21 So you have no reason, whoever you are, for judging: for in judging another you are judging yourself, for you do the same things. 2 And we are conscious that God is a true judge against those who do such things. 3 But you who are judging another for doing what you do yourself, are you hoping that God's decision will not take effect against you? 4 Or is it nothing to you that God had pity on you, waiting and putting up with you for so long, not seeing that in his pity God's desire is to give you a change of heart? 5 But by your hard and unchanged heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of the revelation of God's judging in righteousness; 6 Who will give to every man his right reward: 7 To those who go on with good works in the hope of glory and honour and salvation from death, he will give eternal life: 8 But to those who, from a love of competition, are not guided by what is true, will come the heat of his wrath, 9 Trouble and sorrow on all whose works are evil, to the Jew first and then to the Greek; 10 But glory and honour and peace to all whose works are good, to the Jew first and then to the Greek: 11 For one man is not different from another before God. 12 All those who have done wrong without the law will get destruction without the law: and those who have done wrong under the law will have their punishment by the law; 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who will be judged as having righteousness before God, but only the doers: 14 For when the Gentiles without the law have a natural desire to do the things in the law, they are a law to themselves; 15 Because the work of the law is seen in their hearts, their sense of right and wrong giving witness to it, while their minds are at one time judging them and at another giving them approval; 16 In the day when God will be a judge of the secrets of men, as it says in the good news of which I am a preacher, through Jesus Christ.
17 But as for you who have the name of Jew, and are resting on the law, and take pride in God, 18 And have knowledge of his desires, and are a judge of the things which are different, having the learning of the law, 19 In the belief that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those in the dark, 20 A teacher of the foolish, having in the law the form of knowledge and of what is true; 21 You who give teaching to others, do you give it to yourself? you who say that a man may not take what is not his, do you take what is not yours? 22 You who say that a man may not be untrue to his wife, are you true to yours? you who are a hater of images, do you do wrong to the house of God? 23 You who take pride in the law, are you doing wrong to the honour of God by behaviour which is against the law? 24 For the name of God is shamed among the Gentiles because of you, as it is said in the holy Writings. 25 It is true that circumcision is of use if you keep the law, but if you go against the law it is as if you had it not. 26 If those who have not circumcision keep the rules of the law, will it not be credited to them as circumcision? 27 And they, by their keeping of the law without circumcision, will be judges of you, by whom the law is broken though you have the letter of the law and circumcision. 28 The true Jew is not one who is only so publicly, and circumcision is not that which may be seen in the flesh: 29 But he is a Jew who is a secret one, whose circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.
31 How then is the Jew better off? or what profit is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way: first of all because the words of God were given to them. 3 And if some have no faith, will that make the faith of God without effect? 4 In no way: but let God be true, though every man is seen to be untrue; as it is said in the Writings, That your words may be seen to be true, and you may be seen to be right when you are judged. 5 But if the righteousness of God is supported by our wrongdoing what is to be said? is it wrong for God to be angry (as men may say)? 6 In no way: because if it is so, how is God able to be the judge of all the world? 7 But if, because I am untrue, God being seen to be true gets more glory, why am I to be judged as a sinner? 8 Let us not do evil so that good may come (a statement which we are falsely said by some to have made), because such behaviour will have its right punishment.
9 What then? are we worse off than they? In no way: because we have before made it clear that Jews as well as Greeks are all under the power of sin; 10 As it is said in the holy Writings, There is not one who does righteousness; 11 Not one who has the knowledge of what is right, not one who is a searcher after God; 12 They have all gone out of the way, there is no profit in any of them; there is not one who does good, not so much as one: 13 Their throat is like an open place of death; with their tongues they have said what is not true: the poison of snakes is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of curses and bitter words: 15 Their feet are quick in running after blood; 16 Destruction and trouble are in their ways; 17 And of the way of peace they have no knowledge: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
19 Now, we have knowledge that what the law says is for those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and all men may be judged by God: 20 Because by the works of the law no man is able to have righteousness in his eyes, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
21 But now without the law there is a revelation of the righteousness of God, to which witness is given by the law and the prophets; 22 That is, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, to all those who have faith; and one man is not different from another, 23 For all have done wrong and are far from the glory of God; 24 And they may have righteousness put to their credit, freely, by his grace, through the salvation which is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God has put forward as the sign of his mercy, through faith, by his blood, to make clear his righteousness when, in his pity, God let the sins of earlier times go without punishment; 26 And to make clear his righteousness now, so that he might himself be upright, and give righteousness to him who has faith in Jesus. 27 What reason, then, is there for pride? It is shut out. By what sort of law? of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 For this reason, then, a man may get righteousness by faith without the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? is he not in the same way the God of Gentiles? Yes, of Gentiles: 30 If God is one; and he will give righteousness because of faith to those who have circumcision, and through faith to those who have not circumcision. 31 Do we, then, through faith make the law of no effect? in no way: but we make it clear that the law is important.
