I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. | I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent. |
And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do as much. | And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! |
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Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you waverers. | Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. |
Go and learn what this text means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I have come to call not the righteous but sinners. | Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” |
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the company of scoffers. | Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. |
For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one man the many will be made righteous. | Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. |
Good and upright is the Lord; therefore, he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them the path to follow. | The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. |
Indeed, it is seldom that anyone will die for a just person, although perhaps for a good person someone might be willing to die. Thus, God proved his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. | Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. |
He is not here. He has been raised. Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee: that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified and rise again on the third day. | He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day. |
We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet we know that a man is justified not by the works of the Law but through faith in Jesus Christ. So we too came to believe in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by faith in him and not by the works of the Law, for no one will be justified by the works of the Law. | You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. |
Let those who are wise understand these words, and let the prudent acknowledge them. For straight are the ways of the Lord; the upright walk in them, but sinners stumble. | Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall. |
At the appointed time, while we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly. | When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. |
But for that very reason I was treated mercifully, so that in me Jesus Christ might exhibit his inexhaustible patience, making me an example for those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. | But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. |
Recognizing that laws are not designed for the upright. They are for the lawless and insubordinate, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and irreligious; they are for those who slay their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for those who are fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which has been entrusted to me. | For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God. |