From Dust to Dust

¹⁶ Moreover, ^(A)I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even ^(B)there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. ¹⁷ I said in my heart, ^(C)God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is ^(D)a time for every matter and for every work. ¹⁸ I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but ^(E)beasts. ^19 (F)For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.^{[a] 20} All go to one place. All are from ^(G)the dust, and to dust all return. ²¹ Who knows whether ^(H)the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? ²² So I saw that there is ^(I)nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for ^(J)that is his lot. Who can bring him to see ^(K)what will be after him?

Evil Under the Sun

4 ^(L)Again I ^(M)saw all ^(N)the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had ^(O)no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. ² And I ^(P)thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. ³ But ^(Q)better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

By Faith, or by Works of the Law?

3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? ^(A)It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly ^(B)portrayed as crucified. ² Let me ask you only this: ^(C)Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by ^(D)hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? ^(E)Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by^[a] the flesh? ^4 (F)Did you suffer^[b] so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? ⁵ Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and ^(G)works miracles among you do so ^(H)by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— ⁶ just as ^(I)Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

⁷ Know then that it is ^(J)those of faith who are ^(K)the sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that ^(L)God would justify^[c] the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ^(M)“In you shall all the nations be blessed.” ⁹ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁰ For all who rely on works of the law are ^(N)under a curse; for it is written, ^(O)“Cursed be everyone who does not ^(P)abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” ¹¹ Now it is evident that ^(Q)no one is justified before God by the law, for ^(R)“The righteous shall live by faith.”^{[d] 12} But the law is not of faith, rather ^(S)“The one who does them shall live by them.” ¹³ Christ ^(T)redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ^(U)“Cursed is everyone who is hanged ^(V)on a tree”— ¹⁴ so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might ^(W)come to the Gentiles, so that ^(X)we might receive ^(Y)the promised Spirit^[e] through faith.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹³ Now when Jesus heard this, ^(A)he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When he went ashore he ^(B)saw a great crowd, and ^(C)he had compassion on them and healed their sick. ¹⁵ Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; ^(D)send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶ But Jesus said, “They need not go away; ^(E)you give them something to eat.” ¹⁷ They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, ^(F)he looked up to heaven and ^(G)said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. ²¹ And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.