Conquests in Northern Canaan

11 When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he ^(A)sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, ² and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the ^(B)Arabah south of ^(C)Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and ^(D)in Naphoth-dor on the ^(E)west, ³ to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the ^(F)Jebusites in the hill country, and the ^(G)Hivites under ^(H)Hermon in the land of ^(I)Mizpah. ⁴ And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number ^(J)like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. ⁵ And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

⁶ And the Lord said to Joshua, ^(K)“Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall ^(L)hamstring their horses and burn their ^(M)chariots with fire.” ⁷ So Joshua and all his warriors came ^(N)suddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. ⁸ And the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them as far as ^(O)Great Sidon and ^(P)Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of ^(Q)Mizpeh. And they struck them until he left none remaining. ⁹ And Joshua did to them ^(R)just as the Lord said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

¹⁰ And Joshua turned back at that time and captured ^(S)Hazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms. ¹¹ And they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction;^{[a] (T)}there was none left that breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. ¹² And all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua captured, and struck them with the edge of the sword, devoting them to destruction, ^(U)just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. ¹³ But none of the cities that stood on mounds did Israel burn, except Hazor alone; that Joshua burned. ¹⁴ And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the people of Israel took for their plunder. But every person they struck with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed. ^15 (V)Just as the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, ^(W)so Moses commanded Joshua, ^(X)and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

¹⁶ So Joshua took all that land, ^(Y)the hill country and all the Negeb and ^(Z)all the land of Goshen ^(AA)and the lowland ^(AB)and the Arabah ^(AC)and the hill country of Israel and its lowland ^17 (AD)from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as ^(AE)Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon below ^(AF)Mount Hermon. And he captured ^(AG)all their kings and struck them and put them to death. ¹⁸ Joshua made war ^(AH)a long time with all those kings. ¹⁹ There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except ^(AI)the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. ²⁰ For it was the Lord's doing ^(AJ)to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, ^(AK)just as the Lord commanded Moses.

²¹ And Joshua came at that time and cut off ^(AL)the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. ²² There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, ^(AM)in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain. ²³ So Joshua took the whole land, ^(AN)according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. ^(AO)And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel ^(AP)according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.

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.