1 Kāda tad nu ir jūda priekšrocība, jeb kāds labums apgraizīšanai? 2 Tas ir visādā ziņā liels. Visupirms, viņam uzticēti Dieva vārdi. 3 Bet, ja nu daži uzticību lauzuši, vai tad viņu neuzticība atceļ Dieva uzticību? 4 Nebūt ne! Jo Dievs ir patiess, bet ikviens cilvēks melkulis, gluži kā ir rakstīts: lai Tev būtu taisnība Tavos vārdos un Tu uzvarētu, kad ar Tevi iet tiesā. 5 Bet, ja nu mūsu netaisnība izceļ Dieva taisnību, ko lai tad sakām? Vai Dievs tad nav netaisns, kad Viņš soda? Es spriežu cilvēcīgi. 6 Nekādā ziņā! Jo kā Dievs citādi tiesās pasauli? 7 Bet, ja Dieva patiesība Viņam par godu skaidrāk atklājusies manu melu dēļ, kāpēc tad es kā grēcinieks vēl tieku tiesāts? 8 Vai tad nedarīsim labāk ļaunu, lai nāk labais, kā daži, mūs zaimodami, apgalvo, ka mēs tā mācot? Viņi saņems pelnītu sodu. 9 Kā tad nu ir: vai mēs, jūdi, esam labāki? Nebūt ne! Jo mēs jau iepriekš rādījām, ka tiklab jūdi, kā grieķi ir vainīgi un stāv zem grēka. 10 Gluži, kā ir rakstīts: nav neviena taisna, it neviena. 11 Nav neviena, kas saprot, neviena, kas meklē Dievu. 12 Visi ir novirzījušies, visi kopā kļuvuši nelietīgi. Nav neviena, kas dara labu, it neviena. 13 Viņu rīkle ir atvērts kaps, ar savām mēlēm viņi kļuvuši viltnieki, čūsku inde ir aiz viņu lūpām. 14 Viņu mute ir pilna lāstu un rūgtuma. 15 Viņu kājas steidzas izliet asinis, 16 posts un bēdas ir uz viņu ceļiem, 17 un miera ceļa viņi nepazīst, 18 Dieva bijības nav viņu acu priekšā! - 19 Bet mēs zinām, ka viss bauslībā teiktais teikts tiem, kas stāv zem bauslības; tā visiem aizdarīta mute, un visa pasaule vainīga Dieva priekšā. 20 Jo ar bauslības darbiem neviens cilvēks nevar kļūt taisnots Viņa priekšā. Jo bauslība dod - grēka atziņu. 21 Bet tagad neatkarīgi no bauslības atklājusies Dieva taisnība, ko jau apliecina bauslība un pravieši. 22 Šī Dieva taisnība dota ticībā uz Jēzu Kristu visiem, kas tic. Jo tur nav nekādas starpības; 23 jo visi ir grēkojuši, un visiem trūkst dievišķās godības. 24 Bet Dievs Savā žēlastībā tos taisno bez nopelna, sagādājis tiem pestīšanu Jēzū Kristū. 25 Viņu Dievs tiem, kas tic, nolicis par grēka izpircēju Viņa asinīs, tā parādīdams Savu taisnību; 26 jo Viņš piedod visus agrāk, dievišķās pacietības laikā, nodarītos grēkus, lai tagadējā laikmetā parādītu Savu taisnību, pats taisns būdams un taisnodams to, kas tic Jēzum. 27 Kur nu paliek mūsu lielīšanās? Tā ir zudusi. Caur kuru bauslību? Ar darbiem? Nē, bet ar ticības bauslību. 28 Jo mēs spriežam, ka cilvēks tiek taisnots ticībā, neatkarīgi no bauslības darbiem. 29 Jeb vai Dievs tikai jūdu, ne arī pagānu Dievs? Protams, arī pagānu! 30 Tik tiešām, ka ir tikai viens Dievs, kas taisnos apgraizītos no ticības un neapgraizītos caur ticību. 31 Vai bauslību iznīcinām caur ticību? Nekādā ziņā ne, mēs bauslību nostiprinām.
1 What good is it to be a Jew? What good is it to be circumcised? 2 It is good in a lot of ways! First of all, God's messages were spoken to the Jews. 3 It is true that some of them did not believe the message. But does this mean that God cannot be trusted, just because they did not have faith? 4 No, indeed! God tells the truth, even if everyone else is a liar. The Scriptures say about God,
“Your words
will be proven true,
and in court
you will win your case.”
5 If our evil deeds show how right God is, then what can we say? Is it wrong for God to become angry and punish us? What a foolish thing to ask. 6 But the answer is, “No.” Otherwise, how could God judge the world? 7 Since your lies bring great honor to God by showing how truthful he is, you may ask why God still says you are a sinner. 8 You might as well say, “Let's do something evil, so that something good will come of it!” Some people even claim that we are saying this. But God is fair and will judge them as well.
No One Is Good
9 What does all this mean? Does it mean that we Jews are better off than the Gentiles? No, it doesn't! Jews, as well as Gentiles, are ruled by sin, just as I have said. 10 The Scriptures tell us,
“No one is acceptable to God!
11 Not one of them understands
or even searches for God.
12 They have all turned away
and are worthless.
There isn't one person
who does right.
13 Their words are like
an open pit,
and their tongues are good
only for telling lies.
Each word is as deadly
as the fangs of a snake,
14 and they say nothing
but bitter curses.
15 These people quickly
become violent.
16 Wherever they go,
they leave ruin
and destruction.
17 They don't know how
to live in peace.
18 They don't even fear God.”
19 We know that everything in the Law was written for those who are under its power. The Law says these things to stop anyone from making excuses and to let God show that the whole world is guilty. 20 God doesn't accept people simply because they obey the Law. No, indeed! All the Law does is to point out our sin.
God's Way of Accepting People
21 Now we see how God does make us acceptable to him. The Law and the Prophets tell how we become acceptable, and it isn't by obeying the Law of Moses. 22 God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. 23 All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. 24 But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins. 25-26 God sent Christ to be our sacrifice. Christ offered his life's blood, so by faith in him we could come to God. And God did this to show that in the past he was right to be patient and forgive sinners. This also shows that God is right when he accepts people who have faith in Jesus.
27 What is left for us to brag about? Not a thing! Is it because we obeyed some law? No! It is because of faith. 28 We see that people are acceptable to God because they have faith, and not because they obey the Law. 29 Does God belong only to the Jews? Isn't he also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, he is! 30 There is only one God, and he accepts Gentiles as well as Jews, simply because of their faith. 31 Do we destroy the Law by our faith? Not at all! We make it even more powerful.
