Proverbs 16:18

New International Version

¹⁸Pride^(A) goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit^(B) before a fall.^(C)

Proverbs 16:18 in all English translations

Isaiah 59

New International Version

Sin, Confession and Redemption

59 Surely the arm^(A) of the Lord is not too short^(B) to save,
    nor his ear too dull to hear.^(C)
²But your iniquities have separated^(D)
    you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
    so that he will not hear.^(E)
³For your hands are stained with blood,^(F)
    your fingers with guilt.^(G)
Your lips have spoken falsely,^(H)
    and your tongue mutters wicked things.
⁴No one calls for justice;^(I)
    no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely^(J) on empty arguments, they utter lies;^(K)
    they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.^(L)
⁵They hatch the eggs of vipers^(M)
    and spin a spider’s web.^(N)
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
    and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
⁶Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
    they cannot cover themselves with what they make.^(O)
Their deeds are evil deeds,
    and acts of violence^(P) are in their hands.
⁷Their feet rush into sin;
    they are swift to shed innocent blood.^(Q)
They pursue evil schemes;^(R)
    acts of violence mark their ways.^(S)
⁸The way of peace they do not know;^(T)
    there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;^(U)
    no one who walks along them will know peace.^(V)

⁹So justice is far from us,
    and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;^(W)
    for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
¹⁰Like the blind^(X) we grope along the wall,
    feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble^(Y) as if it were twilight;
    among the strong, we are like the dead.^(Z)
¹¹We all growl like bears;
    we moan mournfully like doves.^(AA)
We look for justice, but find none;
    for deliverance, but it is far away.

¹²For our offenses^(AB) are many in your sight,
    and our sins testify^(AC) against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
    and we acknowledge our iniquities:^(AD)
¹³rebellion^(AE) and treachery against the Lord,
    turning our backs^(AF) on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,^(AG)
    uttering lies^(AH) our hearts have conceived.
¹⁴So justice^(AI) is driven back,
    and righteousness^(AJ) stands at a distance;
truth^(AK) has stumbled in the streets,
    honesty cannot enter.
¹⁵Truth^(AL) is nowhere to be found,
    and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The Lord looked and was displeased
    that there was no justice.^(AM)
¹⁶He saw that there was no one,^(AN)
    he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;^(AO)
so his own arm achieved salvation^(AP) for him,
    and his own righteousness^(AQ) sustained him.
¹⁷He put on righteousness as his breastplate,^(AR)
    and the helmet^(AS) of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments^(AT) of vengeance^(AU)
    and wrapped himself in zeal^(AV) as in a cloak.
¹⁸According to what they have done,
    so will he repay^(AW)
wrath to his enemies
    and retribution to his foes;
    he will repay the islands^(AX) their due.
¹⁹From the west,^(AY) people will fear the name of the Lord,
    and from the rising of the sun,^(AZ) they will revere his glory.^(BA)
For he will come like a pent-up flood
    that the breath^(BB) of the Lord drives along.^[a]

²⁰“The Redeemer^(BC) will come to Zion,^(BD)
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”^(BE)
declares the Lord.

²¹“As for me, this is my covenant^(BF) with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,^(BG) who is on you, will not depart from you,^(BH) and my words that I have put in your mouth^(BI) will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

Footnotes

Isaiah 59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight

Romans 3

New International Version

God’s Faithfulness

3 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? ²Much in every way!^(A) First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.^(B)

³What if some were unfaithful?^(C) Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?^(D) ⁴Not at all! Let God be true,^(E) and every human being a liar.^(F) As it is written:

“So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge.”^[a]^(G)

⁵But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly,^(H) what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)^(I) ⁶Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?^(J) ⁷Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory,^(K) why am I still condemned as a sinner?”^(L) ⁸Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”?^(M) Their condemnation is just!

No One Is Righteous

⁹What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage?^(N) Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.^(O) ¹⁰As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
¹¹    there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.
¹²All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
    not even one.”^[b]^(P)
¹³“Their throats are open graves;
    their tongues practice deceit.”^[c]^(Q)
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”^[d]^(R)
¹⁴    “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”^[e]^(S)
¹⁵“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶    ruin and misery mark their ways,
¹⁷and the way of peace they do not know.”^[f]^(T)
¹⁸    “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”^[g]^(U)

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says,^(V) it says to those who are under the law,^(W) so that every mouth may be silenced^(X) and the whole world held accountable to God.^(Y) ²⁰Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law;^(Z) rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.^(AA)

Righteousness Through Faith

²¹But now apart from the law the righteousness of God^(AB) has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.^(AC) ²²This righteousness^(AD) is given through faith^(AE) in^[h] Jesus Christ^(AF) to all who believe.^(AG) There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,^(AH) ²³for all have sinned^(AI) and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and all are justified^(AJ) freely by his grace^(AK) through the redemption^(AL) that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[i]^(AM) through the shedding of his blood^(AN)—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished^(AO)— ²⁶he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

²⁷Where, then, is boasting?^(AP) It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. ²⁸For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.^(AQ) ²⁹Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,^(AR) ³⁰since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.^(AS) ³¹Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Footnotes

Romans 3:4 Psalm 51:4
Romans 3:12 Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20
Romans 3:13 Psalm 5:9
Romans 3:13 Psalm 140:3
Romans 3:14 Psalm 10:7 (see Septuagint)
Romans 3:17 Isaiah 59:7,8
Romans 3:18 Psalm 36:1
Romans 3:22 Or through the faithfulness of
Romans 3:25 The Greek for sacrifice of atonement refers to the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant (see Lev. 16:15,16).