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Romans 8

We can live by God's Spirit

8 Now we know this: God has forgiven those people who are united with Christ Jesus. God will never say that they are guilty. 2 If you belong to Christ Jesus, God's Spirit has given you a new life. God's Spirit now rules in your life and he has made you free. Sin and death no longer have authority over you.

3 The Law that God gave to Moses could not make us free like that. We were too weak to obey his Law because we are human. But God has done what his Law could not do. He sent his own Son to become a person like us. His human body was like the body of people who do wrong things. God's Son died as a sacrifice to take away the punishment for our sins. In that way, God destroyed the power of sin over people who are weak and human. 4 God did this so that we could become right with him. God's Law showed us how to be right with him. And now we can be right with God, if we live with God's Spirit as our guide. We do not do what our weak human thoughts want us to do.

5 Some people do what their weak human thoughts want them to do. They think about the things that will make themselves happy. But people who live with God's Spirit as their guide think about what will make God's Spirit happy. 6 People who let their human thoughts rule them will die. But people who think about what God's Spirit wants will have life with God. They will have peace inside themselves. 7 If our weak human thoughts rule us, we become God's enemies. People like that do not want to obey God's Law. They are not even able to obey it. 8 People who let their human thoughts rule them cannot make God happy.

9 But you are not like that. You no longer obey your weak human thoughts. Instead, you obey God's Spirit as your guide. That is true if God's Spirit is really living in you. But if anyone does not have Christ's Spirit in them, that person does not belong to Christ. 10 But, if Christ lives in you, you have a new life because of his Spirit. Your body will die one day because of the power of sin. But your spirit lives because Christ has made you right with God. 11 God raised Jesus, to make him alive again after his death. Now God's Spirit lives in you. So God, who raised Christ from death, will also cause your human bodies to live again. He will do that by his Spirit who lives in you.

12 So, my Christian friends, we must not obey what our weak human thoughts tell us to do. We no longer have to live like that. 13 If you agree to live in that way, you will die. Instead, you should let God's Spirit help you with his power. Then you can stop doing the wrong things that your bodies want to do. As a result, you will have life with God.

14 All those people who live with God's Spirit as their guide are God's children. 15 The Spirit that you have received from God does not make you serve him like slaves. That would make you afraid again. No. The Spirit that God has given to you causes you to become God's children. Now he takes care of you. God's Spirit makes us call God: ‘Abba, our Father.’ 16 God's Spirit himself causes us to know that we are God's children. God's Spirit and our own spirits agree that this is true. 17 Because we are God's children, we also know that we will receive good things from him. Those are the things that he has promised to give to his children. Together with Christ, we will receive the things that God has kept for him. That is true if we agree to have troubles like Christ did. Then we will also enjoy life in heaven like Christ does.

God has prepared great things for his people

18 During this time now, we have troubles and pain. But I am sure that these troubles are not really very great. One day God will show us all the great things he has prepared for us. That will make the troubles that we have now seem very small. 19 The whole universe that God has made now waits for something great to happen. Everything is waiting with hope to find out who God's children really are.

20 God has caused everything in the universe to lose its purpose. It did not choose to be like that. It was God who decided that it should be like that. Then it could hope for something better in a future time. 21 At that time, the universe will not continue to become worse and worse, as it does now. It will become free from that power. It will be free to enjoy great things from God, as God's children are also free.

22 We know that everything in the universe is still in great pain now. Everything cries together in pain, like a woman who is ready to have a baby. 23 It is the same for us who are believers. We have received God's Spirit as the first of his gifts to us, but we also cry inside ourselves. We are waiting for the time when God will finish his great work. Then we will belong to him completely as his children. Our bodies will be free from the power of sin.

24 Ever since God saved us, we have continued to wait for this to happen. One day, we will receive what we have hoped for. Then we will not need to hope for it any more. Nobody continues to hope for something that he has already. 25 But we continue to hope for what we do not yet see. And so, we wait for it patiently.

26 God's Spirit also helps us to do this. Because we are weak, we do not know how we ought to pray. But God's Spirit himself prays for us. He cries to God on our behalf in a way that nobody could say with words. 27 God sees deep inside us, and he knows our thoughts. He understands what is in the mind of his Spirit. When the Holy Spirit prays on behalf of God's people, he prays as God wants him to pray.

28 We know that God works to help those people who love him. He uses everything that happens to them to bring something good. He does this for those people that he has chosen to serve him. 29 God already had those people in his thoughts from the beginning. He decided that they should become like his Son. So then, his Son would have many younger brothers and sisters. 30 God had already chosen those people to be his children. Because of that, he called them to come to him. He accepted those people as right with himself. And those that he accepted, he also caused them to become great.

God loves us very much

31 So, because of all the things that God does for us, we can say this: If God is working on our behalf, nobody can really do anything against us. 32 God did not even keep his own Son safe. Instead, he gave his Son to die on behalf of all of us. So certainly, God will continue to be kind to us. As well as his Son, he will give to us all things that we need. 33 Nobody can say that God's people are guilty. God himself has accepted us as right with him. 34 So nobody can say that God should still punish us. Nobody can say that, because Christ Jesus himself died on our behalf. And God raised him so that he became alive again after his death. Now Christ is sitting at God's right side in heaven. [ a ] He himself is praying to God on our behalf.

35 Christ will always continue to love us. Nothing can stop that! We may have troubles. Things may make us sad or afraid. People may do bad things to us. We may have no food or no clothes. There may be great danger. People may even try to kill us. But none of these things can stop Christ from loving us. 36 As it says in the Bible:

‘Because we are your people, God,
people try to kill us all the time.
They think that we are like sheep,
and we are ready to be killed.’ [ b ]

37 Because God loves us, none of these troubles can ever beat us. He makes us win against them. 38-39 I am sure of this. Nothing can stop God from loving us. Death cannot do that. Life cannot do that. Angels cannot do that, nor can demons do that. Nothing that happens to us now, or that will happen in a future time can do that. No powerful spirits can do that. Nothing that is high above the world can do that, nor anything that is deep down below the ground. Nothing else in the whole universe can stop God from loving us. Because of our Lord Christ Jesus, we know how much God loves us.

Footnotes

  1. 8:34 Jesus sits at the right side of God the Father. The right side is the most important place. This means that Jesus rules with the same power and authority as God himself.
  2. 8:36 See Psalms 44:22 .

Life in the Spirit

8 So now anyone who is in Christ Jesus is not judged guilty. 2 That is because in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit that brings life made you [ a ] free. It made you free from the law that brings sin and death. 3 The law was without power because it was made weak by our sinful selves. But God did what the law could not do: He sent his own Son to earth with the same human life that everyone else uses for sin. God sent him to be an offering to pay for sin. So God used a human life to destroy sin. 4 He did this so that we could be right just as the law said we must be. Now we don’t live following our sinful selves. We live following the Spirit.

5 People who live following their sinful selves think only about what they want. But those who live following the Spirit are thinking about what the Spirit wants them to do. 6 If your thinking is controlled by your sinful self, there is spiritual death. But if your thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace. 7 Why is this true? Because anyone whose thinking is controlled by their sinful self is against God. They refuse to obey God’s law. And really they are not able to obey it. 8 Those who are ruled by their sinful selves cannot please God.

9 But you are not ruled by your sinful selves. You are ruled by the Spirit, if that Spirit of God really lives in you. But whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ. 10 Your body will always be dead because of sin. But if Christ is in you, then the Spirit gives you life, because Christ made you right with God. 11 God raised Jesus from death. And if God’s Spirit lives in you, he will also give life to your bodies that die. Yes, God is the one who raised Christ from death, and he will raise you to life through his Spirit living in you.

12 So, my brothers and sisters, we must not be ruled by our sinful selves. We must not live the way our sinful selves want. 13 If you use your lives to do what your sinful selves want, you will die spiritually. But if you use the Spirit’s help to stop doing the wrong things you do with your body, you will have true life.

14 The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them. 15 The Spirit that we received is not a spirit that makes us slaves again and causes us to fear. The Spirit that we have makes us God’s chosen children. And with that Spirit we cry out, “ Abba , [ b ] Father.” 16 And the Spirit himself speaks to our spirits and makes us sure that we are God’s children. 17 If we are God’s children, we will get the blessings God has for his people. He will give us all that he has given Christ. But we must suffer like Christ suffered. Then we will be able to share his glory.

We Will Have Glory in the Future

18 We have sufferings now, but these are nothing compared to the great glory that will be given to us. 19 Everything that God made is waiting with excitement for the time when he will show the world who his children are. The whole world wants very much for that to happen. 20 Everything God made was allowed to become like something that cannot fulfill its purpose. That was not its choice, but God made it happen with this hope in view: 21 That the creation would be made free from ruin—that everything God made would have the same freedom and glory that belong to God’s children.

22 We know that everything God made has been waiting until now in pain like a woman ready to give birth to a child. 23 Not only the world, but we also have been waiting with pain inside us. We have the Spirit as the first part of God’s promise. So we are waiting for God to finish making us his own children. I mean we are waiting for our bodies to be made free. 24 We were saved to have this hope. If we can see what we are waiting for, that is not really hope. People don’t hope for something they already have. 25 But we are hoping for something we don’t have yet, and we are waiting for it patiently.

26 Also, the Spirit helps us. We are very weak, but the Spirit helps us with our weakness. We don’t know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself speaks to God for us. He begs God for us, speaking to him with feelings too deep for words. 27 God already knows our deepest thoughts. And he understands what the Spirit is saying, because the Spirit speaks for his people in the way that agrees with what God wants.

28 We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. These are the people God chose, because that was his plan. 29 God knew them before he made the world. And he decided that they would be like his Son. Then Jesus would be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. 30 God planned for them to be like his Son. He chose them and made them right with him. And after he made them right, he gave them his glory.

God’s Love in Christ Jesus

31 So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us. 32 He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things. 33 Who can accuse the people God has chosen? No one! God is the one who makes them right. 34 Who can say that God’s people are guilty? No one! Christ Jesus died for us, but that is not all. He was also raised from death. And now he is at God’s right side, speaking to him for us. 35 Can anything separate us from Christ’s love? Can trouble or problems or persecution separate us from his love? If we have no food or clothes or face danger or even death, will that separate us from his love? 36 As the Scriptures say,

“For you we are in danger of death all the time.
People think we are worth no more than sheep to be killed.” ( A )

37 But in all these troubles we have complete victory through God, who has shown his love for us. 38-39 Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not death, life, angels, or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us—nothing in the whole created world—will ever be able to separate us from the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 8:2 you Some Greek copies have “me.” Also in the next sentence.
  2. Romans 8:15 Abba An Aramaic word that was used by Jewish children as a name for their fathers.

8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Deliverance from Bondage

8 Therefore there is now no ( A ) condemnation at all for those who are ( B ) in ( C ) Christ Jesus. 2 For ( D ) the law of the Spirit of life [ a ] in ( E ) Christ Jesus ( F ) has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For ( G ) what the Law could not do, [ b ] ( H ) weak as it was through the flesh, God did : sending His own Son in ( I ) the likeness of [ c ] sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the ( J ) requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who ( K ) do not walk [ d ] according to the flesh but [ e ] according to the Spirit. 5 For those who are in accord with the flesh set their minds on ( L ) the things of the flesh, but those who are in accord with the Spirit, ( M ) the things of the Spirit. 6 ( N ) For the mind [ f ] set on the flesh is ( O ) death, but the mind [ g ] set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind [ h ] set on the flesh is ( P ) hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so , 8 and those who are ( Q ) in the flesh cannot please God.

9 However, you are not ( R ) in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God ( S ) dwells in you. But ( T ) if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 ( U ) If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is [ i ] alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who ( V ) raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, ( W ) He who raised ( X ) Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [ j ] through His Spirit who dwells in you.

12 So then, brothers and sisters , we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for ( Y ) if you are living in accord with the flesh, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you are ( Z ) putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are ( AA ) being led by the Spirit of God, these are ( AB ) sons and daughters of God. 15 For you ( AC ) have not received a spirit of slavery [ k ] leading to fear again, but you ( AD ) have received [ l ] a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “ ( AE ) Abba! [ m ] Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself ( AF ) testifies with our spirit that we are ( AG ) children of God, 17 and if children, ( AH ) heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, ( AI ) if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him .

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time ( AJ ) are not worthy to be compared with the ( AK ) glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the ( AL ) eagerly awaiting creation waits for ( AM ) the revealing of the ( AN ) sons and daughters of God. 20 For the creation ( AO ) was subjected to ( AP ) futility, not willingly, but ( AQ ) because of Him who subjected it , [ n ] in hope 21 that ( AR ) the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation ( AS ) groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 ( AT ) And not only that , but also we ourselves, having ( AU ) the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves ( AV ) groan within ourselves, ( AW ) waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters , ( AX ) the redemption of our body. 24 For ( AY ) in hope we have been saved, but ( AZ ) hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But ( BA ) if we hope for what we do not see, through perseverance we wait eagerly for it .

Our Victory in Christ

26 Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for ( BB ) we do not know what to pray for as we should, but ( BC ) the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with [ o ] groanings too deep for words; 27 and ( BD ) He who searches the hearts knows what ( BE ) the mind of the Spirit is, because He ( BF ) intercedes for the [ p ] saints according to the will of God.

28 And we know that [ q ] God [ r ] causes ( BG ) all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are ( BH ) called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He ( BI ) foreknew, He also ( BJ ) predestined to become ( BK ) conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the ( BL ) firstborn among many brothers and sisters ; 30 and these whom He ( BM ) predestined, He also ( BN ) called; and these whom He called, He also ( BO ) justified; and these whom He justified, He also ( BP ) glorified.

31 ( BQ ) What then shall we say to these things? ( BR ) If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who ( BS ) did not spare His own Son, but ( BT ) delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring charges against ( BU ) God’s elect? ( BV ) God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who ( BW ) condemns? Christ Jesus is He who ( BX ) died, but rather, was [ s ] ( BY ) raised, who is ( BZ ) at the right hand of God, who also ( CA ) intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from ( CB ) the love of [ t ] Christ? Will ( CC ) tribulation, or trouble, or ( CD ) persecution, or ( CE ) famine, or ( CF ) nakedness, or ( CG ) danger, or sword? 36 Just as it is written:

“ ( CH ) For Your sake we are killed all day long ;
We were regarded as sheep to be slaughtered .”

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly ( CI ) conquer through ( CJ ) Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither ( CK ) death, nor life, nor ( CL ) angels, nor principalities, nor ( CM ) things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from ( CN ) the love of God that is ( CO ) in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 8:2 Or has set you free in Christ Jesus
  2. Romans 8:3 Lit in which it was weak
  3. Romans 8:3 Lit flesh of sin
  4. Romans 8:4 Or in accordance with
  5. Romans 8:4 Or in accordance with
  6. Romans 8:6 Lit of the
  7. Romans 8:6 Lit of the
  8. Romans 8:7 Lit of the
  9. Romans 8:10 Lit life
  10. Romans 8:11 One early ms because of
  11. Romans 8:15 Lit for fear again
  12. Romans 8:15 Or the Spirit
  13. Romans 8:15 Gr translation of the Aramaic Abba provided by Paul
  14. Romans 8:20 Or in hope; because the creation
  15. Romans 8:26 Lit wordless groanings
  16. Romans 8:27 Lit holy ones ; i.e., God’s people
  17. Romans 8:28 One early ms He ; i.e., God
  18. Romans 8:28 Or in all things works together with those...for good
  19. Romans 8:34 One early ms raised from the dead
  20. Romans 8:35 Two early mss God

Life Through the Spirit

8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation ( A ) for those who are in Christ Jesus, ( B ) 2 because through Christ Jesus ( C ) the law of the Spirit who gives life ( D ) has set you [ a ] free ( E ) from the law of sin ( F ) and death. 3 For what the law was powerless ( G ) to do because it was weakened by the flesh, [ b ] ( H ) God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh ( I ) to be a sin offering. [ c ] ( J ) And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement ( K ) of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ( L )

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; ( M ) but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ( N ) 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, ( O ) but the mind governed by the Spirit is life ( P ) and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; ( Q ) it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh ( R ) cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh ( S ) but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. ( T ) And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, ( U ) they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, ( V ) then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life [ d ] because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead ( W ) is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies ( X ) because of [ e ] his Spirit who lives in you.

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. ( Y ) 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; ( Z ) but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, ( AA ) you will live. ( AB )

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God ( AC ) are the children of God. ( AD ) 15 The Spirit ( AE ) you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; ( AF ) rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. [ f ] And by him we cry, “Abba, [ g ] Father.” ( AG ) 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit ( AH ) that we are God’s children. ( AI ) 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs ( AJ ) —heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings ( AK ) in order that we may also share in his glory. ( AL )

Present Suffering and Future Glory

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ( AM ) 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God ( AN ) to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, ( AO ) in hope 21 that [ h ] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay ( AP ) and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. ( AQ )

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning ( AR ) as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, ( AS ) groan ( AT ) inwardly as we wait eagerly ( AU ) for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ( AV ) 24 For in this hope we were saved. ( AW ) But hope that is seen is no hope at all. ( AX ) Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. ( AY )

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit ( AZ ) himself intercedes for us ( BA ) through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts ( BB ) knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes ( BC ) for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good ( BD ) of those who love him, who [ i ] have been called ( BE ) according to his purpose. ( BF ) 29 For those God foreknew ( BG ) he also predestined ( BH ) to be conformed to the image of his Son, ( BI ) that he might be the firstborn ( BJ ) among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, ( BK ) he also called; ( BL ) those he called, he also justified; ( BM ) those he justified, he also glorified. ( BN )

More Than Conquerors

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? ( BO ) If God is for us, ( BP ) who can be against us? ( BQ ) 32 He who did not spare his own Son, ( BR ) but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge ( BS ) against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? ( BT ) No one. Christ Jesus who died ( BU ) —more than that, who was raised to life ( BV ) —is at the right hand of God ( BW ) and is also interceding for us. ( BX ) 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? ( BY ) Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ( BZ ) 36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” [ j ] ( CA )

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors ( CB ) through him who loved us. ( CC ) 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, [ k ] neither the present nor the future, ( CD ) nor any powers, ( CE ) 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God ( CF ) that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ( CG )

Footnotes

  1. Romans 8:2 The Greek is singular; some manuscripts me
  2. Romans 8:3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh ( sarx ) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 4-13.
  3. Romans 8:3 Or flesh, for sin
  4. Romans 8:10 Or you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive
  5. Romans 8:11 Some manuscripts bodies through
  6. Romans 8:15 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture; also in verse 23.
  7. Romans 8:15 Aramaic for father
  8. Romans 8:21 Or subjected it in hope. 21 For
  9. Romans 8:28 Or that all things work together for good to those who love God, who ; or that in all things God works together with those who love him to bring about what is good—with those who
  10. Romans 8:36 Psalm 44:22
  11. Romans 8:38 Or nor heavenly rulers
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