¹³ He ^(A)has delivered us from ^(B)the domain of darkness and transferred us to ^(C)the kingdom of ^(D)his beloved Son,

⁹ But you are ^(A)a chosen race, ^(B)a royal ^(C)priesthood, ^(D)a holy nation, ^(E)a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you ^(F)out of darkness into ^(G)his marvelous light.

^30 (A)The times of ignorance ^(B)God overlooked, but ^(C)now he ^(D)commands all people everywhere to repent, ³¹ because he has fixed ^(E)a day on which ^(F)he will judge the world ^(G)in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and ^(H)of this he has given assurance to all ^(I)by raising him from the dead.”

⁴ In their case ^(A)the god of this world ^(B)has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing ^(C)the light of ^(D)the gospel of the glory of Christ, ^(E)who is the image of God. ⁵ For what ^(F)we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ^(G)ourselves as your servants^[a] for Jesus' sake. ⁶ For God, who said, ^(H)“Let light shine out of darkness,” ^(I)has shone in our hearts to give ^(J)the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The New Life

¹⁷ Now this I say and ^(A)testify in the Lord, ^(B)that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, ^(C)in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸ They ^(D)are darkened in their understanding, ^(E)alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to ^(F)their hardness of heart. ¹⁹ They ^(G)have become callous and ^(H)have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. ²⁰ But that is not the way you ^(I)learned Christ!—

²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they ^(A)became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ^22 (B)Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and ^(C)exchanged the glory of ^(D)the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore ^(E)God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to ^(F)the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for ^(G)a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ^(H)who is blessed forever! Amen.

²⁶ For this reason ^(I)God gave them up to ^(J)dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷ and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, ^(K)men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, ^(L)God gave them up to ^(M)a debased mind to do ^(N)what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Though they know ^(O)God's righteous decree that those who practice such things ^(P)deserve to die, they not only do them but ^(Q)give approval to those who practice them.

^18 (A)to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from ^(B)the power of Satan to God, that they may receive ^(C)forgiveness of sins and ^(D)a place among those who are sanctified ^(E)by faith in me.’

² But for you ^(A)who fear my name, ^(B)the sun ^(C)of righteousness shall rise ^(D)with healing in its wings. You shall go out ^(E)leaping like calves from the stall.