Read The Jewish Annotated New Testament Online
Authors: Amy-Jill Levine
28
As regards the gospel they are enemies of God
*
for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors;
29
for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30
Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience,
31
so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now
*
receive mercy.
32
For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.
33
O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34
“For who has known the mind of the
Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
35
“Or who has given a gift to him,
to receive a gift in return?”
36
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.
12
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters,
*
by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
*
worship.
2
Do not be conformed to this world,
*
but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
*
3
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
4
For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function,
5
so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.
6
We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith;
7
ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching;
8
the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
9
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;
10
love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.
11
Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.
*
12
Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.
13
Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
14
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
15
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
16
Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;
*
do not claim to be wiser than you are.
17
Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.
18
If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
19
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God;
*
for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
20
No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.”
21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
13
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.
2
Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
3
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval;
4
for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority
*
does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer.
5
Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience.
6
For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing.
7
Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
8
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
9
The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
10
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
11
Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers;
12
the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light;
13
let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.
14
Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
14
Welcome those who are weak in faith,
*
but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions.
2
Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables.
3
Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them.
4
Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord
*
is able to make them stand.
5
Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds.
6
Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.
7
We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves.
8
If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.
9
For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
10
Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister?
*
Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister?
*
For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
*
11
For it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall
bow to me,
and every tongue shall give praise to
*
God.”
FOOD THAT IS “PROFANE” (14.14)
Paul recognizes that all things are by nature not created profane (
koinon
, “common,” 1 Macc 1.47,62), for the creation was pronounced good (Gen 1). Whether food is common/profane versus holy (or alternatively, impure/contaminated/unclean versus pure/clean, in v. 20) is not intrinsic to the food source itself; rather, its valuation is imputed by each personal or community convention (
nomos
). According to Jews, God sets out for Israel what is profane and what is to be set apart (holy) to God, so that it is no longer common/profane (Lev 11.41–45; 19.2; 20.25–26). This distinction does not invalidate the purity laws of Judaism; indeed, it is recognized in Scripture (Ps 24.1; 50.1, which Paul cites in 1 Cor 10.26 to make a similar point), and in rabbinic literature (
Gen. Rab.
44.1;
Sifra Aharei
93d). Paul is not abrogating Torah. Instead, Paul is making halakhic decisions for Gentile Christ-followers.
12
So then, each of us will be accountable to God.
*
13
Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another.
*
14
I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.
15
If your brother or sister
*
is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died.
16
So do not let your good be spoken of as evil.
17
For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
18
The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval.
19
Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
20
Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you eat;
21
it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister
*
stumble.
*
22
The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve.
23
But those who have doubts are condemned if they eat, because they do not act from faith;
*
for whatever does not proceed from faith
*
is sin.
*