Romans 8

New International Version

Life Through the Spirit

8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation^(A) for those who are in Christ Jesus,^(B) ²because through Christ Jesus^(C) the law of the Spirit who gives life^(D) has set you^[a] free^(E) from the law of sin^(F) and death. ³For what the law was powerless^(G) to do because it was weakened by the flesh,^[b]^(H) God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh^(I) to be a sin offering.^[c]^(J) And so he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴in order that the righteous requirement^(K) of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.^(L)

⁵Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires;^(M) but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.^(N) ⁶The mind governed by the flesh is death,^(O) but the mind governed by the Spirit is life^(P) and peace. ⁷The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God;^(Q) it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸Those who are in the realm of the flesh^(R) cannot please God.

⁹You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh^(S) but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.^(T) And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,^(U) they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you,^(V) then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life^[d] because of righteousness. ¹¹And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead^(W) is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies^(X) because of^[e] his Spirit who lives in you.

¹²Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.^(Y) ¹³For if you live according to the flesh, you will die;^(Z) but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body,^(AA) you will live.^(AB)

¹⁴For those who are led by the Spirit of God^(AC) are the children of God.^(AD) ¹⁵The Spirit^(AE) you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again;^(AF) rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.^[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,^[g] Father.”^(AG) ¹⁶The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit^(AH) that we are God’s children.^(AI) ¹⁷Now if we are children, then we are heirs^(AJ)—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings^(AK) in order that we may also share in his glory.^(AL)

Present Suffering and Future Glory

¹⁸I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.^(AM) ¹⁹For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God^(AN) to be revealed. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it,^(AO) in hope ²¹that^[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay^(AP) and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.^(AQ)

²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning^(AR) as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,^(AS) groan^(AT) inwardly as we wait eagerly^(AU) for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.^(AV) ²⁴For in this hope we were saved.^(AW) But hope that is seen is no hope at all.^(AX) Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.^(AY)

²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit^(AZ) himself intercedes for us^(BA) through wordless groans. ²⁷And he who searches our hearts^(BB) knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes^(BC) for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

²⁸And we know that in all things God works for the good^(BD) of those who love him, who^[i] have been called^(BE) according to his purpose.^(BF) ²⁹For those God foreknew^(BG) he also predestined^(BH) to be conformed to the image of his Son,^(BI) that he might be the firstborn^(BJ) among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰And those he predestined,^(BK) he also called;^(BL) those he called, he also justified;^(BM) those he justified, he also glorified.^(BN)

More Than Conquerors

³¹What, then, shall we say in response to these things?^(BO) If God is for us,^(BP) who can be against us?^(BQ) ³²He who did not spare his own Son,^(BR) but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³Who will bring any charge^(BS) against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who then is the one who condemns?^(BT) No one. Christ Jesus who died^(BU)—more than that, who was raised to life^(BV)—is at the right hand of God^(BW) and is also interceding for us.^(BX) ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?^(BY) Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?^(BZ) ³⁶As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^[j]^(CA)

³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors^(CB) through him who loved us.^(CC) ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[k] neither the present nor the future,^(CD) nor any powers,^(CE) ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God^(CF) that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.^(CG)

Footnotes

Romans 8:2 The Greek is singular; some manuscripts me
Romans 8:3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 4-13.
Romans 8:3 Or flesh, for sin
Romans 8:10 Or you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive
Romans 8:11 Some manuscripts bodies through
Romans 8:15 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture; also in verse 23.
Romans 8:15 Aramaic for father
Romans 8:21 Or subjected it in hope. ²¹For
Romans 8:28 Or that all things work together for good to those who love God, who; or that in all things God works together with those who love him to bring about what is good—with those who
Romans 8:36 Psalm 44:22
Romans 8:38 Or nor heavenly rulers

Isaiah 55-58

New International Version

Invitation to the Thirsty

55 “Come, all you who are thirsty,^(A)
    come to the waters;^(B)
and you who have no money,
    come, buy^(C) and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk^(D)
    without money and without cost.^(E)
²Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?^(F)
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,^(G)
    and you will delight in the richest^(H) of fare.
³Give ear and come to me;
    listen,^(I) that you may live.^(J)
I will make an everlasting covenant^(K) with you,
    my faithful love^(L) promised to David.^(M)
⁴See, I have made him a witness^(N) to the peoples,
    a ruler and commander^(O) of the peoples.
⁵Surely you will summon nations^(P) you know not,
    and nations you do not know will come running to you,^(Q)
because of the Lord your God,
    the Holy One^(R) of Israel,
    for he has endowed you with splendor.”^(S)

⁶Seek^(T) the Lord while he may be found;^(U)
    call^(V) on him while he is near.
⁷Let the wicked forsake^(W) their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.^(X)
Let them turn^(Y) to the Lord, and he will have mercy^(Z) on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.^(AA)

⁸“For my thoughts^(AB) are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”^(AC)
declares the Lord.
⁹“As the heavens are higher than the earth,^(AD)
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.^(AE)
¹⁰As the rain^(AF) and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,^(AG)
    so that it yields seed^(AH) for the sower and bread for the eater,^(AI)
¹¹so is my word^(AJ) that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,^(AK)
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose^(AL) for which I sent it.
¹²You will go out in joy^(AM)
    and be led forth in peace;^(AN)
the mountains and hills
    will burst into song^(AO) before you,
and all the trees^(AP) of the field
    will clap their hands.^(AQ)
¹³Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
    and instead of briers^(AR) the myrtle^(AS) will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,^(AT)
    for an everlasting sign,
    that will endure forever.”

Salvation for Others

56 This is what the Lord says:

“Maintain justice^(AU)
    and do what is right,^(AV)
for my salvation^(AW) is close at hand
    and my righteousness^(AX) will soon be revealed.
²Blessed^(AY) is the one who does this—
    the person who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath^(AZ) without desecrating it,
    and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”

³Let no foreigner^(BA) who is bound to the Lord say,
“The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.”^(BB)
And let no eunuch^(BC) complain,
“I am only a dry tree.”

⁴For this is what the Lord says:

“To the eunuchs^(BD) who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose what pleases me
    and hold fast to my covenant^(BE)—
⁵to them I will give within my temple and its walls^(BF)
    a memorial^(BG) and a name
    better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name^(BH)
    that will endure forever.^(BI)
⁶And foreigners^(BJ) who bind themselves to the Lord
    to minister^(BK) to him,
to love the name^(BL) of the Lord,
    and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath^(BM) without desecrating it
    and who hold fast to my covenant—
⁷these I will bring to my holy mountain^(BN)
    and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices^(BO)
    will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
    a house of prayer for all nations.^(BP)”^(BQ)
⁸The Sovereign Lord declares—
    he who gathers the exiles of Israel:
“I will gather^(BR) still others to them
    besides those already gathered.”

God’s Accusation Against the Wicked

⁹Come, all you beasts of the field,^(BS)
    come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!
¹⁰Israel’s watchmen^(BT) are blind,
    they all lack knowledge;^(BU)
they are all mute dogs,
    they cannot bark;
they lie around and dream,
    they love to sleep.^(BV)
¹¹They are dogs with mighty appetites;
    they never have enough.
They are shepherds^(BW) who lack understanding;^(BX)
    they all turn to their own way,^(BY)
    they seek their own gain.^(BZ)
¹²“Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine!^(CA)
    Let us drink our fill of beer!
And tomorrow will be like today,
    or even far better.”^(CB)

57 The righteous perish,^(CC)
    and no one takes it to heart;^(CD)
the devout are taken away,
    and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
    to be spared from evil.^(CE)
²Those who walk uprightly^(CF)
    enter into peace;
    they find rest^(CG) as they lie in death.

³“But you—come here, you children of a sorceress,^(CH)
    you offspring of adulterers^(CI) and prostitutes!^(CJ)
⁴Who are you mocking?
    At whom do you sneer
    and stick out your tongue?
Are you not a brood of rebels,^(CK)
    the offspring of liars?
⁵You burn with lust among the oaks^(CL)
    and under every spreading tree;^(CM)
you sacrifice your children^(CN) in the ravines
    and under the overhanging crags.
⁶The idols^(CO) among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion;
    indeed, they are your lot.
Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings^(CP)
    and offered grain offerings.
    In view of all this, should I relent?^(CQ)
⁷You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill;^(CR)
    there you went up to offer your sacrifices.^(CS)
⁸Behind your doors and your doorposts
    you have put your pagan symbols.
Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed,
    you climbed into it and opened it wide;
you made a pact with those whose beds you love,^(CT)
    and you looked with lust on their naked bodies.^(CU)
⁹You went to Molek^[a]^(CV) with olive oil
    and increased your perfumes.^(CW)
You sent your ambassadors^[b]^(CX) far away;
    you descended to the very realm of the dead!^(CY)
¹⁰You wearied^(CZ) yourself by such going about,
    but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’^(DA)
You found renewal of your strength,^(DB)
    and so you did not faint.

¹¹“Whom have you so dreaded and feared^(DC)
    that you have not been true to me,
and have neither remembered^(DD) me
    nor taken this to heart?^(DE)
Is it not because I have long been silent^(DF)
    that you do not fear me?
¹²I will expose your righteousness and your works,^(DG)
    and they will not benefit you.
¹³When you cry out^(DH) for help,
    let your collection of idols save^(DI) you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
    a mere breath will blow^(DJ) them away.
But whoever takes refuge^(DK) in me
    will inherit the land^(DL)
    and possess my holy mountain.”^(DM)

Comfort for the Contrite

¹⁴And it will be said:

“Build up, build up, prepare the road!^(DN)
    Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”^(DO)
¹⁵For this is what the high and exalted^(DP) One says—
    he who lives forever,^(DQ) whose name is holy:
“I live in a high^(DR) and holy place,
    but also with the one who is contrite^(DS) and lowly in spirit,^(DT)
to revive the spirit of the lowly
    and to revive the heart of the contrite.^(DU)
¹⁶I will not accuse^(DV) them forever,
    nor will I always be angry,^(DW)
for then they would faint away because of me—
    the very people^(DX) I have created.
¹⁷I was enraged by their sinful greed;^(DY)
    I punished them, and hid^(DZ) my face in anger,
    yet they kept on in their willful ways.^(EA)
¹⁸I have seen their ways, but I will heal^(EB) them;
    I will guide^(EC) them and restore comfort^(ED) to Israel’s mourners,
¹⁹    creating praise on their lips.^(EE)
Peace, peace,^(EF) to those far and near,”^(EG)
    says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
²⁰But the wicked^(EH) are like the tossing sea,^(EI)
    which cannot rest,
    whose waves cast up mire^(EJ) and mud.
²¹“There is no peace,”^(EK) says my God, “for the wicked.”^(EL)

True Fasting

58 “Shout it aloud,^(EM) do not hold back.
    Raise your voice like a trumpet.^(EN)
Declare to my people their rebellion^(EO)
    and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.^(EP)
²For day after day they seek^(EQ) me out;
    they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
    and has not forsaken^(ER) the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
    and seem eager for God to come near^(ES) them.
³‘Why have we fasted,’^(ET) they say,
    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled^(EU) ourselves,
    and you have not noticed?’^(EV)

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please^(EW)
    and exploit all your workers.
⁴Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,^(EX)
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard^(EY) on high.
⁵Is this the kind of fast^(EZ) I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble^(FA) themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed^(FB)
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?^(FC)
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

⁶“Is not this the kind of fasting^(FD) I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice^(FE)
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed^(FF) free
    and break every yoke?^(FG)
⁷Is it not to share your food with the hungry^(FH)
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter^(FI)—
when you see the naked, to clothe^(FJ) them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?^(FK)
⁸Then your light will break forth like the dawn,^(FL)
    and your healing^(FM) will quickly appear;
then your righteousness^[c]^(FN) will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.^(FO)
⁹Then you will call,^(FP) and the Lord will answer;^(FQ)
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger^(FR) and malicious talk,^(FS)
¹⁰and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,^(FT)
then your light^(FU) will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.^(FV)
¹¹The Lord will guide^(FW) you always;
    he will satisfy your needs^(FX) in a sun-scorched land^(FY)
    and will strengthen^(FZ) your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,^(GA)
    like a spring^(GB) whose waters never fail.
¹²Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins^(GC)
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;^(GD)
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,^(GE)
    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

¹³“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath^(GF)
    and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight^(GG)
    and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
    and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,^(GH)
¹⁴then you will find your joy^(GI) in the Lord,
    and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights^(GJ) of the land
    and to feast on the inheritance^(GK) of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.^(GL)