¹³ “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders^(A) that our ancestors told^(B) us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned^(C) us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools^{(A) 23} and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images^(B) made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them over^(C) in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.^{(D) 25} They exchanged the truth about God for a lie,^(E) and worshiped and served created things^(F) rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.^(G) Amen.^(H)

²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over^(I) to shameful lusts.^(J) Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.^{(K) 27} In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.^(L)

²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over^(M) to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,^{(N) 30} slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;^{(O) 31} they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love,^(P) no mercy. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death,^(Q) they not only continue to do these very things but also approve^(R) of those who practice them.

¹⁷ We will certainly do everything we said we would:^(A) We will burn incense^(B) to the Queen of Heaven^(C) and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials^(D) did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem.^(E) At that time we had plenty of food^(F) and were well off and suffered no harm.^{(G) 18} But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings^(H) to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine.^(I)”

¹⁹ The women added, “When we burned incense^(J) to the Queen of Heaven^(K) and poured out drink offerings to her, did not our husbands^(L) know that we were making cakes^(M) impressed with her image^(N) and pouring out drink offerings to her?”

Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience

50 This is what the Lord says:

¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt^(A) in God’s sight and was full of violence.^{(B) 12} God saw how corrupt^(C) the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.^(D)

No One Is Righteous

⁹ What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage?^(A) Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.^{(B) 10} As it is written:

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says,^(I) it says to those who are under the law,^(J) so that every mouth may be silenced^(K) and the whole world held accountable to God.^(L)