The Sun Stands Still

10 As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction,^{[a] (A)}doing to Ai and its king ^(B)as he had done to Jericho and its king, and ^(C)how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, ^2 (D)he^[b] feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors. ³ So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, ⁴ “Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For ^(E)it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.” ⁵ Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, ^(F)gathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it.

⁶ And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua ^(G)at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us.” ⁷ So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and ^(H)all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. ⁸ And the Lord said to Joshua, ^(I)“Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. ^(J)Not a man of them shall stand before you.” ⁹ So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. ^10 (K)And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who^[c] struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of ^(L)the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ And as they fled before Israel, while they were ^(M)going down the ascent of Beth-horon, ^(N)the Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

¹² At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. ^14 (P)There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for ^(Q)the Lord fought for Israel.

¹⁵ So ^(R)Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Five Amorite Kings Executed

¹⁶ These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at ^(S)Makkedah. ¹⁷ And it was told to Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” ¹⁸ And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them, ¹⁹ but do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies; ^(T)attack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.” ²⁰ When Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a great blow ^(U)until they were wiped out, and when the remnant that remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, ²¹ then all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. ^(V)Not a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel.

²² Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.” ²³ And they did so, and brought those five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. ²⁴ And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. ²⁵ And Joshua said to them, ^(W)“Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. ^(X)For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” ²⁶ And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees. And ^(Y)they hung on the trees until evening. ²⁷ But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and ^(Z)they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.

²⁸ As for ^(AA)Makkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah ^(AB)just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Conquest of Southern Canaan

²⁹ Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to ^(AC)Libnah and fought against Libnah. ³⁰ And the Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left none remaining in it. And he did to its king ^(AD)as he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹ Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to ^(AE)Lachish and laid siege to it and fought against it. ³² And the Lord gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah.

³³ Then Horam king of ^(AF)Gezer came up to help Lachish. And Joshua struck him and his people, until he left none remaining.

³⁴ Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to ^(AG)Eglon. And they laid siege to it and fought against it. ³⁵ And they captured it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword. And he devoted every person in it to destruction that day, as he had done to Lachish.

³⁶ Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to ^(AH)Hebron. And they fought against it ³⁷ and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it. He left none remaining, as he had done to Eglon, and devoted it to destruction and every person in it.

³⁸ Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned back to ^(AI)Debir and fought against it ³⁹ and he captured it with its king and all its towns. And they struck them with the edge of the sword and devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. Just as he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and to its king.

⁴⁰ So Joshua struck the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland ^(AJ)and the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining, ^(AK)but devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel commanded. ⁴¹ And Joshua struck them from ^(AL)Kadesh-barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of ^(AM)Goshen, as far as Gibeon. ⁴² And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, ^(AN)because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. ^43 (AO)Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)a servant^[a] of Christ Jesus, ^(B)called to be an apostle, ^(C)set apart for the gospel of God, ² which ^(D)he promised beforehand ^(E)through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, ³ concerning his Son, ^(F)who was descended from David^{[b] (G)}according to the flesh ⁴ and ^(H)was declared to be the Son of God ^(I)in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵ through whom ^(J)we have received grace and ^(K)apostleship ^(L)to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name ^(M)among all the nations, ⁶ including you who are ^(N)called to belong to Jesus Christ,

⁷ To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

^(O)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Longing to Go to Rome

⁸ First, ^(P)I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, ^(Q)because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. ^9 (R)For God is my witness, ^(S)whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, ^(T)that without ceasing I mention you ¹⁰ always in my prayers, asking that somehow ^(U)by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. ¹¹ For ^(V)I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— ¹² that is, that we may be mutually encouraged ^(W)by each other's faith, both yours and mine. ¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,^[c] that ^(X)I have often intended to come to you (but ^(Y)thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some ^(Z)harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. ^14 (AA)I am under obligation both to Greeks and to ^(AB)barbarians,^[d] both to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵ So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁶ For ^(AC)I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is ^(AD)the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew ^(AE)first and also to ^(AF)the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it ^(AG)the righteousness of God is revealed ^(AH)from faith for faith,^{[e] (AI)}as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”^[f]

God's Wrath on Unrighteousness

¹⁸ For ^(AJ)the wrath of God ^(AK)is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be ^(AL)known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, ^(AM)have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,^[g] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they ^(AN)became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ^22 (AO)Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and ^(AP)exchanged the glory of ^(AQ)the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

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

²⁶ For this reason ^(AV)God gave them up to ^(AW)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, ^(AX)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, ^(AY)God gave them up to ^(AZ)a debased mind to do ^(BA)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 ^(BB)God's righteous decree that those who practice such things ^(BC)deserve to die, they not only do them but ^(BD)give approval to those who practice them.

God's Righteous Judgment

2 Therefore you have ^(BE)no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For ^(BF)in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. ² We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. ³ Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you presume on ^(BG)the riches of his kindness and ^(BH)forbearance and ^(BI)patience, ^(BJ)not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? ⁵ But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are ^(BK)storing up ^(BL)wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

^6 (BM)He will render to each one according to his works: ⁷ to those who ^(BN)by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; ⁸ but for those who are self-seeking^[h] and ^(BO)do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. ⁹ There will be tribulation and distress ^(BP)for every human being who does evil, the Jew ^(BQ)first and also the Greek, ¹⁰ but glory and honor and ^(BR)peace for everyone who does good, ^(BS)the Jew first and also the Greek. ¹¹ For ^(BT)God shows no partiality.

God's Judgment and the Law

¹² For all who have sinned ^(BU)without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. ¹³ For ^(BV)it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. ¹⁴ For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, ^(BW)by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the work of the law is ^(BX)written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ^16 (BY)on that day when, ^(BZ)according to my gospel, God judges ^(CA)the secrets of men ^(CB)by Christ Jesus.

¹⁷ But if you call yourself a Jew and ^(CC)rely on the law and boast in God ¹⁸ and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; ¹⁹ and if you are sure that you yourself are ^(CD)a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law ^(CE)the embodiment of ^(CF)knowledge and truth— ^21 (CG)you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? ²² You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you ^(CH)rob temples? ²³ You who ^(CI)boast in the law ^(CJ)dishonor God by breaking the law. ²⁴ For, ^(CK)as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed ^(CL)among the Gentiles because of you.”

²⁵ For circumcision indeed is of value ^(CM)if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. ²⁶ So, if ^(CN)a man who is uncircumcised keeps ^(CO)the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded^[i] as circumcision? ²⁷ Then he who is physically^[j] uncircumcised but keeps the law ^(CP)will condemn you who have ^(CQ)the written code^[k] and circumcision but break the law. ²⁸ For ^(CR)no one is a Jew ^(CS)who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. ²⁹ But a Jew is one ^(CT)inwardly, and ^(CU)circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. ^(CV)His praise is not from man but from God.

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, ^(CW)the Jews were entrusted with ^(CX)the oracles of God. ^3 (CY)What if some were unfaithful? ^(CZ)Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? ⁴ By no means! ^(DA)Let God be true though ^(DB)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 ^(DE)wrath on us? (^(DF)I speak in a human way.) ⁶ By no means! For then how could ^(DG)God judge the world? ⁷ But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, ^(DH)why am I still being condemned as a sinner? ⁸ And why not ^(DI)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^[l] any better off?^[m] No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both ^(DJ)Jews and ^(DK)Greeks, are ^(DL)under sin, ¹⁰ as it is written:

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever ^(DU)the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, ^(DV)so that every mouth may be stopped, and ^(DW)the whole world may be held accountable to God. ²⁰ For ^(DX)by works of the law no human being^[n] will be justified in his sight, since ^(DY)through the law comes knowledge of sin.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith

²¹ But now ^(DZ)the righteousness of God ^(EA)has been manifested apart from the law, although ^(EB)the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²² the righteousness of God ^(EC)through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. ^(ED)For there is no distinction: ²³ for ^(EE)all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ^24 (EF)and are justified ^(EG)by his grace as a gift, ^(EH)through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God ^(EI)put forward as ^(EJ)a propitiation ^(EK)by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in ^(EL)his divine forbearance he had passed over ^(EM)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 (EN)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 ^(EO)apart from works of the law. ²⁹ Or ^(EP)is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰ since ^(EQ)God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and ^(ER)the uncircumcised through faith. ³¹ Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.