You Must Be Born Again

3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named ^(A)Nicodemus, ^(B)a ruler of the Jews. ² This man came to Jesus^{[a] (C)}by night and said to him, ^(D)“Rabbi, ^(E)we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do ^(F)unless God is with him.” ³ Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is ^(G)born ^(H)again^[b] he cannot ^(I)see the kingdom of God.” ⁴ Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born ^(J)of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ^6 (K)That which is born of the flesh is ^(L)flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.^{[c] 7 (M)}Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You^[d] must be born ^(N)again.’ ^8 (O)The wind^[e] blows ^(P)where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus said to him, ^(Q)“How can these things be?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel ^(R)and yet you do not understand these things? ¹¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(S)we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but ^(T)you^[f] do not receive our testimony. ¹² If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ^13 (U)No one has ^(V)ascended into heaven except ^(W)he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.^{[g] 14} And ^(X)as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man ^(Y)be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes ^(Z)in him ^(AA)may have eternal life.^[h]

For God So Loved the World

¹⁶ “For ^(AB)God so loved ^(AC)the world,^{[i] (AD)}that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not ^(AE)perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For ^(AF)God did not send his Son into the world ^(AG)to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ^18 (AH)Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not ^(AI)believed in the name of the only Son of God. ^19 (AJ)And this is the judgment: ^(AK)the light has come into the world, and ^(AL)people loved the darkness rather than the light because ^(AM)their works were evil. ^20 (AN)For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, ^(AO)lest his works should be exposed. ²¹ But whoever ^(AP)does what is true ^(AQ)comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

²² After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and ^(AR)was baptizing. ²³ John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized ²⁴ (for ^(AS)John had not yet been put in prison).

²⁵ Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over ^(AT)purification. ²⁶ And they came to John and said to him, ^(AU)“Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, ^(AV)to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and ^(AW)all are going to him.” ²⁷ John answered, ^(AX)“A person cannot receive even one thing ^(AY)unless it is given him ^(AZ)from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ^(BA)‘I am not the Christ, but ^(BB)I have been sent before him.’ ^29 (BC)The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. ^(BD)The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, ^(BE)rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. ^30 (BF)He must increase, but I must decrease.”^[j]

^31 (BG)He who comes from above ^(BH)is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and ^(BI)speaks in an earthly way. ^(BJ)He who comes from heaven ^(BK)is above all. ^32 (BL)He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, ^(BM)yet no one receives his testimony. ³³ Whoever receives his testimony ^(BN)sets his seal to this, ^(BO)that God is true. ³⁴ For he whom ^(BP)God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit ^(BQ)without measure. ^35 (BR)The Father loves the Son and ^(BS)has given all things into his hand. ^36 (BT)Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; ^(BU)whoever does not obey the Son shall not ^(BV)see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

God's Righteousness Upheld

3 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ² Much 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? ⁴ By no means! ^(E)Let God be true though ^(F)every one were a liar, as it is written,

⁵ But 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.) ⁶ By no means! For then how could ^(K)God judge the world? ⁷ But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, ^(L)why am I still being condemned as a sinner? ⁸ And 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

⁹ What 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, ¹⁰ as it is written:

¹⁹ Now 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. ²⁰ For ^(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

²¹ But 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— ²² the righteousness of God ^(AG)through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. ^(AH)For there is no distinction: ²³ for ^(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, ²⁵ whom 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. ²⁶ It 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. ²⁸ For we hold that one is justified by faith ^(AS)apart from works of the law. ²⁹ Or ^(AT)is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰ since ^(AU)God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and ^(AV)the uncircumcised through faith. ³¹ Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Abraham Justified by Faith

4 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, ^(AW)our forefather according to the flesh? ² For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but ^(AX)not before God. ³ For what does the Scripture say? ^(AY)“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” ⁴ Now ^(AZ)to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. ⁵ And to the one who does not work but ^(BA)believes in^[d] him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, ⁶ just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

⁹ Is this blessing then only for ^(BD)the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? ^(BE)For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. ¹⁰ How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. ^11 (BF)He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was ^(BG)to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, ¹² and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

The Promise Realized Through Faith

¹³ For ^(BH)the promise to Abraham and his offspring ^(BI)that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ^14 (BJ)For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵ For ^(BK)the law brings wrath, but ^(BL)where there is no law ^(BM)there is no transgression.

¹⁶ That is why it depends on faith, ^(BN)in order that the promise may rest on grace and ^(BO)be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, ^(BP)who is the father of us all, ¹⁷ as it is written, ^(BQ)“I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, ^(BR)who gives life to the dead and calls into existence ^(BS)the things that do not exist. ¹⁸ In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ^(BT)“So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was ^(BU)as good as dead (^(BV)since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered ^(BW)the barrenness^[e] of Sarah's womb. ²⁰ No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, ²¹ fully convinced that ^(BX)God was able to do what he had promised. ²² That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” ²³ But ^(BY)the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, ²⁴ but for ours also. It will be counted to us ^(BZ)who believe in ^(CA)him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, ^25 (CB)who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised ^(CC)for our justification.

Greeting

1 Paul, an ^(A)apostle—^(B)not from men nor through man, but ^(C)through Jesus Christ and God the Father, ^(D)who raised him from the dead— ² and all ^(E)the brothers^[a] who are with me,

To ^(F)the churches of Galatia:

^3 (G)Grace to you and peace ^(H)from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ^4 (I)who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present ^(J)evil age, according to the will of ^(K)our God and Father, ⁵ to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

No Other Gospel

⁶ I am astonished that you are ^(L)so quickly deserting ^(M)him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to ^(N)a different gospel— ^7 (O)not that there is another one, but ^(P)there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we or ^(Q)an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, ^(R)let him be accursed. ⁹ As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, ^(S)let him be accursed.

¹⁰ For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying ^(T)to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a ^(U)servant^[b] of Christ.

Paul Called by God

¹¹ For ^(V)I would have you know, brothers, that ^(W)the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel.^{[c] 12 (X)}For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it ^(Y)through a revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹³ For you have heard of ^(Z)my former life in Judaism, how ^(AA)I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely ^(AB)zealous was I for ^(AC)the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵ But when he ^(AD)who had set me apart ^(AE)before I was born,^[d] and who ^(AF)called me by his grace, ¹⁶ was pleased to reveal his Son to^[e] me, in order ^(AG)that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;^{[f] 17} nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

¹⁸ Then ^(AH)after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ But I saw none of the other apostles except James ^(AI)the Lord's brother. ²⁰ (In what I am writing to you, ^(AJ)before God, I do not lie!) ^21 (AK)Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. ²² And I was still unknown in person to ^(AL)the churches of Judea that are in Christ. ²³ They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they glorified God because of me.

Paul Accepted by the Apostles

2 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. ² I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those ^(AM)who seemed influential) the gospel that ^(AN)I proclaim among the Gentiles, ^(AO)in order to make sure I was not running or had not ^(AP)run in vain. ³ But even Titus, who was with me, ^(AQ)was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. ^4 (AR)Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who ^(AS)slipped in to spy out ^(AT)our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, ^(AU)so that they might bring us into slavery— ⁵ to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that ^(AV)the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. ⁶ And from those ^(AW)who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; ^(AX)God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential ^(AY)added nothing to me. ⁷ On the contrary, when they saw that I had been ^(AZ)entrusted with ^(BA)the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised ⁸ (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), ⁹ and when James and Cephas and John, ^(BB)who seemed to be ^(BC)pillars, perceived the ^(BD)grace that was given to me, they ^(BE)gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ¹⁰ Only, they asked us to remember the poor, ^(BF)the very thing I was eager to do.

Paul Opposes Peter

¹¹ But ^(BG)when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him ^(BH)to his face, because he stood condemned. ¹² For before certain men came from James, ^(BI)he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing ^(BJ)the circumcision party.^{[g] 13} And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. ¹⁴ But when I saw that their ^(BK)conduct was not in step with ^(BL)the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas ^(BM)before them all, “If you, though a Jew, ^(BN)live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Justified by Faith

¹⁵ We ourselves are Jews by birth and not ^(BO)Gentile sinners; ¹⁶ yet we know that ^(BP)a person is not justified^[h] by works of the law ^(BQ)but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, ^(BR)because by works of the law no one will be justified.

¹⁷ But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found ^(BS)to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! ¹⁸ For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. ¹⁹ For through the law I ^(BT)died to the law, so that I might ^(BU)live to God. ²⁰ I have been ^(BV)crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives ^(BW)in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, ^(BX)who loved me and ^(BY)gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not nullify the grace of God, for ^(BZ)if righteousness^[i] were through the law, ^(CA)then Christ died for no purpose.

By Faith, or by Works of the Law?

3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? ^(CB)It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly ^(CC)portrayed as crucified. ² Let me ask you only this: ^(CD)Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by ^(CE)hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? ^(CF)Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by^[j] the flesh? ^4 (CG)Did you suffer^[k] so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? ⁵ Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and ^(CH)works miracles among you do so ^(CI)by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— ⁶ just as ^(CJ)Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

⁷ Know then that it is ^(CK)those of faith who are ^(CL)the sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that ^(CM)God would justify^[l] the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ^(CN)“In you shall all the nations be blessed.” ⁹ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁰ For all who rely on works of the law are ^(CO)under a curse; for it is written, ^(CP)“Cursed be everyone who does not ^(CQ)abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” ¹¹ Now it is evident that ^(CR)no one is justified before God by the law, for ^(CS)“The righteous shall live by faith.”^{[m] 12} But the law is not of faith, rather ^(CT)“The one who does them shall live by them.” ¹³ Christ ^(CU)redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ^(CV)“Cursed is everyone who is hanged ^(CW)on a tree”— ¹⁴ so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might ^(CX)come to the Gentiles, so that ^(CY)we might receive ^(CZ)the promised Spirit^[n] through faith.

The Law and the Promise

^15 (DA)To give a human example, brothers:^{[o] (DB)}even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. ¹⁶ Now ^(DC)the promises were made ^(DD)to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, ^(DE)“And to your offspring,” who is Christ. ¹⁷ This is what I mean: the law, which came ^(DF)430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as ^(DG)to make the promise void. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but ^(DH)God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

¹⁹ Why then the law? ^(DI)It was added because of transgressions, ^(DJ)until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was ^(DK)put in place through angels ^(DL)by an intermediary. ²⁰ Now ^(DM)an intermediary implies more than one, but ^(DN)God is one.

²¹ Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For ^(DO)if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. ²² But the Scripture ^(DP)imprisoned everything under sin, so that ^(DQ)the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given ^(DR)to those who believe.

²³ Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, ^(DS)imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. ²⁴ So then, ^(DT)the law was our ^(DU)guardian until Christ came, ^(DV)in order that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, ²⁶ for in Christ Jesus ^(DW)you are all sons of God, through faith. ²⁷ For as many of you as ^(DX)were baptized ^(DY)into Christ have ^(DZ)put on Christ. ^28 (EA)There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave^[p] nor free, ^(EB)there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And ^(EC)if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, ^(ED)heirs according to promise.