¹Paul, a slave of Jesus the Anointed One, who’s called an Apostle and was set aside for the good news of God ²that He promised through His Prophets in the Holy Scriptures, ³which tell about His Son who came in the flesh from the offspring of David, ⁴and who proved to be God’s Son in a powerful way when he (by Holy Breath) was resurrected from the dead… Yes, Jesus the Anointed One and our Lord, ⁵through whom we’ve received loving care and a commission that we’ve obeyed so that the gentiles might also believe in his name ⁶and be called, [that they too might] belong to the Anointed Jesus.⁷To all those in Rome that are loved by God and have a holy calling:May you have favor and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus, the Anointed!⁸First, I thank my God for all of you through the Anointed Jesus, because your faith is being announced throughout the whole world!⁹For my God (who appointed me to use my breath in service to the good news about His Son) is my Witness that I never fail to mention you in my prayers.¹⁰I keep begging that I might find a way (as it is God’s Will) to come to you sometime... ¹¹For I long to see you so that I might be able to give you some spiritual gift that would make you unshakable… ¹²Or perhaps we could encourage each other through our faith (both yours and mine).¹³I don’t want you to fail to recognize this, brothers:I planned to come to you many times, but I’ve been prevented from doing so until now... So that I could find the same type of fruitage that I have in you among the rest of the gentiles ¹⁴(the Greeks and the barbarians, the wise and the ignorant… All those to whom I’m indebted).¹⁵Yet I’m also still eager to preach the good news to you there in Rome.¹⁶I’m not ashamed of the good news, because it’s the power that God uses to save everyone who has faith… First the Jews, and then the Greeks.¹⁷For God’s righteous ways are revealed in the faith of the faithful.Notice that it is written:‘It’s by their faith that the righteous will live.’ [Habakkuk 2:4]¹⁸However, God’s rage is also being displayed from the heavens against all the ungodly and bad people who unrighteously try to resist the truth.¹⁹For everything that can be known about God already shines among them, because God made it shine among them!²⁰Indeed, His invisible qualities can be seen in everything that He’s made since the creation of the cosmos... And when they understand these things that clearly demonstrate His eternal power and might, it leaves them without any excuse!²¹But even though they already know God, they don’t glorify Him as God or give thanks to Him.Therefore, their thoughts are wasted and their foolish hearts are darkened.²²And while they claim to be wise, they’ve become morons... ²³Since they’ve turned the glory of the incorruptible God into images of corruptible men, or of flying creatures, or of four-footed creatures, or of things that slither... ²⁴So God is allowing them the uncleanness that their hearts have desired so as to dishonor their bodies.²⁵Yes, they’ve exchanged the truth of God for a lie – and they’ve started worshiping and serving things that were created, rather than the One who created them… The One who’s to be praised throughout the ages!Amen!²⁶Therefore, this is why God has abandoned them to their dishonorable passions; for their females have changed the natural use of themselves into something that’s unnatural, ²⁷and the same is true of their males…They’ve left the natural use of females and started burning in their lust towards each other – males with males – doing what’s indecent and receiving the ‘reward’ that they deserve for such wrongdoing.²⁸Yes, because they don’t approve of coming to an accurate knowledge of The God, He’s given them depraved minds, which make them do these wrong things.²⁹So they’ve become filled with unrighteousness, wickedness, greediness, badness, envy, murder, arguing, deceitfulness, rudeness, and gossip.³⁰[They’re] slanderers, God haters, insolent, proud, braggarts, inventors of badness, disobedient to parents, ³¹without any understanding, and agreement-breakers that are without any natural love or mercy!³²So even though they know the righteous judgments of God very well (that those who do such things deserve death); they not only keep on doing them, but they also approve of others who do such things!

¹Therefore, you’re defenseless, O man, if you’re someone who judges others!For when you judge others you’re condemning yourselves, since you’re doing the very same things that you judge [to be wrong in them]… ²And we know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is righteous.³So when you judge those who do the things that you’re also doing, do you think that you’ll somehow escape God’s judgment? ⁴Or are you taking the loving care, the patience, and the tolerance that He’s shown towards you for granted?What you should really understand is that these [fine] qualities of God are just trying to lead you towards repentance!⁵But now, because of your hard and unrepentant hearts, you’re storing away a treasure of rage upon yourselves that [will come] in the day of fury – when the righteous decisions of God will be seen ⁶and He...‘...pays everyone back for the things they’ve been doing.’ [Psalm 62:12]⁷Now, those who do good things are searching for age-long life, as well as glory, honor, and incorruption.⁸But for the ones who like to argue and disobey the truth by being unrighteous, there’ll just be wrath, anger, ⁹and some very hard times!Yes, this is what’ll come into the lives of all those who work at doing what’s bad (to the Jews first and then to the Greeks).¹⁰However, there’ll be glory, honor, and peace for all those who are working at doing what’s good (for the Jews first and then for the Greeks), ¹¹because God makes no distinction between them!¹²Indeed, all people who are without the [Jewish] Law [of Moses] and are sinning, will perish without the Law... While those who are under the Law, and still sin, are condemned by the Law!¹³For God doesn’t consider anyone righteous who just listens to the Law… Only those who obey the Law will be found righteous.¹⁴However, when people of the nations who don’t have the [Jewish] Law naturally obey things in the Law, they not only have the Law, they are the Law!¹⁵For when they’re obeying the Laws, they show that it’s written in their hearts and it’s working with their consciences, which examine their thoughts.So it’s [their own hearts] that will either accuse them or defend them ¹⁶in the Day that God judges the hidden things of men (by this good news that I’m preaching through the Anointed Jesus).¹⁷So if you’re called ‘a Jew’ and you’re resting on the Law and taking pride in your God... ¹⁸And if you understand His Will and all the excellent instructions of the Law... ¹⁹And you consider yourself to be a guide to the blind and a light to those in darkness ²⁰(that you’re someone who can instruct the unreasonable and teach babies)... And if you fully grasp all the knowledge and truth in the Law…²¹Well then, do you, who are teaching others, also teach yourselves?Do you who preach, Don’t steal, steal?
²²Do you who teach, Don’t commit adultery, commit adultery?
Do you who teach others to be disgusted with idols, rob temples?
²³Do you who teach others pride in [God’s] Laws, dishonor God by breaking the Law?²⁴For it’s written:‘God’s Name is being blasphemed among the nations because of you people!’ [Isaiah 52:5, LXX]²⁵Of course, circumcision is good… That is, as long as you’re obeying the Law.But if you’re a person who breaks the Law, then your circumcision has really become uncircumcision.²⁶However, if an uncircumcised person obeys the righteous requirements of the Law... Won’t his uncircumcision be considered circumcision?²⁷Therefore, if those who are uncircumcised obey the Law naturally (except for what it says about being circumcised), they’re really judging those of you who break the Law!²⁸As you can see, being a Jew isn’t something that’s visible, for [true] circumcision isn’t something that can be seen in the flesh.²⁹Rather, being a Jew is something that’s inside of you, since circumcision comes from the spirit of the heart, not from something that’s written…It’s not there to be praised by men, but by God!

¹So in what way is a Jew superior, or of what benefit is circumcision?²It’s really a huge benefit in every way!For God entrusted His Word to the hands [of the circumcised]. ³And if some [of them] don’t believe; does their lack of faith prove that faith in God is worthless?⁴May that never happen! Rather, let God be proven true even if that makes every man a liar!As it is written:‘So, Your decisions are righteous, And in Your judgments, You’ve proven just.’ [Psalm 51:4, LXX]⁵However, if our unrighteousness [is exposed by] God’s righteousness... What can we say?Then God won’t be wrong when He brings His wrath, will He?So I’m saying this to everyone:⁶May that never happen! Otherwise, how could God judge the world?⁷But if I should tell a lie, and that makes the truth of God more abundant, to His glory... Then why am I still judged as a sinner?⁸Well, it’s [because you’re doing such things] that people aren’t only slandering us, they’re proving that some of us are saying:‘Let’s do bad things so that good things can happen.’And this is why such a condemnation is so well deserved!⁹Is there anything that makes us [Jews] better than [gentiles]?No, not at all... For we’ve proven to you that both Jews and Greeks are sinners!¹⁰As it’s written:‘No one is righteous… No not one!’ [Psalm 14:1, LXX]¹¹‘For there’s no one who truly understands And no one is searching for God, ¹²Since all have strayed and are useless. Also, no one is kind… No not one!’ [paraphrase of Psalm 51:2-3, LXX]¹³‘For their throats are like open graves; With their tongues, they practice deceit.’ [Psalm 5:9]‘And the poison of asps is under their lips.’ [Psalm 140:3]¹⁴‘With cursing and shouting, Their mouths have been filled.’ [Psalm 10:7, LXX]¹⁵‘And their feet are ready to go and spill blood. ¹⁶In their swath, is misery and destruction; ¹⁷The road to peace, they’ve not known.’ [Isaiah 59:7-8, LXX]¹⁸‘For, in their eyes, there’s no fear of God.’ [Psalm 36:1]¹⁹Now, we know that everything that was said in the Law was meant for just those who are under the Law… For it stopped every mouth and proved the whole world to be deserving of God’s punishment.²⁰But nobody’s going to be righteous before Him just by obeying the [Jewish] Law... Since all the Law did was help us to understand what sin is.²¹Therefore, even the absence of the Law is revealing the righteousness of God… Yes, the Law and the Prophets all testified to this!²²So this is why the righteousness of God is now coming to all those who believe and are showing their faith in Jesus the Anointed One!And it’s why there’s no longer any difference between us, ²³since we’ve all sinned and failed to live up to God’s glory.²⁴Understand that being called ‘righteous’ is just a gift that [God] kindly gives to us through the ransom that was paid by the Anointed Jesus.²⁵For God sent him here as a sin offering — so that when we have faith in his blood, the sins that we committed ²⁶(back when God was just tolerating us) can be forgiven.^[Syr]And this is what allows us to look into His righteous ways today… For He proves Himself righteous by calling [all] those who have faith in Jesus, ‘righteous!’²⁷So, where is our reason [as Jews] for boasting?It’s gone!Does it come from obeying the [Jewish] Law?No! It comes through the Law of Faith... ²⁸Since we believe that a man is called ‘righteous’ because of his faith, not by following the works of the [Jewish] Law!²⁹[Therefore, do you think that our God is] only the God of the Jews? And that He’s not also [the God of] the gentiles?[Yes, He’s the God] of the gentiles also!³⁰So God is really the One who calls both the circumcised and the uncircumcised ‘righteous’ because of their faith.³¹Then, can we say that our faith overrides the Law?Never may that happen! Rather, [our faith] makes the Law stronger!

¹For example:Consider our fleshly ancestor AbraHam.²If [God] had called AbraHam ‘righteous’ because of the things that he did, [AbraHam] might have had a reason to boast [about himself]… And not to God.³What do the Scriptures say?‘AbraHam was counted as righteous... Because he believed in The God.’ [Genesis 15:6]⁴Remember that when a man works [for a living], his getting paid isn’t thought of as a kindness… It’s something that he’s owed!⁵However, those who don’t actually do anything –other than just believe in the One who calls the ungodly ones ‘righteous’— are still counted as righteous because of their faith!⁶Notice that David also spoke of how blest a man is if God has counted him as righteous despite [all the bad things] he’s done.[For he wrote]:⁷‘Blest are those forgiven for their lawless ways And those whose sins He’s covered… ⁸Blest are those in whom He has found no sin!’ [Psalm 32:1-2, LXX]⁹So, doesn’t this ‘blessing’ apply to both the circumcised and the uncircumcised?Indeed, we’ve been saying that AbraHam was counted as righteous because of his faith... ¹⁰And just what was [AbraHam’s] situation when [God] thought of him that way?Was this before he was circumcised or after he was circumcised?It wasn’t after he was circumcised! It was while he was uncircumcised!¹¹For the sign that he received (circumcision) was a seal of the righteousness that he demonstrated before he was circumcised!Yes, He became the Father of those who have faith while they’re still uncircumcised, so that they too can be counted as righteous.¹²He’s also the Father of the circumcised who aren’t just circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the same faith that our father AbraHam had prior to circumcision.¹³Indeed, AbraHam and his descendants weren’t given the promise of inheriting the world because of the [Jewish] Law, but because of their righteous faith!¹⁴For if [you could] become heirs through [obeying] the [Jewish] Law, then faith really has no value... And the promise [given to AbraHam] is worthless!¹⁵For the Law brings wrath... And where there’s no law, there’s nothing to break.¹⁶So, because we believe in [God’s] loving care, we must also believe that the promise applies to all who are [AbraHam’s] descendants... And not just those who are under the [Jewish] Law… But all those who have the same faith as AbraHam, and he’s the father of us all!¹⁷Just as it’s written:‘I’ve appointed you to be the father of many nations.’ [Genesis 17:5]He’s our father, standing before The God in whom he believed… The One who makes the dead alive and calls the things that aren’t and makes them exist.¹⁸So although [AbraHam] really didn’t have any reason for hope, he started to believe that he’d become the father of many nations – for he was told:‘They’ll be your offspring.’ [Genesis 15:5]¹⁹Even though his body was almost dead (since he was 100 years old), and the womb of SarAh was dead, this failed to weaken his faith – ²⁰because it was promised to him by The God he trusted in!So his faith was strengthened by something that was unbelievable, and he glorified God!²¹For [AbraHam] was completely convinced that [God] could do whatever He promised. ²²And this is why...‘It was counted to him as righteousness.’ [Genesis 15:6]²³Now the words, ‘it was counted to him’ weren’t just written for his sake, ²⁴but for the sake of everybody whom [God] thinks of in the same way today… Those who believe in the One who raised our Lord Jesus from the dead!²⁵For after he’d been offered up for our errors, he was then raised... All so we can be counted as righteous too!

¹So, now that we’ve been declared righteous because of our faith, let’s enjoy the peace that we have with God through our Lord Jesus the Anointed One!²For it’s through him that we have this faith and are able to bask in his loving care.Therefore, let’s boast about this hope [that we have] to the Glory of God.³And let’s also boast about the difficulties that we’re suffering, because we know that these difficulties are giving us endurance…
⁴The endurance to pass the tests…
And passing the tests gives us a hope ⁵that’ll never embarrass us, because it pours God’s love into our hearts via [this] Holy Breath that He’s giving to us.⁶For a fact, the Anointed One came right on time – and he died for ungodly men back when we were still weak!⁷Although few would be willing to die for the righteous, and even fewer would be willing to die for the good... ⁸God showed His love for us through the Anointed One, who died for us while we were still sinners!⁹Now, since we’ve been called righteous by [Jesus’] blood... Isn’t it even more likely that he will save us from [God’s] wrath?¹⁰Because, if we found God’s favor through the death of His Son while we were still His enemies... How much more will we be saved by His [Son’s] life now that He [has shown how much He] cares for us!¹¹And not only that – but now, through our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, we’re also glorifying The God who’s granted us this privilege.¹²Understand that sin entered the world through one man, and that sin resulted in death.So by this [one] sin, death was passed on to all men and they’ve all sinned.¹³Therefore, even before the [Jewish] Law arrived [in the time of Moses], there was sin in the world… However, sin isn’t counted [against us] when there’s no law to break. ¹⁴But despite that, death still reigned from [the time of] Adam down to Moses – even over those who hadn’t sinned in the same wrong way that Adam had sinned…But he[, that is, Adam] was a prototype of the one who was to come.¹⁵Now, the sin [of Adam] can’t be compared to the gift [from God].For if death came to many because of the wrongdoing of one man... How much more has the loving-care of God and His gift (the loving care of one man, Jesus the Anointed One) come in abundance to so many!¹⁶This true gift didn’t come from the one who’d sinned[, that is, Adam]… Indeed, his judgment was just condemnation. However, [God’s] gift is [making] many errors become righteousness.¹⁷So, if death did in fact come to rule through that one error... How much greater is the abundance of the gift of righteousness, and the receiving of life, that will come to rule through the loving care of that one – Jesus the Anointed.¹⁸Also, since the result of one error was to condemn all mankind... Then through this one righteous act, everyone can be counted righteous so they can live!¹⁹And as the disobedience of one man caused many to become sinners... Through the obedience of this one [man], many will also be counted as righteous!²⁰Understand that the Law came along so as to show up many errors.However, where there are many sins, there’s a superabundance of loving-care that can be shown.²¹Therefore, just as sin has reigned and brought death, [God’s] loving care will bring a righteous rule and age-long life through our Lord Jesus the Anointed.

¹So, what can we say… Should we remain sinners so there can be more [of His] loving care?²May that never happen!For if we’ve died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?³Don’t you know that all who were immersed into the Anointed Jesus were also immersed into his death?⁴Therefore, since we were buried with the Anointed One by our immersion into his death... Just as he was raised from among the dead by the glory of the Father, we should be walking in a new way of life!⁵Also, if we’ve been buried with him into the same type of death, then, [just like him], we too will be resurrected.⁶However, we must recognize that the person we used to be was executed with [him] to bring an end to our sinful bodies… Which means that we shouldn’t be slaves to sin anymore!⁷For anyone who’s dead is free from sin!⁸And if we believe that we’ve already ‘died’ with the Anointed One, then we’ll be alive with him also.⁹For we know that the Anointed One has been raised from the dead and that he won’t die again. Therefore, death isn’t his master anymore.¹⁰So when he died, he died for sins once and for all time… And now he’s alive and he’s living to The God!¹¹And in the same way, you should also consider yourselves ‘dead’ when it comes to sin, but alive to The God through the Anointed Jesus.¹²This is why you shouldn’t allow sin to rule your mortal bodies anymore, and why you shouldn’t obey its desires…¹³You should no longer offer your body parts to serve as unrighteous weapons of sin!Rather, you should offer yourselves to God as people who’ve been brought ‘back to life’ from ‘the dead,’ and [you should offer] your body parts to God as weapons of righteousness!¹⁴Indeed, sin must not be your master… For you aren’t under the [Jewish] Law, you’re under [God’s] loving care.¹⁵So if we’re no longer under the [Jewish] Law, but under [God’s] loving care, does this mean that we can just keep on sinning?May that never be so!¹⁶Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to obey someone as a slave, you’ve become that person’s slave?[So you’re] either [a slave] to sin, which results in death, or [a slave] to obedience, which results in righteousness.¹⁷Thank God that, although you used to be slaves to sin, your hearts have started to obey this teaching that you were given, ¹⁸which has set you free from sin and made you slaves to righteousness!¹⁹I’m going to put this in simple terms because of your fleshly weaknesses...Just as you once offered your body parts as unclean slaves to immorality and Law-breaking, you must now offer your body parts as slaves to righteousness and holiness!²⁰For back when you were slaves to sin, you were free from any righteousness. ²¹And what was the result of the things [you did] back then?Aren’t these the very things that you’re so ashamed of now?And these are the things that lead to death!²²But now that you’ve been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, you can receive holiness and age-long life.²³For the wage [paid by] sin is death, while God’s gift is age-long life through the Anointed Jesus, our Lord.

¹Are you ignorant, brothers?I’m telling those of you who know the [Jewish] Law that the [Jewish] Law is a man’s master for as long as he’s alive!²This is the same situation as with a wife that’s bound to the law of her husband for as long as he’s alive. However, after he dies, she’s no longer under his law.³So, although she’d be condemned as an adulteress if she ever became another man’s wife while her husband is still alive... After he dies, she’s free from his law – and she isn’t an adulteress if she marries someone else.⁴So my brothers:You died to the Law through the body of the Anointed One, and now you belong to someone else!You’ve been ‘raised from the dead’ so that you can now produce fruitage for God!⁵Because, while you were fleshly, what the Law labels as sinful passions were working within you, and the fruitage they produced was death.⁶But now that you’ve been set free from the Law (because you’ve died to the thing that held you down), you can become slaves to something new…To a newness of spirit, and not to some old writings anymore!⁷So what should we say… That the Law is sinful?May that never be true!For I’d never have known what sin was, were it not for the Law.For example, I wouldn’t have known what envy was – if it weren’t the Law that said:‘You must not envy.’ [Exodus 20:17]⁸However, when I learned about this sin from the Commandment, it created every sort of envy [in me]. Yet before the Law arrived, [this wasn’t] a sin.⁹Actually, I once lived without the Law... But after I came under its Commandments, sin came to life and I ‘died.’¹⁰Therefore, I found that the Commandments that were supposed to lead me to life, led me to death… ¹¹For the sins that I learned about in the Commandments seduced me and killed me.¹²Nevertheless, the Law and the Commandments are still holy, righteous, and good.¹³So what was it that killed me?Was it the thing that was good for me?May that never be true!Rather, it is the sin –when it was exposed as sin by what’s good for me– that [led me to] death… For the Commandments abundantly show that sin is condemned!^[Syr]14And this is because the Law is spiritual, while I’m fleshly and sold into sin.¹⁵So I really didn’t understand what I was doing… For I didn’t do the things that I wanted to do, and I didn’t like the things I was doing.¹⁶And despite the fact that I still do what I don’t want to do, I say that the [Jewish] Law is good.¹⁷Even though I’m no longer under [the Jewish Law], sin is still dwelling within me.¹⁸Now I know that nothing that’s dwelling within me (in this flesh) is any good... For even though I want to do what’s right, I don’t always have the will to do it!¹⁹So I don’t do the good things that I want to do... I still do bad things.²⁰Therefore, if I’m doing things that I don’t want to do, I’m really not in charge [of my body]… The sin that dwells there is!²¹So although I want to obey the [Jewish] Law and do good things, badness is always here with me.²²And even though the man who I am on the inside really enjoys the Law of God... ²³My body parts are obeying a different law – and they’re at war with the law of my mind! They drag me into the laws of sin that are there in my body parts.²⁴O what a miserable person I am!Who’ll save me from this dying body?²⁵But thanks to God (through our Lord Jesus the Anointed), even though I’m a slave to sin’s law in my flesh, I’m still a slave to God’s Law in my mind!

¹Understand that there’s nothing that can condemn those who are in the Anointed Jesus (those who are walking in the ways of the Spirit, not [in the ways of] the flesh), ²because the law of the Spirit of Life that’s in the Anointed Jesus didn’t come from the Law of sin and death.³So the weakness of the [Jewish] Law is just the weakness of the flesh... And by sending His Son over this matter of sin (in what appeared to be sinful flesh), God condemned the sins of the flesh ⁴so that the righteous requirements of the [Jewish] Law could be fulfilled in those of us who aren’t obeying the flesh, but the Spirit.⁵For fleshly people just think about fleshly things, while spiritual people [think about] spiritual things.⁶Indeed, the thoughts of the flesh bring death, while the thoughts of the Spirit bring life and peace. ⁷And obeying the flesh brings God’s rejection, because [the flesh] isn’t under God’s Law, nor can it ever be!⁸Therefore, those who follow fleshly ways can never be pleasing to God.⁹However, if God’s Breath is living in us, we’re no longer fleshly, but spiritual… And those who don’t have the spirit of the Anointed One don’t belong to him.¹⁰So if the Anointed One is truly within you, your body is indeed ‘dead’ to sin – and his spirit is making you ‘alive’ through righteousness.¹¹As a result, if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the One who raised the Anointed Jesus from the dead will also make your dying bodies alive through His Breath that’s in you.¹²So brothers... Since we don’t owe anything to the flesh, we shouldn’t be following fleshly [ways]!¹³For if you’re living according to the flesh, you’re intending to die – but if, through [God’s] Breath, you’re willing to destroy the deeds of the body, you’ll live!¹⁴Indeed, all who are led by God’s Breath are Sons of God!¹⁵[And because of this,] you didn’t receive a spirit of bondage to fear again; rather, you received a spirit of adoption, through which you can now call out, ‘Papa! Father!’¹⁶This is the same Spirit that testifies to the spirit within us that we’re God’s children…¹⁷And if we’re [His] children, then we’re also [His] heirs…Yes, heirs of God, and heirs along with the Anointed One!However, we’ll all have to suffer together so we can all be glorified together.¹⁸And I don’t believe that the sufferings we’re currently enduring amount to much when they’re compared to the glory that’s going to be revealed in us.¹⁹Indeed, [all] creation is awaiting and earnestly expecting the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰For His creations were never willingly subjected to futility. Rather, they were subjected to it by the Will of the One who gave us the hope that ²¹all creation will soon be set free from bondage to decay, and then [we can] enter the glorious freedom of the children of God!²²For we know that all creation has been groaning and in birth pains until now.²³And it isn’t alone... Since even those of us who’ve received the first fruitage of [God’s] Breath groan within ourselves as we await the adoption and the [payment of] the ransom that will free our bodies.²⁴Yes, this is the hope that’s saving us!Now, when you hope for something that you can see, that really isn’t hope… Because people don’t hope for something that they can already see.²⁵However, if we keep on hoping for something that we haven’t seen, we’ll continue to patiently wait for it.²⁶And now we have the [Holy] Breath that’s helping us with our weaknesses, because we don’t always know what we should even be praying for!Yet the Spirit is always there, groaning the words [that we] haven’t spoken.²⁷And the One who searches hearts knows the thoughts of the Spirit; because it’s praying on behalf of the holy ones, according to God’s will.²⁸We know that God makes everything work together for the good of those who love Him (those who’ve been called to do His will).²⁹For He recognized them ahead of time and chose them to become like His Son, who was the firstborn of many brothers!³⁰So He calls all He chooses, He makes all He chooses righteous, And He glorifies all He makes righteous!³¹Therefore, what can we say about all of this?If God is over us, who can come down on us?³²And since He didn’t even spare His Son but handed him over for all of our sakes... Then why shouldn’t [we believe that] He will also give us everything else?³³For who can accuse those who’ve been chosen by God?Yes, if God has declared us to be righteous, ³⁴who can condemn us?So, since we now have the Anointed Jesus, who died, was raised from the dead, and is at God’s right hand pleading our case... ³⁵What can ever take us away from the love of the Anointed One?Not hard times, nor difficulties, nor distress, nor persecution, nor hunger, nor nakedness, nor danger or even swords!³⁶It was written:‘We’re being killed all day long for Your sake, We’re thought of as sheep to be slaughtered!’ [Psalm 44:22]³⁷However, through this One who loves us, we’ve conquered everything else!³⁸For I’m convinced that neither death, nor life, nor [spirit] messengers, nor governments, nor things that are happening or will happen, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to take us away from God’s love that’s in the Anointed Jesus, our Lord!

¹In the name of the Anointed One, I’m telling you this as the truth (no, I’m not lying).For my conscience testifies with me in Holy Breath ²that I’m extremely sad and constantly sick at heart, ³because I wish that I could be the one who’s cursed by being separated from the Anointed One – instead of my brothers and fleshly relatives, the IsraElites.⁴For the adoption as sons, the glory, the Sacred Agreement, the Law, the worship, and the promises all belong to these ones. ⁵They’re the ones [who descended] from the forefathers, and the ones the Anointed One [came] through, in the flesh…Yes, praise God who’s over it all throughout the ages!May it be so!⁶However, God’s Word hasn’t failed in this, because not all who came from [the man] IsraEl are really [sons of] IsraEl, ⁷nor are AbraHam’s descendants his only children.Even though [it’s written],‘That which will be called your descendant will come through IsaAc...’ [Genesis 21:12]⁸[IsaAc’s] fleshly children aren’t all of the children of God… For the children of the promise are that descendant.⁹Notice the promise that [AbraHam] was given:‘I’ll return at this time and SarAh will have a son.’ [Genesis 18:14]¹⁰And this isn’t the only occasion. For when Rebecca was pregnant with twins from our forefather IsaAc, ¹¹and before they were born or did anything good or bad (just to show that God’s purposes don’t depend on the things we do, but on the One who does the choosing), ¹²she was told:‘The older will be the younger [one’s] slave.’ [Genesis 25:23]¹³And it was written:‘I loved Jacob, but I didn’t care for Esau.’ [Malachi 1:2-3]¹⁴So what can we say?Is God unjust?May that never be true!¹⁵But he told Moses:‘I’ll show mercy upon whomever I choose to show mercy, and pity upon whomever I choose to feel pity.’ [Exodus 33:19]¹⁶So it doesn’t depend on the one who does the wishing, nor upon the one who does the running, but on the mercy of God!¹⁷For the Scriptures say that He told the PharaOh:‘The reason why I raised you is so that I can show My powers through you, and to have My Name announced throughout the whole earth!’ [Exodus 9:16, LXX]¹⁸So the [point is this]:He shows mercy on whomever He wishes to show mercy, And He hardens [the hearts] of whomever He wishes.¹⁹Therefore, you might ask:‘Then why does [God] find fault with anyone who resists His plans?’²⁰O man, who are you to question God?Will the thing that’s made ask its maker,‘Why did you make me like this?’ [possible quote from Isaiah 29:16]²¹For isn’t the potter in charge of his clay? And can’t he make one pot for an honorable use, and another for a dishonorable use? [And all] from the same lump [of clay]?²²Therefore, God can choose to show His rage and make His power known through whatever pottery He’s had to endure.And if He made it for His rage, then it’s only fit to be destroyed!²³But He can also show the richness of His glory upon the pots of mercy that He’s prepared ahead of time for glory… ²⁴Those among us whom He’s called, not just from among the Jews, but also from among the gentiles!²⁵It’s just like He said in Hosea:‘I’ll call those who aren’t My people, My people, And the one I didn’t love, My loved one.’ [Hosea 2:23]²⁶And:‘In those places where they were told, ‘You’re not My people,’ They’ll be called, The Living God’s sons!’ [Hosea 1:10]²⁷Yet, IsaiAh shouted this about IsraEl:‘The people of IsraEl will then grow to be as many as the sands of the seas from the few that survive.’ [Isaiah 10:22-23, LXX]²⁸For whatever Jehovah has established and decided regarding this land he will carry out!^[Syr]29IsaiAh also prophesied:‘If Jehovah of armies hadn’t left us an offspring, We would’ve become just like Sodom And the same as GomorRah.’ [Isaiah 1:9, LXX]³⁰So this is why we can say that gentiles became righteous (although they weren’t trying to be righteous) with the [kind of] righteousness that comes from faith, ³¹while IsraEl, which was following a righteous Law, just didn’t make it!³²And why was that so?Because [IsraEl] didn’t look for it in faith, but in the things that they were doing… They tripped over the ‘stumbling stone.’³³As it’s written:‘{Look!} I’m laying in Zion, A stone... (of stumbling, and a rock of offense [Isaiah 8:14 DSS+MS]) And those trusting in him, Will never be shamed.’ [Isaiah 28:16 LXX; see note]

¹Therefore brothers,The goodwill that I feel in my heart for [the Jews], and what I beg God for, is for them to be saved!²For I can swear to the fact that, although they have a zeal for God, they still don’t know [Him]... ³And since they don’t understand God’s righteous ways, and they’re always trying to prove their own ways to be righteous, they’re unwilling to submit to God’s righteousness.⁴However, the Anointed One fulfilled the Law so that he could bring righteousness to those who have faith.⁵Notice that Moses wrote:‘You must follow all My rules and all My decisions… Yes, follow them in such a way [that you learn to] live by them.’ [Leviticus 18:5]⁶Yet, righteousness that’s based on faith says that you shouldn’t ask yourself, ‘Who could ascend into the heavens (to bring the Anointed One down)?’ ⁷or, ‘Who could descend into the abyss (to bring the Anointed One up from the dead)?’ [a reference to Deuteronomy 30:11-13]⁸No, what does it say? That the words are close to you; they’re in your mouths and in your hearts. [a reference to Deuteronomy 30:14]And these are the words of faith that we’re preaching!⁹So if you confess and say the words in your mouths that Jesus is Lord, and if you truly believe in your hearts that God raised him from the dead, you’ll be saved!¹⁰For heart-felt faith [moves you to] righteousness, and your mouth’s confession of this [leads you to] salvation.¹¹And the Scriptures tell us:‘Those who believe in him will never be shamed.’ [Isaiah 28:16, LXX]¹²Therefore, there’s really no difference between Jews or Greeks, because we all have the same Lord, and he provides abundantly for all those who call on him.¹³Therefore:‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!’ [Joel 2:32]¹⁴However, how will they call on someone in whom they don’t believe?How will they believe in someone of whom they’ve never heard?How will they hear without someone to preach?¹⁵And how will they preach if they aren’t sent?This is why it was written:‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news about good things!’ [Isaiah 52:7]¹⁶Yet, not everyone will obey the good news; for notice that IsaiAh asked:‘Who has trusted our report of the Lord?’ [Isaiah 53:1]¹⁷So, faith comes from hearing… That is, by hearing the things that the Anointed [One] said!¹⁸So now I ask, didn’t they hear? Yes, they did!‘The call has gone throughout the whole earth… In fact, the words have reached to the ends of the earth!’ [Psalm 19:4, LXX]¹⁹So, I’m asking why doesn’t IsraEl already know? Well, Moses first told them:‘I’ll provoke you to jealousy with those who are not [of your] nation, and anger you with those who don’t understand.’ [Deuteronomy 32:21, LXX]²⁰Then IsaiAh dared [to write]:‘I was seen by those not searching for Me, And found by those not asking for Me. I said, ‘Here I am,’ to a nation, That has never called on My Name.’ [Isaiah 65:1]²¹And he went on to say this regarding IsraEl:‘I’ve held out My hands all day long, To a people who will just not listen, And to those who prefer to talk back.’ [Isaiah 65:2, LXX]

¹So let me ask: Has God pushed His people away?May that never be so!I’m also an IsraElite…I’m the descendant of AbraHam, of the tribe of BenJamin, ²and God hasn’t rejected these people whom He knew first!Don’t you remember what the scriptures tell us about what EliJah said as he was pleading with God about IsraEl?³[He said]:‘O Jehovah; they’ve killed Your prophets, they’ve dug up Your Altars, and I’m the only one left… And now they’re seeking my life!’ [paraphrase of 1 Kings 19:10, 14]⁴And what was [God’s] reply?He said:‘I’ve kept 7,000 people for Myself that haven’t bent a knee to BaAl.’ [1 Kings 19:18]⁵So the same thing is true today, for there are still some left over, who through [His] loving care, are being chosen.⁶However, [receiving] His loving care doesn’t come to them just because they’re [obeying the Law]! For if it did, His loving care wouldn’t really be loving care. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace; otherwise work is no more work. [spurious words]⁷So what happened to IsraEl?Well, not all of them received the things that they were seeking…Just the ones who’d been chosen from among them received it, while the rest just became more obstinate, yes, ⁸just as it’s written, God gave them a spirit to slumber so that their eyes haven’t seen, and that their ears haven’t heard – down to this very day! [a reference to places like Deuteronomy 29:4 or Isaiah 29:10]⁹David also said:‘Let their table be a snare, trip lever, and trap As retribution upon them. ¹⁰Let their eyes grow dim, so they can’t see, And their backs forever bent double.’ [Psalm 69:22-23, LXX]¹¹So I ask:Did they stumble so [badly that] they couldn’t be raised [again]?May that never be so!However, they’ve been missing out as the gentiles were being saved, in order to make them jealous.¹²But if their missing out has enriched the world, and if their failures have enriched the gentiles... How much more will result when they’re included?¹³Now I want to address those of you who are gentiles:Since I’m really an Apostle to the gentiles, I can make my service even more glorious ¹⁴if I can somehow make those who are my own flesh[, that is, the Jews] jealous and bring some of them to salvation.¹⁵Because, if throwing them away will restore the world’s relationship [with God], then what will receiving them back again mean, other than life for those who are ‘dead?’¹⁶For if the first fruits [can be made] holy, [then the rest of the crop will also be holy]… And if the roots are holy, so are the branches!¹⁷Therefore, if some of the branches were broken off so that you ‘wild olives’ could be grafted in, you’ve become sharers in the fatness of that olive [tree’s] roots.¹⁸So, don’t start cheering because those branches [were removed]... For if you find yourselves doing that, remember that you aren’t supporting the roots, they’re supporting you!¹⁹Yes, you could, in fact, say, ‘The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in’… ²⁰And that’s a fact!They were broken off because they lacked faith, and you’ve taken their places because you have faith. But don’t think too much of yourselves… Be afraid!²¹For if God didn’t spare the natural branches, He doesn’t have to spare you either!²²Therefore, recognize God’s loving kindness as well as [His] willingness to remove.So, although those who’ve fallen have been cut off and you’re now receiving God’s loving care... It’s only yours for as long as you stay in that [good relationship], because you can be pruned off too!²³And then, if [the Jews] don’t continue in their disbelief, they’ll be grafted back in, since God can graft them back in again!²⁴For if you were cut from an olive tree that’s wild by nature, and then, contrary to nature, grafted into the garden olive tree... Recognize how much easier it’ll be for those who are natural branches to be grafted back into their own olive tree once again!²⁵Brothers, I don’t want you to ignore this mystery, so you don’t become too wise in your own eyes:IsraEl was allowed to become calloused until the full number of gentiles came in.²⁶Yet, this is how all IsraEl is going to be saved!For it’s written:‘A Savior will come out of Zion, And remove from Jacob, his godless ways. ²⁷Yes, this is My promise to them, After I’ve removed all their sins.’ [Isaiah 59:20-21, LXX]²⁸Therefore, from the standpoint of the good news, they’e become His enemies for your sakes!But from the standpoint of the choosing... They’re the ones who are loved because of their ancestors, ²⁹since the loving gifts of God and His calling are irrevocable!³⁰So, just as you were once disobedient to God, but have now been shown mercy [despite your] disobedience... ³¹They’re now being disobedient.Yet, because you were shown mercy, they may also be shown mercy... ³²Yes, God has locked them up together in disobedience, so that He might show mercy to all of us.³³‘O the depths of God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge, And the mysteries of all His decisions; For His ways can’t be figured out!³⁴‘Who’s come to know the mind of Jehovah, And who can give Him advice, ³⁵Or give Him something that He must repay?’ [Isaiah 40:13, LXX][And:]³⁶‘Since all is from Him, by Him, and for Him, To glorify Him throughout the ages. May it be so.’ [Job 41:11]

¹So I beg you by the compassion of God, brothers, to offer your bodies as living, holy sacrifices that are pleasing to God, and to serve Him in sensible ways.²Don’t [allow yourselves] to be molded by this system of things... Instead, be transformed by renewing your minds, so that you come to think well of the good, pleasing, and perfect Will of The God.³Yes, through the loving care that was shown to me, I’m telling all of you not to think too much of yourselves. Rather, you must think clearly, as God has given each of you your own share of faith.⁴[Remember that] our bodies have many parts, and none of [these parts] have the same function...⁵So although there are many of us, we’re really just one body in the Anointed One, and starting from him, we are each parts of that body… Therefore, we all belong to each other.⁶Likewise, each of us have different gifts that were kindly given to us, whether it’s prophesying (according to our portion of faith), ⁷serving in some service, teaching some point, ⁸offering some encouragement, simply sharing, earnestly taking the lead, or cheerfully showing mercy.⁹Therefore, we should love [each other] without being judgmental… We should hate what’s wicked and stick with the things that are good!¹⁰So, let your brotherly love make you more tender and caring to each other, and take the lead when it comes to showing honor to each other.¹¹Do your best… Don’t be lazy… Slave for the Lord, and bubble over with his Spirit… ¹²Let your hope fill you with joy as you endure the difficulties and persecutions… And keep on praying.¹³Also, share whatever you have with the Holy Ones and be hospitable! ¹⁴Learn to say nice things to those who persecute [you]… Don’t curse them, praise them!¹⁵Rejoice with people who are rejoicing, and cry with those who are crying… ¹⁶Be aware of each other’s needs… Don’t spend too much time thinking about high ideas, but deal with each other humbly… Don’t think too much of yourselves!¹⁷Don’t be rude to people who treat you poorly, but plan to do good things in the eyes of everyone.¹⁸And if possible (as much as you can), be peaceable with everyone…¹⁹Don’t get even, loved ones; put anger away, because it’s written that if you don’t pass judgment yourself^[Syr], then Jehovah says....‘I’ll pay them back!’ [Deuteronomy 32:35, LXX]²⁰And:‘If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat; And if he’s thirsty, give him something to drink; For whenever you do this, you’re piling burning coals on their heads.’ [Proverbs 25:21, LXX]²¹So, don’t allow evil to beat you; instead, keep conquering evil with goodness.

¹Everyone should submit to the authorities that are over them. Indeed, there are no offices of authority that don’t come from God, or any that weren’t instituted by God.²So those who resist the authorities, whose laws have come from God, are really opposing and condemning themselves!³For there’s no reason to fear the rulers when we’re behaving… Only when we’re misbehaving!Do you wish that you didn’t have to fear the authorities?Then do good things, and they’ll praise you, ⁴because they’re God’s servants for your own good!But if you’re doing something that’s wrong, you’ve got good reason to fear them. For that’s why they bear the sword of God… They’re God’s servants and His avengers to show His rage upon those who are doing what’s wrong!⁵So it’s important for us to obey them… And not just for [fear of] angering them, but because of [our] consciences!⁶This is why we pay our taxes; because, as public servants, they’re serving God’s purposes!⁷Therefore, pay everyone whatever they’re owed…To the tax collector [pay] the property tax; to the toll collectors, [pay] the tolls; respect [those who should be] respected; show honor to those [who should be] honored.⁸Don’t owe anything to anyone, except your love for each other, because those who love others have fulfilled [the] Law.⁹For [the Laws]...‘You must not murder, You must not commit adultery, You must not steal, You must not envy,’ [Exodus 20:13-15, 17]...and any other Commandment, are all summed up in the phrase:‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ [Leviticus 19:18]¹⁰Yes, those who love won’t do anything bad to their neighbors, since the Law is fulfilled through love.¹¹As for those of you who aren’t aware of the season, it’s time for you to wake up! Because our salvation is now closer than it was when we first became believers!¹²Yes, since the night is almost over, and that Day is near, we should be getting rid of the things that belong to darkness and start putting on the weapons of light.¹³Then we should all behave as we would in the daytime… Not in wild partying and drunkenness; not in immoral sex and the lacking of principles; not in arguing and jealousy.¹⁴Instead, we should be putting on the Lord Jesus the Anointed One – and no longer planning [to satisfy] the cravings of the flesh.

¹Therefore, welcome those who are weak in the faith – and don’t try to judge their motives!²For one person who has [a strong Christian] faith will eat anything [they wish, even what’s forbidden to Jews], but someone else, who’s [spiritually] weak, would [rather] only eat vegetables.³Those who will eat anything shouldn’t look down on those who won’t, and those who won’t eat anything shouldn’t judge those who do, since God has accepted them both.⁴For who are you to judge the house servant of another, since we each stand or fall before our own master?And we can stand, because the Lord can make us stand!⁵Also, some consider one day as more important than others, while others consider each day to be the same as all the rest... However, each of us should be sure of this in our own minds!⁶Then those who observe a certain day [as holy] should observe it to the Lord.Also, those who will eat [anything they wish] should eat it to the Lord, because they’ve thanked God for it.Likewise, those who won’t eat [anything they wish] should abstain to the Lord, since they too have thanked God [for their food].⁷So, none of us should be living just for ourselves, and none of us should be dying just for ourselves.⁸For when we live, we live for the Lord, and when we die, we die for the Lord… Because whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord!⁹And the reason why the Anointed One died and came to life again was so that he could be the Lord of both the ‘living’ and the ‘dead.’¹⁰So, why are you judging your brothers? Why are you looking down on them? We’ll all stand before the judgment seat of God of the Anointed One!^[Syr]11Notice that it is written:‘As I live,’ says Jehovah... ‘Every knee shall bow before Me, ‘And to Me, every tongue will give praise.’ [paraphrase of Isaiah 45:23-24, LXX]¹²So since each of us must answer for ourselves before God, ¹³we should stop judging each other, and we shouldn’t be setting anything before our brothers that might cause them to stumble and fall.¹⁴Now, I know (and I’ve been persuaded by the Lord Jesus) that no [food] is unclean… It’s only when a man considers something [edible] to be unclean that it’s unclean to him.¹⁵Yet if what you’re eating upsets your brother, you aren’t following the path of love yet!For you shouldn’t want anyone –for whom the Anointed One died– to be lost over the food that you’re eating… ¹⁶Nor should they speak badly of the good things that you’re doing.¹⁷Because, the God’s Kingdom has nothing to do with eating or drinking… Just with righteousness, peace, and the joy of Holy Breath.¹⁸So, those of you who choose to make yourselves slaves in such matters [for the sake of] the Anointed One will be approved both by God and by men.¹⁹And what we should all be doing is trying to do the things that promote peace and to build each other up… ²⁰[We must] stop tearing down the work of God over food!So although, yes, it’s true that all [food] is clean, it can still be bad for someone who stumbles over what we’re [choosing to] eat!²¹Therefore, it isn’t [necessarily] good to eat meat [forbidden to Jews], or to drink wine, or to do anything else that could be a snare to our brothers, ²²because we should be sure that the things we believe [to be right] also look good in the eyes of God!As for someone who doesn’t condem himself over specific things – good for him!^[Syr]23However, if he’s unsure about something he’s eating... His lack of faith is condemning him for eating it; because everything that’s not from faith, is sin.

¹So, those of us who are strong [in the faith] must handle the [spiritual] weaknesses of those who aren’t strong, and not just be pleasing ourselves. ²Rather, we should each be trying to please our neighbors by doing good things that build them up.³For even the Anointed One didn’t just please himself.Notice that it’s written:‘The insults of those insulting you, have fallen upon me.’ [Psalm 69:9]⁴Understand that everything that was written until now has been written to teach us, so that through our endurance, and through the comfort that comes from the Scriptures, we might have hope.⁵Therefore, may the endurance and comfort that comes from God supply this to you, so that you may pay close attention to each other’s needs – in the same ways that the Anointed Jesus did!⁶Then together, as with one ‘mind’ and one ‘mouth,’ we can all bring glory to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One.⁷So, welcome each other as the Anointed One welcomed us (to the glory of God)!⁸For [he] became a servant to those who are circumcised for the sake of the truth of God, and he verified the promises that were made to their ancestors, ⁹while he allowed the gentiles to glorify God for His mercies.As it’s written:‘That’s why I’ll praise You to the nations, And that’s why I’ll sing to Your Name.’ [Psalm 18:49]¹⁰And again it says:‘Rejoice you gentiles, along with His people!’ [Deuteronomy 32:43]¹¹And again:‘Praise Jehovah, you gentiles… Let everyone give praise to Him.’ [Psalm 117:1]¹²Also, IsaiAh wrote:‘In that day, the root of JesSe [will sprout]… He’ll arise to rule [all] the nations. Yes in him, the gentiles will trust, And upon him, honor will rest.’ [Isaiah 11:10, LXX]¹³So may the God who provides hope fill you with all joy and peace – in the belief that you’ll have more than enough faith through the power of Holy Breath.¹⁴I’m sure of this about you, my brothers:You are filled with goodness, because you’ve been filled with all the knowledge that you need to strengthen each other!¹⁵Now, I’m writing to you in plain words to remind you of this:Because of a gift that God kindly gave to me, ¹⁶I was appointed a [temple] official to the gentiles by Jesus the Anointed One, and to serve as their Priest of the good news of God... In order that their offerings can be found worthy and clean through Holy Breath.¹⁷And the Anointed Jesus has given me many good reasons to be cheerful when it comes to these things of God.¹⁸Therefore, I wouldn’t dare to speak about anything that the Anointed One might have failed to accomplish on behalf of the gentiles through me, because I’ve obediently followed his instructions in everything that I’ve been saying and doing... ¹⁹through the power of signs, omens, and by the might of the Holy Breath.I’ve thoroughly preached the good news about the Anointed One in a circuit – from JeruSalem, all the way to IlLyricum.²⁰And I’ve made it my goal not to preach the good news in places where they’ve already heard about the Anointed One, so that I wouldn’t be building on another man’s foundation.²¹As it’s written:‘He’ll be seen by those to whom he didn’t preach, And those who haven’t heard him will learn.’ [Isaiah 52:15, LXX]²²That’s why I’ve not been allowed to come to you on several previous occasions; ²³but now that I don’t have have a place in those regions any more, and because I’ve been wanting to come to you for several years, ²⁴it’s my hope to see you along the way as I travel to Spain.[And if so], perhaps you can come to the place where I’ll be staying?²⁵However, right now I have to travel on to JeruSalem to serve the needs of the Holy Ones, ²⁶because those in Macedonia and Achaea have been so happy to share their things by contributing to the poor among the Holy Ones in JeruSalem.²⁷Yet, while it’s true that they were happy to do so, they were also indebted to them... For if they’ve shared their spiritual things with the gentiles, the [gentiles] are now indebted to them as part of a public service, to share things for the fleshly body.²⁸So after I finish doing that, and deliver these things to them safely, I’ll visit you while I’m on my way to Spain.²⁹And I know that when I do get to you, I’ll come with a full measure of blessings from the Anointed One!³⁰Now I beg you brothers, through our Lord Jesus the Anointed One and through the love of the Breath [of God], to share in praying to God on my behalf, ³¹that I might be saved from the unbelievers in Judea…And also that my service in JeruSalem may prove to be what the Holy Ones need, ³²so that when I have the joy of getting back to you (if that’s God’s Will), I can spend some time resting up with you there.³³May the God who gives peace be with all of you.May it be so!

[P.S.]¹I want to especially recommend our sister Phoebe to you, who is a servant in the congregation at Kenchreae.²Accept her in the Lord as you would [all] the Holy Ones, and help her in any matter where she may have needs, because she has protected me many times… Yes, me personally!³Give my greetings to Priska and Aquila, my fellow workers in the Anointed Jesus ⁴who’ve risked their necks for my life... And not just for mine, but offer them thanks on behalf of all the called ones who are gentiles, ⁵and [send my greetings] to the called ones in their home.Also send my greetings to my beloved EpaiNeton, who is one of the first fruits of the Anointed One in [the province of] Asia.⁶And send my greetings to Mary, who’s done so many things for you.⁷Give my greetings to Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and fellow captives, who are notable ones among the Apostles, and who’ve been in the Anointed One longer than I have.⁸Give my greetings to Ampliatus, my loved one in the Lord.⁹Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in the Anointed One, as well as my beloved Stachys.¹⁰Greet Apelles, the one who’s approved in the Anointed One.Also greet those from the household of AristoBoulou.¹¹Send my greetings to my relative Herodion, as well as to those in the Lord from the household of Narcissus.¹²Greet TryPhaina and TryPhosa, [women] who are working hard in the Lord. And send my greetings to our beloved Persida, because she’s done so many good things in the Lord.¹³Greet Rufus, the Lord’s chosen one, as well as his mother and mine.¹⁴Greet AsynCritus, Phlegonta, Hermes, PatroBas, Herman, and the brothers who are with them.¹⁵Send my greetings to PhiloLogus and Julian, Nereus and his sister Olympas, and all the Holy Ones with them.¹⁶Also greet each other with a holy kiss.For all the congregations of the Anointed One send you their greetings.[P.P.S.]¹⁷Now, I beg you brothers to keep an eye on those who are creating divisions and setting traps by going against the teachings that you’ve learned…Avoid them, ¹⁸because such men aren’t slaving for our Lord the Anointed One, but for their own bellies.They’re seducing the hearts of people who aren’t really bad through kind words and praises.¹⁹Meanwhile, because everyone has noticed your obedience, I’m rejoicing over you.I just want you to be wise when it comes to doing what’s good and not to be getting mixed up in doing bad things, ²⁰since the God of peace will crush the Opposer under your feet shortly.So may the loving care of our Lord Jesus be with you.[P.P.P.S.]²¹Timothy, my fellow worker, sends you his greetings, as do Lucius, Jason, and SosiPater, my relatives.²²I, Tertius, the one who wrote this letter, greet you in [the] Lord.²³GaiUs, our host, and everyone in his congregation send their greeting to you.Erastus (the city public works manager) sends his greetings, as does KouArtos his brother.²⁴May the loving care of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One be with you all. Amen. [copied from verse 20]²⁵Now, to the One who can make you strong in the good news whom I declare through my preaching about Jesus the Anointed One and about the revelation of the mystery (that has remained a secret throughout the ages), ²⁶but which has now been made known through the prophetic scriptures and which is being seen among all the nations by the command of the God of ageless time to promote obedience by faith...²⁷Yes, to God who’s the only truly wise One, be the glory through Jesus (the Anointed) throughout the ages. May it be so. [spurious words]