Faithless Israel Called to Repentance

⁶ The Lord said to me in the days of ^(K)King Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, ^(L)how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there ^(M)played the whore? ⁷ And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous ^(N)sister Judah saw it. ⁸ She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, ^(O)I had sent her away with ^(P)a decree of divorce. ^(Q)Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went ^(R)and played the whore. ⁹ Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with ^(S)stone and tree. ¹⁰ Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me ^(T)with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord.”

¹¹ And the Lord said to me, ^(U)“Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. ¹² Go, and proclaim these words toward ^(V)the north, and say,

¹⁵ “‘And ^(AD)I will give you shepherds after my own heart, ^(AE)who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. ¹⁶ And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. ¹⁷ At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, ^(AF)and all nations shall gather to it, ^(AG)to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. ^18 (AH)In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land ^(AI)of the north to ^(AJ)the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.

²⁴ “But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. ^25 (AS)Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For ^(AT)we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”

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.

The Law and the Promise

^15 (Z)To give a human example, brothers:^{[f] (AA)}even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. ¹⁶ Now ^(AB)the promises were made ^(AC)to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, ^(AD)“And to your offspring,” who is Christ. ¹⁷ This is what I mean: the law, which came ^(AE)430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as ^(AF)to make the promise void. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but ^(AG)God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

¹⁹ Why then the law? ^(AH)It was added because of transgressions, ^(AI)until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was ^(AJ)put in place through angels ^(AK)by an intermediary. ²⁰ Now ^(AL)an intermediary implies more than one, but ^(AM)God is one.

²¹ Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For ^(AN)if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. ²² But the Scripture ^(AO)imprisoned everything under sin, so that ^(AP)the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given ^(AQ)to those who believe.

²³ Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, ^(AR)imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. ²⁴ So then, ^(AS)the law was our ^(AT)guardian until Christ came, ^(AU)in order that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, ²⁶ for in Christ Jesus ^(AV)you are all sons of God, through faith. ²⁷ For as many of you as ^(AW)were baptized ^(AX)into Christ have ^(AY)put on Christ. ^28 (AZ)There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave^[g] nor free, ^(BA)there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And ^(BB)if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, ^(BC)heirs according to promise.