²⁶ The cities of the clans of the rest of the Kohathites were ten in all with their pasturelands.

^27 (A)And to the Gershonites, one of the clans of the Levites, were given out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands, ^(B)the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Beeshterah with its pasturelands—two cities; ²⁸ and out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, ²⁹ Jarmuth with its pasturelands, En-gannim with its pasturelands—four cities; ³⁰ and out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, ³¹ Helkath with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands—four cities; ³² and out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, ^(C)the city of refuge for the manslayer, Hammoth-dor with its pasturelands, and Kartan with its pasturelands—three cities. ³³ The cities of the several clans of the Gershonites were in all thirteen cities with their pasturelands.

^34 (D)And to the rest of the Levites, the Merarite clans, were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasturelands, Kartah with its pasturelands, ³⁵ Dimnah with its pasturelands, Nahalal with its pasturelands—four cities; ³⁶ and out of the tribe of Reuben, ^(E)Bezer with its pasturelands, Jahaz with its pasturelands, ³⁷ Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands—four cities; ³⁸ and out of the tribe of Gad, ^(F)Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, the city of refuge for the manslayer, ^(G)Mahanaim with its pasturelands, ^39 (H)Heshbon with its pasturelands, Jazer with its pasturelands—four cities in all. ⁴⁰ As for the cities of the several Merarite clans, that is, the remainder of the clans of the Levites, those allotted to them were in all twelve cities.

^41 (I)The cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the people of Israel were in all forty-eight cities with their pasturelands. ⁴² These cities each had its pasturelands around it. So it was with all these cities.

^43 (J)Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. ^44 (K)And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. ^(L)Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for ^(M)the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. ^45 (N)Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

The Eastern Tribes Return Home

22 At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ² and said to them, “You have kept ^(O)all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you ^(P)and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. ³ You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the Lord your God. ^4 (Q)And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, ^(R)which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. ^5 (S)Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, ^(T)to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” ⁶ So Joshua ^(U)blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

⁷ Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, ^(V)but to the other half Joshua had given a possession beside their brothers in the land west of the Jordan. And when Joshua sent them away to their homes and blessed them, ⁸ he said to them, “Go back to your tents with much wealth and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. ^(W)Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.” ⁹ So the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the people of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go ^(X)to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had possessed themselves by command of the Lord through Moses.

Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good

Submission to the Authorities

13 Let every person ^(A)be subject to the governing authorities. For ^(B)there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you ^(C)will receive his approval, ⁴ for ^(D)he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, ^(E)an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also ^(F)for the sake of conscience. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ^7 (G)Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

^8 (H)Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for ^(I)the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, ^(J)“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ^(K)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore ^(L)love is the fulfilling of the law.

¹¹ Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you ^(M)to wake from sleep. ^(N)For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. ^12 (O)The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us ^(P)cast off ^(Q)the works of darkness and ^(R)put on the armor of light. ^13 (S)Let us walk properly as in the daytime, ^(T)not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, ^(U)not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴ But ^(V)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, ^(W)to gratify its desires.

Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another

14 As for ^(X)the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. ^2 (Y)One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. ³ Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and ^(Z)let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. ^4 (AA)Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master^[a] that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

^5 (AB)One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. ^(AC)Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since ^(AD)he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For ^(AE)none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. ⁸ For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, ^(AF)whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. ⁹ For to this end Christ ^(AG)died and lived again, that he might be Lord both ^(AH)of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰ Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For ^(AI)we will all stand before ^(AJ)the judgment seat of God; ¹¹ for it is written,

¹² So then ^(AL)each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Do Not Cause Another to Stumble

^13 (AM)Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide ^(AN)never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. ¹⁴ I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus ^(AO)that nothing is unclean in itself, ^(AP)but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. ¹⁵ For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, ^(AQ)you are no longer walking in love. ^(AR)By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. ^16 (AS)So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. ^17 (AT)For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but ^(AU)of righteousness and ^(AV)peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ Whoever thus serves Christ is ^(AW)acceptable to God and approved by men. ¹⁹ So then let us ^(AX)pursue what makes for peace and for ^(AY)mutual upbuilding.

^20 (AZ)Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. ^(BA)Everything is indeed clean, but ^(BB)it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. ^21 (BC)It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.^{[c] 22} The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. ^(BD)Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. ²³ But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.^[d]

The Example of Christ

15 ^(BE)We who are strong ^(BF)have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ^2 (BG)Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ³ For ^(BH)Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ^(BI)“The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” ⁴ For ^(BJ)whatever was written in former days was written for our ^(BK)instruction, that through endurance and through ^(BL)the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ⁵ May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you ^(BM)to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, ⁶ that together you may with one voice glorify ^(BN)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

⁸ For I tell you that Christ ^(BO)became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order ^(BP)to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, ⁹ and in order ^(BQ)that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

¹⁰ And again it says,

¹¹ And again,

¹² And again Isaiah says,

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all ^(BX)joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

^14 (BY)I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,^[e] that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with ^(BZ)all knowledge and able to instruct one another. ¹⁵ But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, ^(CA)because of the grace given me by God ¹⁶ to be ^(CB)a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles ^(CC)in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that ^(CD)the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷ In Christ Jesus, then, I have ^(CE)reason to be proud of ^(CF)my work for God. ¹⁸ For I will not venture to speak of anything except ^(CG)what Christ has accomplished through me ^(CH)to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, ^19 (CI)by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that ^(CJ)from Jerusalem and all the way around ^(CK)to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; ²⁰ and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, ^(CL)lest I build on someone else's foundation, ²¹ but as it is written,

Paul's Plan to Visit Rome

²² This is the reason why ^(CN)I have so often been hindered from coming to you. ²³ But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and ^(CO)since I have longed for many years to come to you, ²⁴ I hope to see you in passing as I go ^(CP)to Spain, and ^(CQ)to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. ²⁵ At present, however, ^(CR)I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. ²⁶ For ^(CS)Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. ²⁷ For they were pleased to do it, and indeed ^(CT)they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. ²⁸ When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,^[f] I will leave ^(CU)for Spain by way of you. ²⁹ I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing^[g] of Christ.

³⁰ I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by ^(CV)the love of the Spirit, ^(CW)to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, ^31 (CX)that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that ^(CY)my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, ³² so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and ^(CZ)be refreshed in your company. ³³ May ^(DA)the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Personal Greetings

16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant^[h] of the church at ^(DB)Cenchreae, ² that you ^(DC)may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

³ Greet ^(DD)Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, ⁴ who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. ⁵ Greet also ^(DE)the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was ^(DF)the first convert^[i] to Christ in Asia. ⁶ Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. ⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia,^[j] my kinsmen and my ^(DG)fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles,^[k] and they were in Christ before me. ⁸ Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. ⁹ Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. ¹⁰ Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those ^(DH)who belong to the family of Aristobulus. ¹¹ Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. ¹² Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. ¹³ Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. ¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers^[l] who are with them. ¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. ^16 (DI)Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

Final Instructions and Greetings

¹⁷ I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles ^(DJ)contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; ^(DK)avoid them. ¹⁸ For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but ^(DL)their own appetites,^[m] and ^(DM)by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. ¹⁹ For ^(DN)your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you ^(DO)to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. ^20 (DP)The God of peace ^(DQ)will soon crush Satan under your feet. ^(DR)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

^21 (DS)Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

²² I Tertius, ^(DT)who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

^23 (DU)Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.^[n]

Doxology

^25 (DV)Now to him who is able to strengthen you ^(DW)according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, ^(DX)according to the revelation of the mystery ^(DY)that was kept secret for ^(DZ)long ages ²⁶ but ^(EA)has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, ^(EB)to bring about the obedience of faith— ²⁷ to ^(EC)the only wise God ^(ED)be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.