And, some, indeed, were persuaded by the things that were spoken, whereas, others, disbelieved;

And not being agreed with one another, they were going away, Paul having spoken one word -- 'Well did the Holy Spirit speak through Isaiah the prophet unto our fathers,

For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears were thick of hearing, and their eyes have they closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and should be converted, and I should heal them.'

30 Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who were coming to him,

And he abode two whole years in his own hired house, and made welcome all who were coming in unto him, -

Preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ without fear, and no orders were given that he was not to do so.

Inasmuch as, having come to know God, not, as God, did they glorify him, or give him thanks, but were made fruitless in their reasonings, and darkened was their undiscerning heart,

Professing to be wise, they were made foolish,

and exchanged the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God for an image [worthless idols] in the shape of mortal man and birds and four-footed animals and reptiles.

Therefore God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves.

For this reason God gave them up to evil passions, and their women were changing the natural use into one which is unnatural:

The males in the same way also left natural relations with females and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Males committed shameless acts with males and received in their own persons the appropriate penalty of their error.

And as it seemed not good unto them to be a known of God, even so God delivered them up unto a lewd mind, that they should do those things which were not comely,

they were full of all injustice, fornication, mischief, covetousness, malice; full of envy, murder, contention, fraud, malignity;

They were secret backbiters, open slanderers; hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful; inventors of new forms of sin, disobedient to parents, destitute of common sense,

They were undiscerning, untrustworthy, without natural affection or pity.

Though they knew well the ordinance of God, that those who practise such vices are worthy of death, they not only continue to do the same, but were even applauding those who practise vice.

You say that a person should not commit adultery [i.e., sexual unfaithfulness to their mate], [but] do you commit adultery? You [claim to] hate idols, [but] do you rob [their] temples? [Note: It is difficult to determine how the Jews were doing this. Perhaps they were guilty of the "spirit" of idolatry by devoting their efforts and affections to material things instead of to God].

For circumcision is valuable if you observe the Law, but if you break the Law, your having been circumcised has no more value than if you were uncircumcised.

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

Much, every way: - First, indeed, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.

for what, if certain were faithless? shall their faithlessness the faithfulness of god make useless?

God forbid: but let God be true, though every man were a liar; as it is written, "That thou mayest be acknowledged just in thy sayings, and overcome when thou art judged."

Not at all! If that were so, how could He judge the world?

What follows, then? Are we Jews in any way superior to others? Not at all. Our indictment against both Jews and Greeks was that all alike were in subjection to sin.

whom God has set forth as a propitiatory sacrifice, through faith in his blood, in order to manifest his righteousness, in passing by the sins that were formerly committed through the forbearance of God;

For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

'Happy they whose lawless acts were forgiven, and whose sins were covered;

What then were the circumstances under which this took place? Was it after he had been circumcised, or before?

For if the heirs were by the law, faith has been made void, and the promise vitiated.

Therefore, the promise is based on faith, so that it may be a matter of grace and may be guaranteed for all of Abraham's descendants not only for those who were given the Law, but also for those who share the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.

(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Now the words "considered righteous [by God]" were not written for his sake only,

but they were written for our sake also, who will be considered righteous by God for believing in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

Seeing that, Christ, we being weak as yet, seasonably, in behalf of such as were ungodly, died.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

For, if being enemies we were reconciled unto God through the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those whose sins weren't like Adam's disobedience, who is a foreshadowing of him who was to come.

But there is a contrast between Adam's Offence and God's gracious Gift. For, if by reason of the offence of the one man the whole race died, far more were the loving-kindness of God, and the gift given in the loving-kindness of the one man, Jesus Christ, lavished upon the whole race.

So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned; even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life.

For, just as, through the disobedience of the one man, sinners, the many were constituted, so, also, through the obedience of the one, righteous, the many shall be constituted -

Now the law of Moses was introduced [into the world] in order to cause sin to increase [i.e., it defined many things to be wrong that were previously not regarded as sin]. But with the increase of sin, God's unearned favor increased all the more.

Or know ye not that, we, as many as were immersed into Christ Jesus, into his death were immersed?

We were, therefore, buried together with him through our immersion into his death, in order that - just as Christ was raised from among the dead through the glory of the Father, so, we also, in newness of life should walk.

considering this, that our vicious passions were crucified with him, that the body of sin being destroyed, we might not any longer be vassals to sin.

But thanks be unto God, that - whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient out of the heart unto the mould of teaching into which ye were delivered;

And, being freed from sin, ye were made servants unto righteousness; -

For, when ye were servants of sin, ye were free as to righteousness; -

what fruit, therefore, were ye having then, in the things of which ye are now ashamed? for the end of those is death.

So, then, my brethren, ye also, were made dead unto the law through the body of the Christ, to the end ye might become another's - his who from among the dead was raised, in order that we might bring forth fruit unto God.

For, when we were in the flesh, the susceptibilities of sins which were through the law, used to be energized in our members unto the bringing forth of fruit unto death;

But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet.

For what the law was not able to do [for mankind], since it was [too] weak [to deliver them from condemnation] because fleshly people [were unable to obey it perfectly], God condemned sin in the flesh [i.e., sin was declared evil and its power over man broken]. God did this by sending His own Son in a body like sinful man's, and to destroy sin,

who were not, by their own choice, expos'd to this uncertain state, but by virtue of him, who subjected them thereto:

For we know that the whole world groaneth, and doth as it were travail in pain together even to this day.

Now in this hope we were saved, yet hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees?

Because those of whom he had knowledge before they came into existence, were marked out by him to be made like his Son, so that he might be the first among a band of brothers:

And those who were marked out by him were named; and those who were named were given righteousness; and to those to whom he gave righteousness, in the same way he gave glory.

(according as it hath been written -- 'For Thy sake we are put to death all the day long, we were reckoned as sheep of slaughter,')

For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, the glory (Shekinah), the [special] covenants [with Abraham, Moses, and David], the giving of the Law, the [system of temple] worship, and the [original] promises.

That is, it is not merely the children born through natural descent who were regarded as God's children, but it is the children born through the promise who were regarded as descendants.

for before they were born, and had done neither good or evil, that the distinction which God had purposed to make might appear to be, not in consideration of their actions, but of his own free call,

For even before the twins were born, and therefore had not done anything good or bad, Rebecca was told [Gen. 25:23], "The older one [i.e., Esau] will serve the younger one [i.e., Jacob]." This was so that God's purpose of choosing and calling [whomever He wanted to] might prevail, instead of [it depending on] what a person did.

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:

Even us, who were marked out by him, not only from the Jews, but from the Gentiles?

As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.

And it will be in the place where they were told,
you are not My people,
there they will be called sons of the living God.

And Isaiah declares about [the nation of] Israel [Isa. 10:22-23], "[Even] if the number of Israelites were [as many] as the grains of sand in the ocean, [still only] a small minority will be saved.

Even as Isaiah says in an earlier place, "Were it not that the Lord, the God of Hosts, had left us some few descendants, we should have become like Sodom, and have come to resemble Gomorrah."

What, then, shall we say? That, they of the nations, who were not in pursuit of righteousness, have laid hold of righteousness, - a righteousness, however, which is by faith;

But that the descendants of Israel, who were in pursuit of a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law?

Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

For they were ignorant of God's way of right standing and were trying to set up one of their own, and so would not surrender to God's way of right standing.

But they were not all obedient to the good tidings, for Isaiah saith, 'Lord, who did give credence to our report?'

Isaiah, however, waxeth daring, and saith, - I have been found by them who after me were not seeking, manifest have I become unto them who for me were not enquiring;

But about Israel he says; All the day my hands have been stretched out to a people whose hearts were turned away, and who put themselves against my word.

If it be of grace, then is it not of works. For then were grace no more grace. If it be by the deserving of works, then is it no more grace. For then were deserving no longer deserving.

What then? Israel did not find what it was looking for, but the elect did find it. The rest were hardened,

as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of slumber, eyes that were not to see, and ears that were not to hear, unto this day."

You will say then, "were they suffer'd to stumble meerly for their ruin?" no: but that thro' their fall, salvation might be offer'd to the Gentiles, in order to provoke their emulation.

But I am speaking to you who were Gentiles.

For if their [present] rejection [of salvation] is for the reconciliation of the world [to God], what will their acceptance [of salvation] be but [nothing less than] life from the dead?

Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich root of the cultivated olive tree,

Thou wilt say, then - Branches were broken out in order that, I, might he grafted in.

True enough; they were broken off by unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.

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 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?

For as ye in time past were disobedient to God, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience,

even also these were now disobedient, in order that through the mercy shown to you they themselves may now also obtain mercy.

Let every soul be placed under the protecting powers. For there is no power except from God: and the powers being, were ordered by God.

Let us walk honestly as it were in the daylight: not in eating and drinking: neither in chambering and wantonness: neither in strife and envying:

for we neither live, nor die, as if we were our own masters.

For Christ did not give pleasure to himself, but, as it is said, The bitter words of those who were angry with you came on me.

Now those things which were put down in writing before our time were for our learning, so that through quiet waiting and through the comfort of the holy Writings we might have hope.

but, as the Scripture says: "They will see who were never told of Him, and they will understand who have not heard."

for Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

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.

Give my love to Andronicus and Junia, my relations, who were in prison with me, who are noted among the Apostles, and who were in Christ before me.