“So(A) I say to you, ask,(B) and it will be given to you. Seek,(C) and you will find. Knock,(D) and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son[a] asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil,(E) know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father(F) give the Holy Spirit(G) to those who ask him?”

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Footnotes

  1. 11:11 Other mss read son asks for bread, would give him a stone? Or if he

14 Anyone born of woman
is short of days and full of trouble.(A)
He blossoms like a flower, then withers;(B)
he flees like a shadow and does not last.
Do you really take notice of one like this?
Will you bring me into judgment against you?[a](C)
Who can produce something pure from what is impure?
No one!
Since a person’s days are determined
and the number of his months depends on you,
and since you have set[b] limits he cannot pass,(D)
look away from him and let him rest
so that he can enjoy his day like a hired worker.(E)

There is hope for a tree:
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its shoots will not die.
If its roots grow old in the ground
and its stump starts to die in the soil,
the scent of water makes it thrive
and produce twigs like a sapling.(F)
10 But a person dies and fades away;
he breathes his last—where is he?
11 As water disappears from a lake
and a river becomes parched and dry,
12 so people lie down never to rise again.
They will not wake up until the heavens are no more;(G)
they will not stir from their sleep.

13 If only you would hide me in Sheol(H)
and conceal me until your anger(I) passes.
If only you would appoint a time for me
and then remember me.
14 When a person dies, will he come back to life?
If so, I would wait(J) all the days of my struggle(K)
until my relief comes.
15 You would call, and I would answer you.
You would long for the work of your hands.(L)
16 For then you would count my steps(M)
but would not take note(N) of my sin.
17 My rebellion would be sealed up in a bag,
and you would cover over my iniquity.

18 But as a mountain collapses and crumbles
and a rock is dislodged from its place,
19 as water wears away stones
and torrents wash away the soil from the land,
so you destroy a man’s hope.(O)
20 You completely overpower him, and he passes on;
you change his appearance and send him away.
21 If his sons receive honor, he does not know it;
if they become insignificant, he is unaware of it.(P)
22 He feels only the pain of his own body
and mourns only for himself.

Footnotes

  1. 14:3 LXX, Syr, Vg read him
  2. 14:5 Lit set his

From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God

15 What then? Should we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?(A) Absolutely not!(B) 16 Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone[a] as obedient slaves,(C) you are slaves of that one you obey(D)—either of sin leading to death(E) or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin,(F) you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were handed[b] over,(G) 18 and having been set free from sin,(H) you became enslaved to righteousness. 19 I am using a human analogy(I) because of the weakness of your flesh.[c] For just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.[d](J) 21 So what fruit was produced[e] then from the things you are now ashamed of?(K) The outcome of those things is death.(L) 22 But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God,(M) you have your fruit, which results in sanctification(N)—and the outcome is eternal life!(O) 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.(P)

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Footnotes

  1. 6:16 Lit that to whom you offer yourselves
  2. 6:17 Or entrusted
  3. 6:19 Or your human nature
  4. 6:20 Lit free to righteousness
  5. 6:21 Lit what fruit do you have

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