Present Condition of Israel

³⁰ What shall we say then? ^(A)That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, ^(B)even the righteousness of faith; ³¹ but Israel, ^(C)pursuing the law of righteousness, ^(D)has not attained to the law ^[a]of righteousness. ³² Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, ^[b]by the works of the law. For ^(E)they stumbled at that stumbling stone. ³³ As it is written:

Israel Needs the Gospel

10 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for ^[c]Israel is that they may be saved. ² For I bear them witness ^(H)that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. ³ For they being ignorant of ^(I)God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own ^(J)righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. ⁴ For ^(K)Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

⁵ For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, ^(L)“The man who does those things shall live by them.” ⁶ But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, ^(M)“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) ⁷ or, ^(N)“ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? ^(O)“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹ that ^(P)if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, ^(Q)“Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” ¹² For ^(R)there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for ^(S)the same Lord over all ^(T)is rich to all who call upon Him. ¹³ For ^(U)“whoever calls ^(V)on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Israel Rejects the Gospel

¹⁴ How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear ^(W)without a preacher? ¹⁵ And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

¹⁶ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ^(Y)“Lord, who has believed our report?” ¹⁷ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

¹⁸ But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed:

¹⁹ But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says:

²⁰ But Isaiah is very bold and says:

²¹ But to Israel he says:

Saul Persecutes David

19 Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill ^(A)David; but Jonathan, Saul’s son, ^(B)delighted greatly in David. ² So Jonathan told David, saying, “My father Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore please be on your guard until morning, and stay in a secret place and hide. ³ And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you. Then what I observe, I will tell ^(C)you.”

⁴ Thus Jonathan ^(D)spoke well of David to Saul his father, and said to him, “Let not the king ^(E)sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you. ⁵ For he took his ^(F)life in his hands and ^(G)killed the Philistine, and ^(H)the Lord brought about a great deliverance for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. ^(I)Why then will you ^(J)sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?”

⁶ So Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be killed.” ⁷ Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these things. So Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence ^(K)as in times past.

⁸ And there was war again; and David went out and fought with the Philistines, ^(L)and struck them with a mighty blow, and they fled from him.

⁹ Now ^(M)the distressing spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing music with his hand. ¹⁰ Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from Saul’s presence; and he drove the spear into the wall. So David fled and escaped that night.

^11 (N)Saul also sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” ¹² So Michal ^(O)let David down through a window. And he went and fled and escaped. ¹³ And Michal took ^[a]an image and laid it in the bed, put a cover of goats’ hair for his head, and covered it with clothes. ¹⁴ So when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.”

¹⁵ Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” ¹⁶ And when the messengers had come in, there was the image in the bed, with a cover of goats’ hair for his head. ¹⁷ Then Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this, and sent my enemy away, so that he has escaped?”

And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! ^(P)Why should I kill you?’ ”

¹⁸ So David fled and escaped, and went to ^(Q)Samuel at ^(R)Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. ¹⁹ Now it was told Saul, saying, “Take note, David is at Naioth in Ramah!” ²⁰ Then ^(S)Saul sent messengers to take David. ^(T)And when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as leader over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also ^(U)prophesied. ²¹ And when Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. Then Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. ²² Then he also went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is at Sechu. So he asked, and said, “Where are Samuel and David?”

And someone said, “Indeed they are at Naioth in Ramah.” ²³ So he went there to Naioth in Ramah. Then ^(V)the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ^24 (W)And he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down ^(X)naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, ^(Y)“Is Saul also among the prophets?”

Oppressed by the Wicked but Rejoicing in the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.