| I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. | I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance. |
| And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. | If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. |
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| Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. | Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. |
| But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. | Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners. |
| Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. | Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers. |
| For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. | For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the 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 his way. | Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. |
| Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. | Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. |
| He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ | Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. |
| We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. | We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. |
| But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. | But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. |
| You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. | For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. |
| Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them. | Those who are wise understand these things; those who are discerning know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them. |
| We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. | This means understanding that the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. |
