Letter to the Romans 10

¹ Brothers, I have the very warmest love for the Jews, and I pray to God for them to be saved.

² I can swear to their fervour for God, but their zeal is misguided.

³ Failing to recognise the righteousness that comes from God, they try to promote their own idea of it, instead of submitting to the righteousness of God.

⁴ But now the Law has come to an end with Christ, and everyone who has faith may be justified.

⁵ When Moses refers to being justified by the Law, he writes: those who keep the Law will draw life from it.[*a]

⁶ But the righteousness that comes from faith says this: Do not tell yourself you have to bring Christ down – as in the text: Who will go up to heaven?[*b]

⁷ or that you have to bring Christ back from the dead – as in the text: Who will go down to the underworld?

⁸ On the positive side it says: The word, that is the faith we proclaim, is very near to you, it is on your lips and in your heart.

⁹ If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved.

¹⁰ By believing from the heart you are made righteous; by confessing with your lips you are saved.

¹¹ When scripture says: those who believe in him will have no cause for shame,[*c]

¹² it makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: all belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however many ask his help,

¹³ for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.[*d]

¹⁴ But they will not ask his help unless they believe in him, and they will not believe in him unless they have heard of him, and they will not hear of him unless they get a preacher,

¹⁵ and they will never have a preacher unless one is sent, but as scripture says: The footsteps of those who bring good news is a welcome sound.[*e]

¹⁶ Not everyone, of course, listens to the Good News. As Isaiah says: Lord, how many believed what we proclaimed?[*f]

¹⁷ So faith comes from what is preached, and what is preached comes from the word of Christ.

¹⁸ Let me put the question: is it possible that they did not hear? Indeed they did; in the words of the psalm, their voice has gone out through all the earth, and their message to the ends of the world.[*g]

¹⁹ A second question: is it possible that Israel did not understand? Moses answered this long ago: I will make you jealous of people who are not even a nation; I will make you angry with an irreligious people.[*h]

²⁰ Isaiah said more clearly: I have been found by those who did not seek me, and have revealed myself to those who did not consult me;[*i]

²¹ and referring to Israel he goes on: Each day I stretched out my hand to a disobedient and rebellious people.