⁵¹ ·I tell you the truth [^LTruly, truly I say to you], whoever ·obeys my teaching will never die [^Lkeeps my word will never see death].”

⁵² [^LTherefore] ·They [The Jewish leaders; ^LThe Jews] said to Jesus, “Now we know that you ·have a demon in you [are demon-possessed]! Even Abraham and the prophets died. But you say, ‘Whoever ·obeys my teaching will never die [^Lkeeps my word will never taste death].’ ⁵³ Do you think you are greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died, too. ·Who do you think you are [or Who are you claiming/pretending to be]?”

⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “If I give ·honor [glory] to myself, that ·honor [glory] is worth nothing. The One who gives me ·honor [glory] is my Father, and you say he is your God. ⁵⁵ You don’t really know him, but I know him. If I said I did not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I ·obey what he says [^Lkeep his word]. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham ·was very happy [rejoiced] that he would see my day [^Cthe day of the Messiah’s arrival]. He saw that day and was glad.”

⁵⁷ [^LTherefore] ·They [The Jewish leaders; ^LThe Jews] said to him, “You have never seen Abraham! You are not even fifty years old [^CAbraham had been dead for almost 2,000 years].”

⁵⁸ Jesus answered, “·I tell you the truth [^LTruly, truly I say to you], before Abraham was even born, ·I am!” [^CA claim to deity; see comments at 8:24; 10:28.]

Stephen’s Speech

7 The high priest said to Stephen, “Are these ·things [charges] true?”

² Stephen answered, “Brothers [^LMen, brothers] and fathers, listen to me. ·Our glorious God [The God of glory] appeared to Abraham, our ·ancestor [patriarch; ^Lfather], in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran [^Ca city in Syria where Abraham resided before reaching the Promised Land; Gen. 11:31]. ³ God said to Abraham, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and go to the land I will show you [Gen. 12:1].’ ⁴ So Abraham left the ·country [land] of Chaldea [^Canother name for southern Mesopotamia, the location of Ur] and went to live in Haran. After Abraham’s father [^CTerah] died, God sent him to this place where you now live. ⁵ God did not give Abraham ·any of this land [^Lan inheritance in it], not even a ·foot of it [^La foot’s length]. But God promised that he would give this land to him [^Las a possession] and his ·descendants [^Lseed; Gen. 12:2], even before Abraham had a child. ⁶ This is what God said to him: ‘Your ·descendants [^Lseed] will be ·strangers [foreigners; resident aliens] in a ·land they don’t own [foreign land; land belonging to others; ^CEgypt]. The people there will make them slaves and will ·mistreat [oppress] them for four hundred years. ⁷ But I will ·punish [judge] the nation where they are slaves. Then ·your descendants [^Lthey] will leave that land and will worship me in this place [Gen. 15:13–14; Ex. 3:12].’ ⁸ God made an ·agreement [covenant; ^Ca treaty-like relationship] with Abraham, the sign of which was circumcision [Gen. 17:9–14]. And so when Abraham ·had his son [became the father of; ^Tbegat] Isaac, Abraham circumcised him when he was eight days old. Isaac ·also circumcised his son Jacob [or became the father of Jacob], and Jacob ·did the same for his sons, [or became the father of] the twelve ·ancestors of our people [patriarchs; ^Cthe twelve sons of Jacob who were the “fathers” of the twelve tribes of Israel].

¹⁹ We know that ·the law’s commands [^Lwhat the law says] are for those who ·have [are under/subject to; ^Lare in] the law. This ·stops all excuses [^Lsilences every mouth] and brings the whole world under God’s judgment, ²⁰ because no one can be ·made right [justfied; declared righteous] with God [Ps. 143:2] ·by following [^Lthrough the works of] the law. [^LFor] The law only ·shows us our [brings awareness of] sin.

How God Makes People Right

²¹ But now ·God’s way to make people right with him [^Lthe righteousness of God] ·without [apart from] the law has been ·shown to us [revealed; made known], a way ·told to us [testified to; attested] by the law and the prophets. ²² ·God makes people right with himself [^LThis righteousness comes] through ·their faith in [or the faithfulness of] Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because ·all people are the same [there is no distinction/difference; ^Cbetween Jews and Gentiles]: ²³ [^LFor; Because] Everyone has sinned and ·fallen short [or is not worthy] of God’s ·glorious standard [or glorious presence; ^Lglory], ²⁴ and all need to be ·made right with God [justfied; declared righteous] as a free gift by his grace, ·by being set free from sin [^Lthrough the redemption that is] ·through [or in] Jesus Christ. ²⁵ God ·sent [or appointed; or presented] him ·to die in our place to take away our sins [as a sacrifice of atonement; or as the mercy seat; ^Tas a propitiation; ^Cthe Greek term could mean the place where sacrificial blood was dripped (the mercy seat) or the sacrifice itself; it implies an atoning sacrifice that turns away divine wrath]. We receive forgiveness through faith in ·the blood of Jesus’ death [^Lhis blood]. This showed ·that God always does what is right and fair [^Lhis righteousness], as in the past when he was patient and ·did not punish people for their sins [^Lpassed over/delayed punishment for previously committed sins]. ²⁶ And God gave Jesus to show ·today [or at this present time (of salvation)] ·that he does what is right [^Lhis righteousness/justice]. God did this so he could ·judge rightly [or be shown to be just/righteous] and so he could ·make right [declare righteous; justify] any person ·who has faith in Jesus [or on the basis of Jesus’ faithfulness; see v. 22]. [^CChrist’s sacrificial death shows that God is both just (sin is justly punished) and merciful (God saves undeserving sinners).]

²⁷ ·So do we have a reason to brag about ourselves? No! [^LWhere, then, is boasting? It is excluded.] ·And why not [^LBy what law/principle]? It is the ·way [law; principle] of faith that stops all ·bragging [boasting], not the ·way [law; principle] of ·trying to obey the law [^Lworks]. ²⁸ For we ·conclude [maintain; assert] a person is ·made right with God [justified; declared righteous] through faith, not through ·obeying [^Lthe works of] the law. ²⁹ [^LOr] Is God only the God of the Jews? Is he not also the God of the Gentiles? ³⁰ Of course he is, because ·there is only one God [or God is one; Deut. 6:4]. He will ·make Jews right with him [^Ljustify/make righteous the circumcised] by their faith, and he will also ·make Gentiles right with him [^Ljustify/declare righteous the uncircumcised] through their faith. ³¹ So do we ·destroy [nullify; annul] the law by ·following the way of faith [^Lfaith]? ·No [Absolutely not; May it never be; v. 6]! ·Faith causes us to be what the law truly wants [^LWe uphold/establish/support the law; ^Cliving by faith captures the true spirit and purpose of the law; the law pointed out sin and the need for grace, thereby pointing to Christ].

The Example of Abraham

4 So what can we say that Abraham, ·the father of our people [^Lour forefather according to the flesh; Gen. 12—25], ·learned about faith [discovered in this regard; ^Lhas found]? ² If Abraham was ·made right [justified; declared righteous] by ·the things he did [^Lthe works of the law], he had a reason to ·brag [boast]. ·But this is not God’s view [or …but he could not boast before God], ³ because the Scripture says, “Abraham believed God, and ·God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God [^Lit was credited/counted to him for righteousness; Gen. 15:6].”

⁴ When people work, their ·pay [wage] is not ·given [credited; counted] as ·a gift [grace], but as something ·earned [due to them]. ⁵ ·But people cannot do any work that will make them right with God. So they must trust in him [^LBut for the one who does not work, but trusts in God], who ·makes even evil people right in his sight [justifies/makes righteous the ungodly]. Then God ·accepts their faith, and that makes them right with him [^Lcredits/counts their faith for righteousness]. ⁶ David said the same thing. He said that people are ·truly blessed [happy; spiritually fulfilled] when God, ·without paying attention to their deeds [apart from works], ·makes people right with himself [^Lcredits/counts righteousness to them].

⁹ Is this ·blessing [happiness; spiritual fulfillment] only for those who are circumcised or also for those who are not circumcised? We have already said that ·God accepted Abraham’s faith and that faith made him right with God [^Lfaith was credited/counted to Abraham for righteousness; v. 3]. ¹⁰ So how did this happen? Did God accept Abraham before or after he was circumcised? It was not after, but before his circumcision. ¹¹ Abraham ·was circumcised [^Lreceived the sign of circumcision; Gen. 17:9–14] ·to show that he was right with God [^Las a seal/guarantee of the righteousness he had] through faith before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the father of all those who believe but are not circumcised, so that ·they too may be accepted as being right with God [righteousness may be credited/counted to them also]. ¹² And Abraham is also the father of those who have been circumcised and who ·live following [^Lwalk in the footsteps of] the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

God Keeps His Promise

¹³ [^LFor] The promise Abraham and his ·descendants [seed] received that they would inherit the ·whole world [^Lworld] ·did not come through [was not based on his obedience to] the law, but through ·being right with God by his faith [the righteousness that comes by faith]. ¹⁴ [^LFor] If people ·could receive what God promised [^Lare heirs] by following the law, then faith is worthless. And ·God’s promise to Abraham [^Lthe promise] is ·worthless [nullified; canceled], ¹⁵ because the law can only bring God’s ·anger [wrath]. But if there is no law, there is ·nothing to disobey [no transgression/violation; ^Cthe law points out sin (5:13), but it cannot save from sin].

¹⁶ So people receive God’s promise by having faith. This happens so the promise can be ·a free gift [by grace]. Then all of Abraham’s ·children [descendants; offspring; ^Lseed] can ·have [be guaranteed; be certain to have] that promise. It is not only for those who live under the law of Moses but for anyone who lives with faith like that of Abraham, who is the father of us all. ¹⁷ As it is written in the Scriptures: “I ·am making [^Lhave made] you a father of many nations [Gen. 17:5].” This is true ·before [in the presence of] God, the God Abraham believed, the God who gives life to the dead and who ·creates something out of nothing [^Lcalls things that did not exist into existence].

¹⁸ ·Though there was no hope that Abraham would have children [or When all seemed hopeless; ^LAgainst hope…], Abraham believed God and continued hoping, and so he became the father of many nations [Gen. 17:5]. As God told him, “·Your descendants also will be too many to count [^LSo shall your seed/offspring be; Gen. 15:5].” ¹⁹ Abraham was almost a hundred years old, ·much past the age for having children [^Lhis own body (as good as) dead], and ·Sarah could not have children [^LSarah’s womb was dead]. Abraham ·thought about all [considered; or acknowledged] this, but his faith in God did not become weak. ²⁰ He never ·doubted or stopped believing [or wavered through unbelief] that God would keep his promise. He grew stronger in his faith and gave ·praise [glory] to God. ²¹ Abraham ·felt sure [was fully convinced] that God was able to do what he had promised. ²² So, “·God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God [^Lit was credited/counted to him for righteousness; Gen. 15:6].” ²³ Those words (“·God accepted Abraham’s faith [^Lit was credited/counted to him]”) were written not only for Abraham ²⁴ but also for us. ·God will accept us also [^L…to whom it will be credited/counted] because we believe in the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵ Jesus was ·given to die [handed/delivered over; 8:32] ·for [because of] our ·sins [violations; transgressions], and he was raised from the dead ·to make us right with God [for our justification; or to confirm our justification].

Right with God

5 [^LTherefore,] Since we have been ·made right with God [declared righteous; justified] by our faith, we have^[a] peace with God. This happened through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² ·who through our faith^[b] has brought us into that blessing of [^Lthrough whom we have access by faith to] God’s grace ·that we now enjoy [^Lin which we stand/live]. And we ·are happy [rejoice; boast] because of the hope we have ·of sharing [or of experiencing; ^Lof] God’s glory. ³ [^LNot only this, but] We also ·have joy [rejoice; boast] ·with our troubles [through suffering/trials/persecution], because we know that ·these troubles [suffering; trials; persecution] produce ·patience [endurance]. ⁴ And ·patience [endurance] produces [tested and proven] character, and [tested and proven] character produces hope. ⁵ And this hope will never ·disappoint us [let us down; or put us to shame; dishonor us; ^Chonor and shame were among the most important values in first century culture], because God has ·poured out his love to fill our hearts [or flooded our hearts with his love]. He gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.

⁶ [^LFor] When we were ·unable to help ourselves [^Lstill helpless/weak], at the ·right [or appointed] time, Christ died for ·us sinners [^Lthe ungodly/wicked].

The Law and the Promise

¹⁵ Brothers and sisters, let us think ·in human terms [or of an example from everyday life; ^Laccording to man]: Even in the case of a human ·agreement [covenant; or will and testament], after it has been ·accepted [ratified; put into affect] no one can ·set it aside [annul it] or add anything to it. ¹⁶ God made promises both to Abraham and to his ·descendant [seed]. God did not say, “and to your ·descendants [seeds].” That would mean many people. But God said, “and to your ·descendant [seed; Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 17:7; 24:7].” That means only one person; that person is Christ. ¹⁷ This is what I mean: The law, which came four hundred thirty years later, cannot ·change [cancel; nullify] that ·agreement [covenant] previously made by God and so ·destroy [nullify; render invalid] God’s promise to Abraham. ¹⁸ If the law could give us ·Abraham’s blessing [^Lthe inheritance], then ·the promise would not be necessary [or it is not based on a promise]. But that is not possible, because God freely gave ·his blessings [^Lit] to Abraham through the promise he had made.

The Law and the Promise

¹⁵ Brothers and sisters, let us think ·in human terms [or of an example from everyday life; ^Laccording to man]: Even in the case of a human ·agreement [covenant; or will and testament], after it has been ·accepted [ratified; put into affect] no one can ·set it aside [annul it] or add anything to it. ¹⁶ God made promises both to Abraham and to his ·descendant [seed]. God did not say, “and to your ·descendants [seeds].” That would mean many people. But God said, “and to your ·descendant [seed; Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 17:7; 24:7].” That means only one person; that person is Christ. ¹⁷ This is what I mean: The law, which came four hundred thirty years later, cannot ·change [cancel; nullify] that ·agreement [covenant] previously made by God and so ·destroy [nullify; render invalid] God’s promise to Abraham. ¹⁸ If the law could give us ·Abraham’s blessing [^Lthe inheritance], then ·the promise would not be necessary [or it is not based on a promise]. But that is not possible, because God freely gave ·his blessings [^Lit] to Abraham through the promise he had made.

¹¹ In Christ you were also circumcised, but not with a circumcision done by hands [Rom. 2:28; Phil. 3:3]. It was ·a circumcision done by Christ [^Lthe circumcision of Christ], which ·freed you from [put off; cut away] ·the power of your sinful self [your sinful nature; ^Lthe body of flesh; ^Cjust as OT circumcision cut off the physical flesh, so Christ’s circumcision “cuts off” the “flesh”—the power of our sinful self]. ¹² When you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and you were raised up with him through your faith in the ·power [working; active agency] of God, who raised Christ from the dead. ¹³ When you were ·spiritually dead [^Ldead] ·because of [or in] your sins and ·because you were not free from the power [^Lin the uncircumcision] of your ·sinful self [sinful nature; flesh], God made you alive with Christ, and he forgave all our ·sins [transgressions]. ¹⁴ He ·canceled [wiped out; erased] the ·record [certificate] of debt, ·which listed all the rules we failed to follow [^Lwith its decrees that were against us; ^Cthe record of sins revealed through the OT law; Eph. 2:15]. He ·took it away [set it aside; destroyed it] and nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ ·God [or Christ; ^LHe] ·stripped the spiritual rulers and powers of their authority [^Ldisarmed/despoiled the rulers and authorities]. With the cross, he won the victory and ·showed the world that they were powerless [publicly shamed them; made a public spectacle of them; ^Clike a triumphant general displaying his captives in a victory parade].

The Priest Melchizedek

7 Melchizedek [^Ca priest and king in the time of Abraham; Gen. 14:17–24; Heb. 5:6, 10; 6:20] was the king of Salem [^Canother name for Jerusalem, meaning “peace”; v. 2] and a priest for God Most High. He met Abraham when Abraham was coming back after ·defeating [^Lthe slaughter of] the kings [Gen. 14:17–19]. When they met, Melchizedek blessed Abraham, ² and Abraham ·gave [^Lapportioned/divided to] him a ·tenth [tithe] ·of everything he had brought back from the battle [^Lof everything]. First, Melchizedek’s name means “king of ·goodness [righteousness; justice],” and he is king of Salem [^Canother name for Jerusalem], which means “king of peace.” ³ ·No one knows who Melchizedek’s father or mother was [^L…without father, without mother], ·where he came from [^Lwithout genealogy], ·when he was born, or when he died [^Lhaving neither beginning of days, nor end of life; ^Csomething unstated was assumed not to exist]. Melchizedek is like the Son of God; he continues being a priest forever [^CMelchizedek’s unmentioned genealogy in Genesis is, by analogy, like Jesus’ eternal Sonship and priesthood].

⁴ You can see how great Melchizedek was. Abraham, the ·great father [patriarch], gave him a tenth of ·everything that he won in battle [the spoils/booty/plunder]. ⁵ Now the law ·says [authorizes; commands] that those ·in the tribe [^Lof the sons/descendants] of Levi who become priests must collect a ·tenth [tithe] from the people—their ·own people [^Lbrothers (and sisters)]—even though ·the priests and the people [^Lthey] ·are from the family [are also descendants; ^Lhave come from the loins/body] of Abraham. ⁶ [^LBut] Melchizedek was not ·from the tribe of Levi [^Ldescended from them; v. 3; ^Che was not from the Levitical line of priests], but he collected a ·tenth [tithe] from Abraham. And he blessed Abraham, the man who had God’s promises [Gen. 12:1–3]. ⁷ Now ·everyone knows [it is indisputable] that the ·more important person blesses the less important person [^Llesser/inferior is blessed by the greater/superior]. ⁸ ·Priests receive a tenth, even though they are only men who live and then die [^LIn the one case, mortal men receive a tithe,…]. ·But Melchizedek, who received a tenth from Abraham, continues living, as the Scripture says [^L…but in the other case, the one (receives the tithe) who is declared (by Scripture) to be alive]. ⁹ We might even say that Levi, who receives a ·tenth [tithe], also paid it when Abraham paid Melchizedek a tenth. ¹⁰ Levi was not yet born, but he was in the ·body [loins] of his ancestor when Melchizedek met Abraham [^Cthe Levitical priesthood is considered inferior to Melchizedek’s (and Christ’s) priesthood, since Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek through his ancestor Abraham].

¹¹ ·The people were given the law concerning the system of priests from the tribe of Levi, but they could not be made perfect through that system [^LIf perfection could be attained through the Levitical priesthood, established for the people in the law…]. ·So there was [^L…why was there…?] a need for another priest to come, a priest ·like [^Lin the priestly order/line of] Melchizedek, not [^Lin the priestly order/line of] Aaron [^CMoses’ brother and Israel’s first high priest (5:4; Ex. 28:1); the existence of Melchizedek’s priestly line implies that the priesthood through Levi and Aaron was inadequate]. ¹² And when a different ·kind of priest [priesthood; priestly line] comes, the law must be changed, too. ¹³ ·We are saying these things about Christ, who [^LFor the one about whom these things are said] belonged to a different tribe [^CJesus belonged to the tribe of Judah, not Levi]. No one from that tribe [^CJudah] ever served as a priest at the altar. ¹⁴ It is clear that our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses said nothing about priests belonging to that tribe [^Cthe kings from David’s line (including Jesus) came from the tribe of Judah, but the OT priesthood came through Levi and Aaron].

Jesus Is like Melchizedek

¹⁵ And this becomes even more clear ·when we see that [^Lif] another priest ·comes [arises; appears on the scene] who is like Melchizedek [vv. 1–14]. ¹⁶ He was not made a priest by ·human rules and laws [or regulations about physical descent/ancestry] but through the power of his life, which ·continues forever [or is indestructable]. ¹⁷ [^LFor] It is said about him,

¹⁸ The ·old [former] ·rule [commandment; regulation] is now ·set aside [nullified; abolished], because it was weak and ·useless [ineffective]. ¹⁹ The law [^Cof Moses] could not make anything perfect. But now a better hope has been given to us, and ·with [by means of; through] this hope we can ·come near to [approach] God.

⁸ It was by faith Abraham obeyed God’s call to go to another place ·God promised to give him [^Lhe would later receive as an inheritance; Gen. 12:1–4, 7]. He left his own country, not knowing where he was ·to go [going]. ⁹ It was by faith that he lived like a ·foreigner [stranger; resident alien] in the ·country God promised to give him [Promised Land]. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who ·had received [were co-heirs of] that same promise from God. ¹⁰ [^LFor] Abraham was waiting for the city [^Cthe heavenly Jerusalem, symbolic of the presence of God; Heb. 12:22; Rev. 21:2] that has real foundations—the city ·planned and built by [^Lwhose architect/designer and builder is] God.

¹¹ ·He was too old to have children, and Sarah [or Sarah was too old and] ·could not have children [was barren/sterile]. It was by faith that ·Abraham was made able to become a father, because he [or Sarah was made able to bear children, because she] ·trusted God [^Lconsidered God faithful/trustworthy] to do what he had promised^[a] [Gen. 21:2]. ¹² This man was so old he was ·almost [as good as] dead, but from ·him [^Lone man] ·came [^Lwere fathered/^Tbegotten] as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. Like the sand on the seashore, they could not be counted [Gen. 15:5; 22:17; 32:12].