Israel's Unfaithfulness

^11 (A)And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. ^12 (B)And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. ^(C)They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and ^(D)bowed down to them. ^(E)And they provoked the Lord to anger. ¹³ They abandoned the Lord ^(F)and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. ^14 (G)So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he ^(H)gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. ^(I)And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, ^(J)so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. ¹⁵ Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, ^(K)and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.

The Lord Raises Up Judges

^16 (L)Then the Lord raised up judges, ^(M)who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. ¹⁷ Yet they did not listen to their judges, for ^(N)they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. ^(O)They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so.

⁵ For ^(A)those who live according to the flesh set their minds on ^(B)the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on ^(C)the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to set ^(D)the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For the mind that is set on the flesh is ^(E)hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; ^(F)indeed, it cannot. ⁸ Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact ^(G)the Spirit of God dwells in you. ^(H)Anyone who does not have ^(I)the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of ^(J)him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus^[a] from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies ^(K)through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Heirs with Christ

¹² So then, brothers,^[b] we are debtors, ^(L)not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you ^(M)put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.