Reward for Obedience

26 “‘Do not make idols(A) or set up an image(B) or a sacred stone(C) for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone(D) in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God.

“‘Observe my Sabbaths(E) and have reverence for my sanctuary.(F) I am the Lord.

Read full chapter

Psalm 30[a]

A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple.[b] Of David.

I will exalt(A) you, Lord,
    for you lifted me out of the depths(B)
    and did not let my enemies gloat over me.(C)
Lord my God, I called to you for help,(D)
    and you healed me.(E)
You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;(F)
    you spared me from going down to the pit.(G)

Sing(H) the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;(I)
    praise his holy name.(J)
For his anger(K) lasts only a moment,(L)
    but his favor lasts a lifetime;(M)
weeping(N) may stay for the night,
    but rejoicing comes in the morning.(O)

When I felt secure, I said,
    “I will never be shaken.”(P)
Lord, when you favored me,
    you made my royal mountain[c] stand firm;
but when you hid your face,(Q)
    I was dismayed.

To you, Lord, I called;
    to the Lord I cried for mercy:
“What is gained if I am silenced,
    if I go down to the pit?(R)
Will the dust praise you?
    Will it proclaim your faithfulness?(S)
10 Hear,(T) Lord, and be merciful to me;(U)
    Lord, be my help.(V)

11 You turned my wailing(W) into dancing;(X)
    you removed my sackcloth(Y) and clothed me with joy,(Z)
12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
    Lord my God, I will praise(AA) you forever.(AB)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 30:1 In Hebrew texts 30:1-12 is numbered 30:2-13.
  2. Psalm 30:1 Title: Or palace
  3. Psalm 30:7 That is, Mount Zion

Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

Out of the depths(A) I cry to you,(B) Lord;
    Lord, hear my voice.(C)
Let your ears be attentive(D)
    to my cry for mercy.(E)

If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
    Lord, who could stand?(F)
But with you there is forgiveness,(G)
    so that we can, with reverence, serve you.(H)

I wait for the Lord,(I) my whole being waits,(J)
    and in his word(K) I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord
    more than watchmen(L) wait for the morning,
    more than watchmen wait for the morning.(M)

Israel, put your hope(N) in the Lord,
    for with the Lord is unfailing love(O)
    and with him is full redemption.(P)
He himself will redeem(Q) Israel
    from all their sins.(R)

Sayings of Agur

30 The sayings(A) of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance.

This man’s utterance to Ithiel:

“I am weary, God,
    but I can prevail.[a]
Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
    I do not have human understanding.
I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.(B)
Who has gone up(C) to heaven and come down?
    Whose hands(D) have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters(E) in a cloak?(F)
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name,(G) and what is the name of his son?
    Surely you know!

“Every word of God is flawless;(H)
    he is a shield(I) to those who take refuge in him.
Do not add(J) to his words,
    or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

“Two things I ask of you, Lord;
    do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
    give me neither poverty nor riches,
    but give me only my daily bread.(K)
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown(L) you
    and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’(M)
Or I may become poor and steal,
    and so dishonor the name of my God.(N)

10 “Do not slander a servant to their master,
    or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.

11 “There are those who curse their fathers
    and do not bless their mothers;(O)
12 those who are pure in their own eyes(P)
    and yet are not cleansed of their filth;(Q)
13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty,(R)
    whose glances are so disdainful;
14 those whose teeth(S) are swords
    and whose jaws are set with knives(T)
to devour(U) the poor(V) from the earth
    and the needy from among mankind.(W)

15 “The leech has two daughters.
    ‘Give! Give!’ they cry.

“There are three things that are never satisfied,(X)
    four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
16 the grave,(Y) the barren womb,
    land, which is never satisfied with water,
    and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’

17 “The eye that mocks(Z) a father,
    that scorns an aged mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
    will be eaten by the vultures.(AA)

18 “There are three things that are too amazing for me,
    four that I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
    the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
    and the way of a man with a young woman.

20 “This is the way of an adulterous woman:
    She eats and wipes her mouth
    and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’(AB)

21 “Under three things the earth trembles,
    under four it cannot bear up:
22 a servant who becomes king,(AC)
    a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
23 a contemptible woman who gets married,
    and a servant who displaces her mistress.

24 “Four things on earth are small,
    yet they are extremely wise:
25 Ants are creatures of little strength,
    yet they store up their food in the summer;(AD)
26 hyraxes(AE) are creatures of little power,
    yet they make their home in the crags;
27 locusts(AF) have no king,
    yet they advance together in ranks;
28 a lizard can be caught with the hand,
    yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

29 “There are three things that are stately in their stride,
    four that move with stately bearing:
30 a lion, mighty among beasts,
    who retreats before nothing;
31 a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
    and a king secure against revolt.[b]

32 “If you play the fool and exalt yourself,
    or if you plan evil,
    clap your hand over your mouth!(AG)
33 For as churning cream produces butter,
    and as twisting the nose produces blood,
    so stirring up anger produces strife.”

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 30:1 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text utterance to Ithiel, / to Ithiel and Ukal:
  2. Proverbs 30:31 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.

10 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire(A) and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous(B) for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.(C) Christ is the culmination of the law(D) so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.(E)

Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.”[a](F) But the righteousness that is by faith(G) says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”[b](H) (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’”[c](I) (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).(J) But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”[d](K) that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare(L) with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”(M) and believe(N) in your heart that God raised him from the dead,(O) you will be saved.(P) 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[e](Q) 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile(R)—the same Lord is Lord of all(S) and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord(T) will be saved.”[f](U)

14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”[g](V)

16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news.(W) For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”[h](X) 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message,(Y) and the message is heard through the word about Christ.(Z) 18 But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:

“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.”[i](AA)

19 Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,

“I will make you envious(AB) by those who are not a nation;
    I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”[j](AC)

20 And Isaiah boldly says,

“I was found by those who did not seek me;
    I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”[k](AD)

21 But concerning Israel he says,

“All day long I have held out my hands
    to a disobedient and obstinate people.”[l](AE)

The Remnant of Israel

11 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means!(AF) I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham,(AG) from the tribe of Benjamin.(AH) God did not reject his people,(AI) whom he foreknew.(AJ) Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”[m]?(AK) And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”[n](AL) So too, at the present time there is a remnant(AM) chosen by grace.(AN) And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works;(AO) if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain.(AP) The elect among them did, but the others were hardened,(AQ) as it is written:

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
    eyes that could not see
    and ears that could not hear,(AR)
to this very day.”[o](AS)

And David says:

“May their table become a snare and a trap,
    a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,(AT)
    and their backs be bent forever.”[p](AU)

Ingrafted Branches

11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all!(AV) Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles(AW) to make Israel envious.(AX) 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles,(AY) how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!

13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles,(AZ) I take pride in my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy(BA) and save(BB) some of them. 15 For if their rejection brought reconciliation(BC) to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?(BD) 16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits(BE) is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

17 If some of the branches have been broken off,(BF) and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others(BG) and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.(BH) 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith.(BI) Do not be arrogant,(BJ) but tremble.(BK) 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

22 Consider therefore the kindness(BL) and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue(BM) in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.(BN) 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.(BO) 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree,(BP) how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

All Israel Will Be Saved

25 I do not want you to be ignorant(BQ) of this mystery,(BR) brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited:(BS) Israel has experienced a hardening(BT) in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in,(BU) 26 and in this way[q] all Israel will be saved.(BV) As it is written:

“The deliverer will come from Zion;
    he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is[r] my covenant with them
    when I take away their sins.”[s](BW)

28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies(BX) for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs,(BY) 29 for God’s gifts and his call(BZ) are irrevocable.(CA) 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient(CB) to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now[t] receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. 32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience(CC) so that he may have mercy on them all.

Doxology

33 Oh, the depth of the riches(CD) of the wisdom and[u] knowledge of God!(CE)
    How unsearchable his judgments,
    and his paths beyond tracing out!(CF)
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
    Or who has been his counselor?”[v](CG)
35 “Who has ever given to God,
    that God should repay them?”[w](CH)
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.(CI)
    To him be the glory forever! Amen.(CJ)

Footnotes

  1. Romans 10:5 Lev. 18:5
  2. Romans 10:6 Deut. 30:12
  3. Romans 10:7 Deut. 30:13
  4. Romans 10:8 Deut. 30:14
  5. Romans 10:11 Isaiah 28:16 (see Septuagint)
  6. Romans 10:13 Joel 2:32
  7. Romans 10:15 Isaiah 52:7
  8. Romans 10:16 Isaiah 53:1
  9. Romans 10:18 Psalm 19:4
  10. Romans 10:19 Deut. 32:21
  11. Romans 10:20 Isaiah 65:1
  12. Romans 10:21 Isaiah 65:2
  13. Romans 11:3 1 Kings 19:10,14
  14. Romans 11:4 1 Kings 19:18
  15. Romans 11:8 Deut. 29:4; Isaiah 29:10
  16. Romans 11:10 Psalm 69:22,23
  17. Romans 11:26 Or and so
  18. Romans 11:27 Or will be
  19. Romans 11:27 Isaiah 59:20,21; 27:9 (see Septuagint); Jer. 31:33,34
  20. Romans 11:31 Some manuscripts do not have now.
  21. Romans 11:33 Or riches and the wisdom and the
  22. Romans 11:34 Isaiah 40:13
  23. Romans 11:35 Job 41:11

Bible Gateway Recommends