man who has misgivings about eating, if he then eats, has already condemned himself by so doing, because he did not follow his faith, and any action that does not follow one's faith is a sin.

For the Christ also did not please himself; but according as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproach thee have fallen upon me.

wherefore receive ye one another, according as also the Christ did receive us, to the glory of God.

And again it says [Deut. 32:43], "Rejoice with His people [i.e., the Jews], you Gentiles."

and the more boldly I did write to you, brethren, in part, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me by God,

For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,

for it pleased well, and their debtors they are, for if in their spiritual things the nations did participate, they ought also, in the fleshly things, to minister to them.

who for my life their own neck did lay down, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the assemblies of the nations --

Salute Mary, who did labour much for us;

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who are in prison with me and are prominent among the apostles. They belonged to the Messiah before I did.

salute Tryphaena, and Tryphosa, who are labouring in the Lord; salute Persis, the beloved, who did labour much in the Lord.

And I call upon you, brethren, to mark those who the divisions and the stumbling-blocks, contrary to the teaching that ye did learn, are causing, and turn ye away from them;

for your obedience did reach to all; I rejoice, therefore, as regards you, and I wish you to be wise, indeed, as to the good, and harmless as to the evil;

I give thanks to God that no one of you did I baptize, except Crispus and Gaius --

that no one may say that to my own name I did baptize;

and I did baptize also Stephanas' household -- further, I have not known if I did baptize any other.

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but -- to proclaim good news; not in wisdom of discourse, that the cross of the Christ may not be made of none effect;

where is the wise? where the scribe? where a disputer of this age? did not God make foolish the wisdom of this world?

for, seeing in the wisdom of God the world through the wisdom knew not God, it did please God through the foolishness of the preaching to save those believing.

but the foolish things of the world did God choose, that the wise He may put to shame; and the weak things of the world did God choose that He may put to shame the strong;

and the base things of the world, and the things that are despised, did God choose, yea and the things that are not, that he might bring to nought the things that are:

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 did not judge it well to know anything among you save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

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].

which no one of the rulers of this age did know, for if they had known, the Lord of the glory they would not have crucified;

but, according as it hath been written, 'What eye did not see, and ear did not hear, and upon the heart of man came not up, what God did prepare for those loving Him -- '

but to us did God reveal them through His Spirit, for the Spirit all things doth search, even the depths of God,

And we the spirit of the world did not receive, but the Spirit that is of God, that we may know the things conferred by God on us,

for who did know the mind of the Lord that he shall instruct Him? and we -- we have the mind of Christ.

Who, then, is Paul, and who Apollos, but ministrants through whom ye did believe, and to each as the Lord gave?

I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but God gave the increase.

And these things, brethren, I did transfer to myself and to Apollos because of you, that in us ye may learn not to think above that which hath been written, that ye may not be puffed up one for one against the other,

For who concedes you [superiority]? And what do you have that you did not receive? But if indeed you received [it], why do you boast as [if you] did not receive [it]?

Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.

for I think that God did set forth us the apostles last -- as appointed to death, because a spectacle we became to the world, and messengers, and men;

being spoken evil of, we entreat; as filth of the world we did become -- of all things an offscouring -- till now.

for if a myriad of child-conductors ye may have in Christ, yet not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus, through the good news, I -- I did beget you;

And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.

For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,

In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I am with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus,

I did write to you in the epistle, not to keep company with whoremongers --

By no means [did I mean] the sexually immoral people of this world or the greedy people and swindlers or idolaters, since then you would have to depart out of the world.

and now, I did write to you not to keep company with him, if any one, being named a brother, may be a whoremonger, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner -- with such a one not even to eat together;

For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders? [i.e., non-Christians]; God judges them. But should you not judge those people who are inside? [i.e., Christians]. [So], remove the evil person from your fellowship [See Deut. 17:7].

And God has both raised up the Lord, and will raise us up from among the dead by his power.

Run away from sexual immorality [in any form, whether thought or behavior, whether visual or written]. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the one who is sexually immoral sins against his own body.

To the rest I declare—I, not the Lord [since Jesus did not discuss this]—that if any [believing] brother has a wife who does not believe [in Christ], and she consents to live with him, he must not leave her.

if not, as God did distribute to each, as the Lord hath called each -- so let him walk; and thus in all the assemblies do I direct:

But and if thou mayest marry, thou didst not sin; and if the virgin may marry, she did not sin; and such shall have tribulation in the flesh: and I spare you.

and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess [anything];

and those who use the world as though they did not make full use of it. For this world in its current form is passing away.

The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.

If anyone thinks that he has known anything, not yet did he know it as he ought to know it;

have not we the liberty to take a christian woman with us in our travels, as well as the rest of the apostles, as the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas did?

What soldier ever served [in the army] and paid his own expenses? Who [ever] planted a grape orchard and did not get to eat some of the grapes it produced? Or, who [ever] tended a flock of goats and did not get to drink some of the milk?

For it is written in the law of Moses [Deut. 25:4], "You should not put a muzzle on an ox while it tramples over the grain." Is it the oxen that God is concerned about?

If we to you the spiritual things did sow -- great is it if we your fleshly things do reap?

If others partake of this right over you, do not we yet more? Nevertheless we did not use this right; but we bear all things, that we may cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ.

Even so did the Lord ordain that they that proclaim the gospel should live of the gospel.

And I have used none of these things; neither did I write these things that it may be so done in my case, for it is good for me rather to die, than that any one may make my glorying void;

[But] I do not have anything to boast about if I preach the good news because I am compelled to do it. For it would be too bad for me if I did not preach the good news.

For if I preached because [I personally decided] I wanted to, I could claim a reward. But if I did not preach from a personal decision to do so, then it would be because I was entrusted with the task [by God].

I behaved like a Jew in front of the Jews in order to win Jews [to Christ]. I behaved like a person who was under [obligation to observe] the law [i.e., Jews] in front of those who observe that law, although I was not [really] under [obligation to] it. I did this to win those who are under [obligation to observe] the law.

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].

And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

and those things became types of us, for our not passionately desiring evil things, as also these did desire.

and not become idolaters, as some of them [did], just as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play,"

neither may we commit whoredom, as certain of them did commit whoredom, and there fell in one day twenty-three thousand;

neither may we tempt the Christ, as also certain of them did tempt, and by the serpents did perish;