From Death to Life

2 You were dead through the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world,^[a] following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient.^{[b](A) 3} All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, doing the will of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else,^{(B) 4} but God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us^{(C) 5} even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ^[c]—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places^[d] in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— ⁹ not the result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them.^(D)

⁴ From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea,^[a] to go around the land of Edom, but the people became discouraged on the way.^{(A) 5} The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.”^{(B) 6} Then the Lord sent poisonous^[b] serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died.^{(C) 7} The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.^{(D) 8} And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous^[c] serpent, and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” ⁹ So Moses made a serpent of bronze and put it upon a pole, and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.^(E)