1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle^(A) and set apart^(B) for the gospel of God^(C)— ² the gospel he promised beforehand^(D) through his prophets^(E) in the Holy Scriptures^{(F) 3} regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life^[a](G) was a descendant of David,^{(H) 4} and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power^[b](I) by his resurrection from the dead:^(J) Jesus Christ our Lord.^{(K) 5} Through him we received grace^(L) and apostleship to call all the Gentiles^(M) to the obedience that comes from^[c] faith^(N) for his name’s sake. ⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.^(O)

⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God^(P) and called to be his holy people:^(Q)

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.^(R)

Paul’s Longing to Visit Rome

⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you,^(S) because your faith is being reported all over the world.^{(T) 9} God, whom I serve^(U) in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness^(V) how constantly I remember you ¹⁰ in my prayers at all times;^(W) and I pray that now at last by God’s will^(X) the way may be opened for me to come to you.^(Y)

¹¹ I long to see you^(Z) so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift^(AA) to make you strong— ¹² that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. ¹³ I do not want you to be unaware,^(AB) brothers and sisters,^[d](AC) that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now)^(AD) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

¹⁴ I am obligated^(AE) both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. ¹⁵ That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.^(AF)

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel,^(AG) because it is the power of God^(AH) that brings salvation to everyone who believes:^(AI) first to the Jew,^(AJ) then to the Gentile.^{(AK) 17} For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed^(AL)—a righteousness that is by faith^(AM) from first to last,^[e] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”^[f](AN)

God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity

¹⁸ The wrath of God^(AO) is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.^{(AP) 20} For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,^(AQ) so that people are without excuse.^(AR)

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.^{(AS) 22} Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools^{(AT) 23} and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images^(AU) made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them over^(AV) in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.^{(AW) 25} They exchanged the truth about God for a lie,^(AX) and worshiped and served created things^(AY) rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.^(AZ) Amen.^(BA)

²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over^(BB) to shameful lusts.^(BC) Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.^{(BD) 27} In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.^(BE)

²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over^(BF) to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,^{(BG) 30} slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;^{(BH) 31} they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love,^(BI) no mercy. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death,^(BJ) they not only continue to do these very things but also approve^(BK) of those who practice them.

⁵ The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth,^(A) and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.^(B)

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

19 The two angels^(A) arrived at Sodom^(B) in the evening, and Lot^(C) was sitting in the gateway of the city.^(D) When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.^{(E) 2} “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet^(F) and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”

“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”^(G)

³ But he insisted^(H) so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house.^(I) He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast,^(J) and they ate.^{(K) 4} Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom^(L)—both young and old—surrounded the house. ⁵ They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”^(M)

⁶ Lot went outside to meet them^(N) and shut the door behind him ⁷ and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. ⁸ Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”^(O)

⁹ “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner,^(P) and now he wants to play the judge!^(Q) We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

¹⁰ But the men^(R) inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. ¹¹ Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness^(S) so that they could not find the door.

¹² The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you?^(T) Get them out of here, ¹³ because we^(U) are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great^(V) that he has sent us to destroy it.”^(W)

¹⁴ So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry^[a] his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!^(X)” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.^(Y)

¹⁵ With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away^(Z) when the city is punished.^(AA)”

¹⁶ When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters^(AB) and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.^{(AC) 17} As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives!^(AD) Don’t look back,^(AE) and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!^(AF) Flee to the mountains^(AG) or you will be swept away!”

¹⁸ But Lot said to them, “No, my lords,^[b] please! ¹⁹ Your^[c] servant has found favor in your^[d] eyes,^(AH) and you^[e] have shown great kindness^(AI) to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains;^(AJ) this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. ²⁰ Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”

²¹ He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request^(AK) too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. ²² But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.^[f](AL))

²³ By the time Lot reached Zoar,^(AM) the sun had risen over the land. ²⁴ Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur^(AN) on Sodom and Gomorrah^(AO)—from the Lord out of the heavens.^{(AP) 25} Thus he overthrew those cities^(AQ) and the entire plain,^(AR) destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.^{(AS) 26} But Lot’s wife looked back,^(AT) and she became a pillar of salt.^(AU)

²⁷ Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord.^{(AV) 28} He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.^(AW)

²⁹ So when God destroyed the cities of the plain,^(AX) he remembered^(AY) Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe^(AZ) that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.^(BA)

Lot and His Daughters

³⁰ Lot and his two daughters left Zoar^(BB) and settled in the mountains,^(BC) for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. ³¹ One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. ³² Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line^(BD) through our father.”^(BE)

³³ That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.^(BF)

³⁴ The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.”^{(BG) 35} So they got their father to drink wine^(BH) that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.^(BI)

³⁶ So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.^{(BJ) 37} The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab^[g];^(BK) he is the father of the Moabites^(BL) of today. ³⁸ The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi^[h]; he is the father of the Ammonites^[i](BM) of today.

The Golden Calf

32 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain,^(A) they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods^[a] who will go before^(B) us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”^(C)

² Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings^(D) that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He took what they handed him and made it into an idol^(E) cast in the shape of a calf,^(F) fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,^[b](G) Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”^(H)

⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival^(I) to the Lord.” ⁶ So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings.^(J) Afterward they sat down to eat and drink^(K) and got up to indulge in revelry.^(L)

⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt,^(M) have become corrupt.^{(N) 8} They have been quick to turn away^(O) from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol^(P) cast in the shape of a calf.^(Q) They have bowed down to it and sacrificed^(R) to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’^(S)

⁹ “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked^(T) people. ¹⁰ Now leave me alone^(U) so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy^(V) them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”^(W)

¹¹ But Moses sought the favor^(X) of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?^{(Y) 12} Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’?^(Z) Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster^(AA) on your people. ¹³ Remember^(AB) your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self:^(AC) ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars^(AD) in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land^(AE) I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” ¹⁴ Then the Lord relented^(AF) and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

¹⁵ Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law^(AG) in his hands.^(AH) They were inscribed^(AI) on both sides, front and back. ¹⁶ The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.^(AJ)

¹⁷ When Joshua^(AK) heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”

¹⁸ Moses replied:

¹⁹ When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf^(AL) and the dancing,^(AM) his anger burned^(AN) and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces^(AO) at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰ And he took the calf the people had made and burned^(AP) it in the fire; then he ground it to powder,^(AQ) scattered it on the water^(AR) and made the Israelites drink it.

²¹ He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”

²² “Do not be angry,^(AS) my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil.^{(AT) 23} They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’^{(AU) 24} So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”^(AV)

²⁵ Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock^(AW) to their enemies. ²⁶ So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.

²⁷ Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’”^{(AX) 28} The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. ²⁹ Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”

³⁰ The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin.^(AY) But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement^(AZ) for your sin.”

³¹ So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed!^(BA) They have made themselves gods of gold.^{(BB) 32} But now, please forgive their sin^(BC)—but if not, then blot me^(BD) out of the book^(BE) you have written.”

³³ The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out^(BF) of my book. ³⁴ Now go, lead^(BG) the people to the place^(BH) I spoke of, and my angel^(BI) will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish,^(BJ) I will punish them for their sin.”

³⁵ And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf^(BK) Aaron had made.

¹² For the word of God^(A) is alive^(B) and active.^(C) Sharper than any double-edged sword,^(D) it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.^{(E) 13} Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.^(F) Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

²¹ “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming^(A) when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.^{(B) 22} You Samaritans worship what you do not know;^(C) we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.^{(D) 23} Yet a time is coming and has now come^(E) when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit^(F) and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit,^(G) and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

²⁵ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ)^(H) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”^(I)

The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

²⁷ Just then his disciples returned^(J) and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

²⁸ Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.^(K) Could this be the Messiah?”^{(L) 30} They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

³¹ Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi,^(M) eat something.”

³² But he said to them, “I have food to eat^(N) that you know nothing about.”

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am^(A) the way^(B) and the truth^(C) and the life.^(D) No one comes to the Father except through me.^(E)

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve^(A)(B)

9 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons^(C) and to cure diseases,^{(D) 2} and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God^(E) and to heal the sick. ³ He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt.^(F)