14 The wicked draw the sword(A)
    and bend the bow(B)
to bring down the poor and needy,(C)
    to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,(D)
    and their bows will be broken.(E)

16 Better the little that the righteous have
    than the wealth(F) of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,(G)
    but the Lord upholds(H) the righteous.

18 The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,(I)
    and their inheritance will endure forever.(J)
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
    in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

20 But the wicked will perish:(K)
    Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
    they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.(L)

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27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,(A)
    when he marked out the horizon(B) on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above(C)
    and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,(D)
29 when he gave the sea its boundary(E)
    so the waters would not overstep his command,(F)
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.(G)

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32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it[a] is near, right at the door.(A) 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.(B) 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:33 Or he

God’s Righteous Judgment

You, therefore, have no excuse,(A) you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.(B) Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches(C) of his kindness,(D) forbearance(E) and patience,(F) not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?(G)

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath(H), when his righteous judgment(I) will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”[a](J) To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor(K) and immortality,(L) he will give eternal life.(M) But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil,(N) there will be wrath and anger.(O) There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil:(P) first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;(Q) 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.(R) 11 For God does not show favoritism.(S)

12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law(T) will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey(U) the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law,(V) they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets(W) through Jesus Christ,(X) as my gospel(Y) declares.

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 2:6 Psalm 62:12; Prov. 24:12

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