2 Samuel 21-23 English Standard Version

David Avenges the Gibeonites

21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David ^(A)sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” ²So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but ^(B)of the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. ³And David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And how shall I make atonement, that you may bless ^(C)the heritage of the Lord?” ⁴The Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “What do you say that I shall do for you?” ⁵They said to the king, “The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel, ⁶let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the Lord at ^(D)Gibeah of Saul, ^(E)the chosen of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.”

⁷But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of ^(F)the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. ⁸The king took the two sons of ^(G)Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab^[a] the daughter of Saul, whom ^(H)she bore to ^(I)Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; ⁹and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, ^(J)at the beginning of barley harvest.

¹⁰^(K)Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day, or the beasts of the field by night. ¹¹When David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, ¹²David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, ^(L)who had stolen them from the public square of ^(M)Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. ¹³And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged. ¹⁴And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in ^(N)Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that ^(O)God responded to the plea for the land.

War with the Philistines

¹⁵There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. ¹⁶And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants ^(P)of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels^[b] of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. ¹⁷But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, ^(Q)“You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench ^(R)the lamp of Israel.”

¹⁸^(S)After this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then ^(T)Sibbecai ^(U)the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants ^(V)of the giants. ¹⁹And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and ^(W)Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, ^(X)the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.^[c] ²⁰And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended ^(Y)from the giants. ²¹And when ^(Z)he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David's brother, struck him down. ²²These four were descended ^(AA)from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

David's Song of Deliverance

22 And David spoke ^(AB)to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. ²^(AC)He said,

^(AD)“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
³    ^(AE)my^[d] God, my rock, ^(AF)in whom I take refuge,
^(AG)my shield, and ^(AH)the horn of my salvation,
    ^(AI)my stronghold and ^(AJ)my refuge,
    my savior; you save me from violence.
⁴I call upon the Lord, who is ^(AK)worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.

⁵^(AL)“For the waves of death encompassed me,
the torrents of destruction assailed me;^[e]
⁶^(AM)the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.

⁷^(AN)“In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry ^(AO)came to his ears.

⁸“Then ^(AP)the earth reeled and rocked;
    ^(AQ)the foundations of the heavens trembled
    and quaked, because he was angry.
⁹Smoke went up from his nostrils,^[f]
    and devouring fire from his mouth;
    ^(AR)glowing coals flamed forth from him.
¹⁰^(AS)He bowed the heavens and ^(AT)came down;
    ^(AU)thick darkness was under his feet.
¹¹He rode on a cherub and flew;
    he was seen on ^(AV)the wings of the wind.
¹²He made ^(AW)darkness around him ^(AX)his canopy,
    thick clouds, a gathering of water.
¹³Out of the brightness before him
    ^(AY)coals of fire flamed forth.
¹⁴^(AZ)The Lord thundered from heaven,
    and the Most High uttered his voice.
¹⁵And he sent out ^(BA)arrows and scattered them;
    lightning, and routed them.
¹⁶Then the channels of the sea were seen;
    the foundations of the world were laid bare,
at the rebuke of the Lord,
    at the ^(BB)blast of the breath of his nostrils.

¹⁷^(BC)“He sent from on high, he took me;
    he drew me out of many waters.
¹⁸He rescued me from my strong enemy,
    from those who hated me,
    for they were too mighty for me.
¹⁹They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
    but the Lord was my support.
²⁰^(BD)He brought me out into a broad place;
    he rescued me, because ^(BE)he delighted in me.

²¹“The Lord ^(BF)dealt with me according to my righteousness;
    according to the ^(BG)cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
²²^(BH)For I have kept the ways of the Lord
    and have not wickedly departed from my God.
²³^(BI)For all his rules were before me,
    and from his statutes I did not turn aside.
²⁴I was ^(BJ)blameless before him,
    and I kept myself from guilt.
²⁵^(BK)And the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
    according to my cleanness in his sight.

²⁶^(BL)“With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
    with the ^(BM)blameless man you show yourself blameless;
²⁷with the purified you deal purely,
    and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
²⁸^(BN)You save a humble people,
    ^(BO)but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
²⁹^(BP)For you are my lamp, O Lord,
    and my God lightens my darkness.
³⁰For by you I can run against a troop,
    and by my God I can leap over a wall.
³¹This God—^(BQ)his way is perfect;
    the ^(BR)word of the Lord proves true;
    he is ^(BS)a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

³²“For who is God, but the Lord?
    ^(BT)And who is a rock, except our God?
³³This God is my ^(BU)strong refuge
    and has made my^[g] way blameless.^[h]
³⁴^(BV)He made my feet like the feet of a deer
    and set me secure ^(BW)on the heights.
³⁵^(BX)He trains my hands for war,
    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
³⁶You have given me the shield of your salvation,
    and your gentleness made me great.
³⁷^(BY)You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
    and my feet^[i] did not slip;
³⁸I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
    and did not turn back until they were consumed.
³⁹I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;
    they fell ^(BZ)under my feet.
⁴⁰For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
    you made ^(CA)those who rise against me sink under me.
⁴¹You ^(CB)made my enemies turn their backs to me,^[j]
    those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
⁴²They looked, but there was none to save;
    they cried to the Lord, but ^(CC)he did not answer them.
⁴³I beat them fine ^(CD)as the dust of the earth;
    I crushed them and stamped them down ^(CE)like the mire of the streets.

⁴⁴“You delivered me from strife with my people;^[k]
    you kept me as the head of ^(CF)the nations;
    ^(CG)people whom I had not known served me.
⁴⁵Foreigners came cringing to me;
    as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.
⁴⁶Foreigners lost heart
    and came trembling^[l] ^(CH)out of their fortresses.

⁴⁷“The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
    and exalted be ^(CI)my God, ^(CJ)the rock of my salvation,
⁴⁸the God who gave me vengeance
    and ^(CK)brought down peoples under me,
⁴⁹who brought me out from my enemies;
    you exalted me above ^(CL)those who rose against me;
    you delivered me from ^(CM)men of violence.

⁵⁰^(CN)“For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
    and sing praises to your name.
⁵¹^(CO)Great salvation he brings^[m] to his king,
    and shows steadfast love to ^(CP)his anointed,
    to David and his offspring ^(CQ)forever.”

The Last Words of David

23 Now these are the last words of David:

The oracle of David, the son of Jesse,
the oracle of ^(CR)the man who was raised on high,
^(CS)the anointed of the God of Jacob,
the sweet psalmist of Israel:^[n]

²^(CT)“The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me;
    his word is on my tongue.
³The God of Israel has spoken;
    ^(CU)the Rock of Israel has said to me:
When one rules justly over men,
    ruling ^(CV)in the fear of God,
⁴he ^(CW)dawns on them like the morning light,
    like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,
    like rain^[o] that makes grass to sprout from the earth.

⁵“For does not my house stand so with God?
    ^(CX)For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,
    ordered in all things and secure.
For will he not cause to prosper
    all my help and my desire?
⁶But worthless men^[p] are all like thorns that are thrown away,
    for they cannot be taken with the hand;
⁷but the man who touches them
    arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear,
    and they are utterly consumed with fire.”^[q]

David's Mighty Men

⁸^(CY)These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: ^(CZ)Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three.^[r] He wielded his spear^[s] against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.

⁹And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of ^(DA)Dodo, son of ^(DB)Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. ¹⁰He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the Lord brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.

¹¹And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the ^(DC)Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi,^[t] where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. ¹²But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory.

¹³And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the ^(DD)cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped ^(DE)in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁴David was then ^(DF)in the stronghold, and ^(DG)the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. ¹⁵And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” ¹⁶Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord ¹⁷and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink ^(DH)the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

¹⁸Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty.^[u] And he wielded his spear against three hundred men^[v] and killed them and won a name beside the three. ¹⁹He was the most renowned of the thirty^[w] and became their commander, but he did not attain to ^(DI)the three.

²⁰And ^(DJ)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man^[x] of ^(DK)Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels^[y] of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. ²¹And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear. ²²These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. ²³He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

²⁴^(DL)Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ²⁵^(DM)Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod, ²⁶Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh ^(DN)of Tekoa, ²⁷Abiezer ^(DO)of Anathoth, Mebunnai ^(DP)the Hushathite, ²⁸Zalmon ^(DQ)the Ahohite, Maharai ^(DR)of Netophah, ²⁹Heleb the son of Baanah ^(DS)of Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of ^(DT)Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, ³⁰Benaiah ^(DU)of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of ^(DV)Gaash, ³¹Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of ^(DW)Bahurim, ³²Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, ³³^(DX)Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, ³⁴Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai ^(DY)of Maacah, ^(DZ)Eliam the son of ^(EA)Ahithophel the Gilonite, ³⁵Hezro^[z] ^(EB)of Carmel, Paarai the Arbite, ³⁶Igal the son of Nathan ^(EC)of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, ³⁷Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai ^(ED)of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ³⁸^(EE)Ira the ^(EF)Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ³⁹^(EG)Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

Footnotes

2 Samuel 21:8 Two Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts Michal
2 Samuel 21:16 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
2 Samuel 21:19 Contrast 1 Chronicles 20:5, which may preserve the original reading
2 Samuel 22:3 Septuagint (compare Psalm 18:2); Hebrew lacks my
2 Samuel 22:5 Or terrified me
2 Samuel 22:9 Or in his wrath
2 Samuel 22:33 Or his; also verse 34
2 Samuel 22:33 Compare Psalm 18:32; Hebrew he has blamelessly set my way free, or he has made my way spring up blamelessly
2 Samuel 22:37 Hebrew ankles
2 Samuel 22:41 Or You gave me my enemies' necks
2 Samuel 22:44 Septuagint with the peoples
2 Samuel 22:46 Compare Psalm 18:45; Hebrew equipped themselves
2 Samuel 22:51 Or He is a tower of salvation
2 Samuel 23:1 Or the favorite of the songs of Israel
2 Samuel 23:4 Hebrew from rain
2 Samuel 23:6 Hebrew worthlessness
2 Samuel 23:7 Hebrew consumed with fire in the sitting
2 Samuel 23:8 Or of the captains
2 Samuel 23:8 Compare 1 Chronicles 11:11; the meaning of the Hebrew expression is uncertain
2 Samuel 23:11 Or gathered together as a camp
2 Samuel 23:18 Two Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts three
2 Samuel 23:18 Or slain ones
2 Samuel 23:19 Compare 1 Chronicles 11:21; Hebrew Was he the most renowned of the three?
2 Samuel 23:20 Or the son of Ishhai
2 Samuel 23:20 The meaning of the word ariel is uncertain
2 Samuel 23:35 Or Hezrai

Cross references

Psalm 18 English Standard Version

The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, ^(A)the servant of the Lord, ^(B)who addressed the words of this ^(C)song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

18 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
²The Lord is my ^(D)rock and my ^(E)fortress and my deliverer,
    my God, my ^(F)rock, in ^(G)whom I take refuge,
    my ^(H)shield, and ^(I)the horn of my salvation, my ^(J)stronghold.
³I call upon the Lord, who is ^(K)worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.

⁴^(L)The cords of death encompassed me;
^(M)the torrents of destruction assailed me;^[a]
⁵^(N)the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.

⁶^(O)In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his ^(P)temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.

⁷Then the earth ^(Q)reeled and rocked;
    the foundations also of the mountains trembled
    and quaked, because he was angry.
⁸Smoke went up from his nostrils,^[b]
    and devouring ^(R)fire from his mouth;
    glowing coals flamed forth from him.
⁹He ^(S)bowed the heavens and ^(T)came down;
    ^(U)thick darkness was under his feet.
¹⁰He rode on a cherub and flew;
    he came swiftly on ^(V)the wings of the wind.
¹¹He made darkness his covering, his ^(W)canopy around him,
    thick clouds ^(X)dark with water.
¹²Out of the brightness before him
    ^(Y)hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

¹³The Lord also ^(Z)thundered in the heavens,
    and the Most High uttered his ^(AA)voice,
    hailstones and coals of fire.
¹⁴And he sent out his ^(AB)arrows and scattered them;
    he flashed forth lightnings and ^(AC)routed them.
¹⁵Then ^(AD)the channels of the sea were seen,
    and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your ^(AE)rebuke, O Lord,
    at the blast of ^(AF)the breath of your nostrils.

¹⁶He ^(AG)sent from on high, he took me;
    he ^(AH)drew me out of ^(AI)many waters.
¹⁷He rescued me from my strong enemy
    and from those who hated me,
    for they were ^(AJ)too mighty for me.
¹⁸They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
    but the Lord was my support.
¹⁹He brought me out into ^(AK)a broad place;
    he rescued me, because he ^(AL)delighted in me.

²⁰The Lord dealt with me ^(AM)according to my righteousness;
    according to ^(AN)the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
²¹For I have ^(AO)kept the ways of the Lord,
    and have not wickedly departed from my God.
²²For ^(AP)all his rules^[c] were before me,
    and his statutes I did not put away from me.
²³I was ^(AQ)blameless before him,
    and I kept myself from my guilt.
²⁴So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
    according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

²⁵With ^(AR)the merciful you show yourself merciful;
    with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
²⁶with the purified you show yourself pure;
    and with ^(AS)the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
²⁷For you save ^(AT)a humble people,
    but ^(AU)the haughty eyes you bring down.
²⁸For it is you who light my ^(AV)lamp;
    the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
²⁹For by you I can run against a troop,
    and by my God I can ^(AW)leap over ^(AX)a wall.
³⁰This God—his way is ^(AY)perfect;^[d]
    the word of the Lord ^(AZ)proves true;
    he is ^(BA)a shield for all those who ^(BB)take refuge in him.

³¹For ^(BC)who is God, but the Lord?
    And who is ^(BD)a rock, except our God?—
³²the God who ^(BE)equipped me with strength
    and made my way ^(BF)blameless.
³³He made my feet like the feet of a ^(BG)deer
    and set me secure on ^(BH)the heights.
³⁴He ^(BI)trains my hands for war,
    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
³⁵You have given me the shield of your salvation,
    and your right hand ^(BJ)supported me,
    and your ^(BK)gentleness made me great.
³⁶You ^(BL)gave a wide place for my steps under me,
    and my feet did not slip.
³⁷I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
    and did not turn back till they were consumed.
³⁸I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
    they fell under my feet.
³⁹For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
    you made those who rise against me sink under me.
⁴⁰You made my enemies ^(BM)turn their backs to me,^[e]
    and those who hated me I destroyed.
⁴¹^(BN)They cried for help, but there was none to save;
    they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
⁴²I beat them fine as ^(BO)dust before the wind;
    I cast them out like ^(BP)the mire of the streets.

⁴³You delivered me from ^(BQ)strife with the people;
    you made me ^(BR)the head of the nations;
    ^(BS)people whom I had not known served me.
⁴⁴As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
    ^(BT)foreigners ^(BU)came cringing to me.
⁴⁵^(BV)Foreigners lost heart
    and ^(BW)came trembling out of their fortresses.

⁴⁶The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
    and exalted be the God of my salvation—
⁴⁷the God who gave me vengeance
    and ^(BX)subdued peoples under me,
⁴⁸who rescued me from my enemies;
    yes, you ^(BY)exalted me above those who rose against me;
    you delivered me from ^(BZ)the man of violence.

⁴⁹^(CA)For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
    and ^(CB)sing to your name.
⁵⁰Great ^(CC)salvation he brings to his king,
    and shows steadfast love to his ^(CD)anointed,
    to ^(CE)David and his offspring forever.

Footnotes

Psalm 18:4 Or terrified me
Psalm 18:8 Or in his wrath
Psalm 18:22 Or just decrees
Psalm 18:30 Or blameless
Psalm 18:40 Or You gave me my enemies' necks

Cross references

Romans 3 English Standard Version

God's Righteousness Upheld

3 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ²Much in every way. To begin with, ^(A)the Jews were entrusted with ^(B)the oracles of God. ³^(C)What if some were unfaithful? ^(D)Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? ⁴By no means! ^(E)Let God be true though ^(F)every one were a liar, as it is written,

^(G)“That you may be justified in your words,
and prevail when you ^(H)are judged.”

⁵But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict ^(I)wrath on us? (^(J)I speak in a human way.) ⁶By no means! For then how could ^(K)God judge the world? ⁷But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, ^(L)why am I still being condemned as a sinner? ⁸And why not ^(M)do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

No One Is Righteous

⁹What then? Are we Jews^[a] any better off?^[b] No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both ^(N)Jews and ^(O)Greeks, are ^(P)under sin, ¹⁰as it is written:

^(Q)“None is righteous, no, not one;
¹¹    no one understands;
    no one seeks for God.
¹²All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
    no one does good,
    not even one.”
¹³^(R)“Their throat is ^(S)an open grave;
    they use their tongues to deceive.”
^(T)“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
¹⁴    ^(U)“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
¹⁵^(V)“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶    in their paths are ruin and misery,
¹⁷and ^(W)the way of peace they have not known.”
¹⁸    ^(X)“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

¹⁹Now we know that whatever ^(Y)the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, ^(Z)so that every mouth may be stopped, and ^(AA)the whole world may be held accountable to God. ²⁰For ^(AB)by works of the law no human being^[c] will be justified in his sight, since ^(AC)through the law comes knowledge of sin.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith

²¹But now ^(AD)the righteousness of God ^(AE)has been manifested apart from the law, although ^(AF)the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²²the righteousness of God ^(AG)through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. ^(AH)For there is no distinction: ²³for ^(AI)all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴^(AJ)and are justified ^(AK)by his grace as a gift, ^(AL)through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God ^(AM)put forward as ^(AN)a propitiation ^(AO)by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in ^(AP)his divine forbearance he had passed over ^(AQ)former sins. ²⁶It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

²⁷^(AR)Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸For we hold that one is justified by faith ^(AS)apart from works of the law. ²⁹Or ^(AT)is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰since ^(AU)God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and ^(AV)the uncircumcised through faith. ³¹Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.