| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. | 1You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. |
| 2And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. | 2And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. |
| 3Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things? | 3So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? |
| 4Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? | 4Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? |
| 5But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. | 5But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. |
| 6He will judge everyone according to what they have done. | 6God “will repay each one according to his deeds.” |
| 7He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. | 7To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life. |
| 8But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. | 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger. |
| 9There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. | 9There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek; |
| 10But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. | 10but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek. |
| 11For God does not show favoritism. | 11For God does not show favoritism. |
| 12When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it. | 12All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. |
| 13For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. | 13For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous. |
| 14Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. | 14Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. |
| 15They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. | 15So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them |
| 16And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life. The Jews and the Law | 16on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus, as proclaimed by my gospel. |
| 17You who call yourselves Jews are relying on God’s law, and you boast about your special relationship with him. | 17Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; |
| 18You know what he wants; you know what is right because you have been taught his law. | 18if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; |
| 19You are convinced that you are a guide for the blind and a light for people who are lost in darkness. | 19if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those in darkness, |
| 20You think you can instruct the ignorant and teach children the ways of God. For you are certain that God’s law gives you complete knowledge and truth. | 20an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— |
| 21Well then, if you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but do you steal? | 21you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? |
| 22You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? You condemn idolatry, but do you use items stolen from pagan temples? | 22You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? |
| 23You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it. | 23You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? |
| 24No wonder the Scriptures say, “The Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you.” | 24As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” |
| 25The Jewish ceremony of circumcision has value only if you obey God’s law. But if you don’t obey God’s law, you are no better off than an uncircumcised Gentile. | 25Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. |
| 26And if the Gentiles obey God’s law, won’t God declare them to be his own people? | 26If a man who is not circumcised keeps the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? |
| 27In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God’s law will condemn you Jews who are circumcised and possess God’s law but don’t obey it. | 27The one who is physically uncircumcised yet keeps the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. |
| 28For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. | 28A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical. |
| 29No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people. | 29No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God. |
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