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32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

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24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

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Made Alive with Christ

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.[a] He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:2 Greek obeying the commander of the power of the air.

Oh, give me back my joy again;
    you have broken me—
    now let me rejoice.

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10 Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. 11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness,[a] not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”

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Footnotes

  1. 4:11 Hebrew people who don’t know their right hand from their left.

10 Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
    They will enter Jerusalem[a] singing,
    crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
    and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

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Footnotes

  1. 35:10 Hebrew Zion.

Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him,

“You will be proved right in what you say,
    and you will win your case in court.”[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 3:4 Ps 51:4 (Greek version).

34 The Son of Man,[a] on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’

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Footnotes

  1. 7:34 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.

Let those who are wise understand these things.
    Let those with discernment listen carefully.
The paths of the Lord are true and right,
    and righteous people live by walking in them.
    But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.

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He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:

“For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles;
    I will sing praises to your name.”[a]

10 And in another place it is written,

“Rejoice with his people,
    you Gentiles.”[b]

11 And yet again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles.
    Praise him, all you people of the earth.”[c]

12 And in another place Isaiah said,

“The heir to David’s throne[d] will come,
    and he will rule over the Gentiles.
They will place their hope on him.”[e]

13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

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Footnotes

  1. 15:9 Ps 18:49.
  2. 15:10 Deut 32:43.
  3. 15:11 Ps 117:1.
  4. 15:12a Greek The root of Jesse. David was the son of Jesse.
  5. 15:12b Isa 11:10 (Greek version).

19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God.

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