The Branch of Righteousness

23 “Woe ^(A)to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the Lord. ² Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. ^(B)Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the Lord. ³ “But ^(C)I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. ⁴ I will set up ^(D)shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.

^[d]THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Boasting Excluded

^27 (A)Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸ Therefore we conclude ^(B)that a man is ^[a]justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. ²⁹ Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, ³⁰ since ^(C)there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. ³¹ Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

Abraham Justified by Faith^(D)

4 What then shall we say that ^(E)Abraham our ^(F)father^[b] has found according to the flesh? ² For if Abraham was ^(G)justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. ³ For what does the Scripture say? ^(H)“Abraham believed God, and it was ^[c]accounted to him for righteousness.” ⁴ Now ^(I)to him who works, the wages are not counted ^[d]as grace but as debt.

David Celebrates the Same Truth

⁵ But to him who ^(J)does not work but believes on Him who justifies ^(K)the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, ⁶ just as David also ^(L)describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: