1Ɛno de, na Yudaniyɛ so mfaso ne dɛn, anaasɛ twetiatwa so wɔ mfaso bi? 2Yiw mfaso wɔ so. Nea edi kan no, Onyankopɔn de ne nsɛm ahyɛ wɔn nsa.
3Na sɛ ebinom nni gyidi ɛ? Gyidi a wonni no kyerɛ sɛ Onyankopɔn nyɛ ɔnokwafo ana? 4Ɛnte saa koraa! Sɛ obiara yɛ ɔtorofo a, Onyankopɔn de, ɔyɛ ɔnokwafo, sɛnea wɔakyerɛw se,
“Wudi bem wɔ wo kasa mu
na woteɛ wɔ wʼatemmu mu.”
5Na obi bɛka se, “Sɛ yɛn bɔne a yɛyɛ no da Onyankopɔn trenee adi kann a, adɛn nti na ɛsɛ sɛ Onyankopɔn abufuwhyew ba yɛn so?” (Merekasa sɛ onipa) 6Dabi da! Sɛ Onyankopɔn nyɛ ɔtreneeni a, ɛbɛyɛ dɛn na watumi abu wiase atɛn? 7Obi begye akyinnye aka se, “Sɛ me nkontompo ma Onyankopɔn nokware da adi na nʼanuonyam boro so a, ɛno de, adɛn nti na Onyankopɔn bu me fɔ sɛ ɔdebɔneyɛni?” 8Ebinom nso bɛka se, “Ɛno de, momma yɛnyɛ bɔne sɛnea biribi pa befi mu aba!” Nnipa bi mpo ka se saa asɛm yi na yɛka. Onyankopɔn bebu wɔn atɛn.
Obiara Nteɛ
9Afei, dɛn na yɛnka? Yɛn Yudafo yɛ nnipa sen amanamanmufo no ana? Ɛnte saa! Makyerɛ mu dedaw sɛ Yudafo ne amanamanmufo nyinaa yɛ pɛ wɔ bɔne tumi ase. 10Sɛnea Kyerɛwsɛm no ka se,
“Obiara nyɛ ɔtreneeni;
11obiara nyɛ ɔbadwemma;
na obiara nni hɔ a ɔhwehwɛ Onyankopɔn akyi kwan.
12Nnipa nyinaa atwe wɔn ho afi Onyankopɔn ho;
wɔn nyinaa ayɛ bɔne.
Obiara nni hɔ a ɔyɛ papa.
Ɔbaako mpo nni hɔ.”
13“Wɔn anom te sɛ ɔda a abue;
na wɔn tɛkrɛma ka nnaadaasɛm.”
“Wɔn anofafa ka nsɛm a ɛte sɛ ɔwɔ ano bɔre.
14Nnome a ɛyɛ hu na efi wɔn anom ba.”
15“Wɔnam awudi so pira afoforo ntɛm.
16Wɔde ɔsɛe ne awerɛhow ba,
17na wonnim asomdwoe kwan.”
18“Na wonsuro Onyankopɔn.”
19Yenim sɛ biribiara a ɛwɔ mmara no mu no, wɔkyerɛw maa wɔn a wɔhyɛ mmara no tumi ase. Mmara no ka eyinom sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a obiara rennya anoyi, na ama Onyankopɔn akyerɛ sɛ wiase nyinaa di fɔ. 20Efisɛ obiara nni hɔ a sɛ ɔyɛ nea mmara no hyɛ sɛ ɔnnyɛ a, Onyankopɔn bebu no bem. Nea mmara no yɛ ara ne sɛ, ɛma onipa hu sɛ wayɛ bɔne.
21Wɔada treneeyɛ a efi Onyankopɔn, na emfi mmara no adi. Ɛno na mmara no ne Adiyifo no di ho adanse. 22Saa treneeyɛ a efi Onyankopɔn yi nam gyidi a yɛwɔ wɔ Yesu Kristo mu. Ɛwɔ hɔ ma agyidifo nyinaa. Nsonoe biara nni mu. 23Na nnipa nyinaa ayɛ bɔne ama Onyankopɔn anuonyam abɔ wɔn, 24nanso ɔnam Kristo adom nkwagye no so abu wɔn nyinaa bem. 25Onyankopɔn somaa Kristo sɛ ɔmfa ne ho mmɛbɔ afɔre mma yɛn. Kristo de ne mogya mae, sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a gyidi a yebenya wɔ ne mu nti wobegye yɛn. Saa afɔre yi ma yehu sɛ, mmere a atwa mu no, Onyankopɔn nam boasetɔ ne adom so de bɔne kyɛe. 26Efisɛ na Onyankopɔn rehwɛ kwan na ɔde wɔn abɛka nea ɔreyɛ saa bere yi no ho. Onyankopɔn yɛɛ eyi de kyerɛɛ ne trenee, efisɛ ɔno ankasa nyɛ nyiyimu, na obu atɛntrenee nso, na sɛ nnebɔneyɛfo gye Yesu di a, obu wɔn sɛ wɔteɛ wɔ nʼani so.
27Ɛno de, na ahohoahoa wɔ he? Biribiara nni hɔ! Na adɛn nti? Mmara no a yedi so no nti na wagye yɛn anaa? Dabi. Gye a ogye yɛn no nnyina mmara a yedi so, na mmom, egyina gyidi a yɛwɔ wɔ Yesu mu. 28Ne tiaatwa ne sɛ, wɔnam gyidi so na wobu onipa bem, na ɛnyɛ mmara a odi so no nti. 29Onyankopɔn yɛ Yudafo nko ara Nyankopɔn ana? Ɔnyɛ amanamanmufo nso Nyankopɔn bi ana? Ɛyɛ nokware turodoo sɛ ɔyɛ amanamanmufo nso Nyankopɔn. 30Onyankopɔn yɛ baako, na ɔnam gyidi nko ara a Yudafo wɔ so bebu wɔn bem. Na saa ara nso na ɔnam gyidi nko ara so bebu amanamanmufo bem. 31Enti eyi kyerɛ sɛ, ɛsɛ sɛ yɛfa saa gyidi no so gyae Mmara no so di ana? Dabi da, na mmom, sɛ yɛwɔ gyidi a, yɛfoa Mmara no adanse so.
God Is Faithful
1Is there any advantage in being a Jew? Is there any value in being circumcised? 2There is great value in every way! First of all, the Jews have been given the very words of God.
3What if some Jews were not faithful? Will the fact that they weren’t faithful keep God from being faithful? 4Not at all! God is true, even if every human being is a liar. It is written,
“You are right when you sentence me.
You are fair when you judge me.” (Psalm 51:4)
5Doesn’t the fact that we are wrong prove more clearly that God is right? Then what can we say? Can we say that God is not fair when he brings his anger down on us? As you can tell, I am just using human ways of thinking. 6God is certainly fair! If he weren’t, how could he judge the world? 7Someone might argue, “When I lie, it becomes clearer that God is truthful. It makes his glory shine more brightly. Why then does he find me guilty of sin?” 8Why not say, “Let’s do evil things so that good things will happen”? Some people actually lie by reporting that this is what we say. They are the ones who will rightly be found guilty.
No One Is Right With God
9What should we say then? Do we Jews have any advantage? Not at all! We have already claimed that Jews and Gentiles are sinners. Everyone is under the power of sin. 10It is written,
“No one is right with God, no one at all.
11No one understands.
No one trusts in God.
12All of them have turned away.
They have all become worthless.
No one does anything good,
no one at all.” (Psalms 14:1–3; 53:1–3; Ecclesiastes 7:20)
13“Their throats are like open graves.
With their tongues they tell lies.” (Psalm 5:9)
“The words from their lips are like the poison of a snake.” (Psalm 140:3)
14“Their mouths are full of curses and bitterness.” (Psalm 10:7)
15“They run quickly to commit murder.
16They leave a trail of harmful actions.
17They do not know how to live in peace.” (Isaiah 59:7,8)
18“They don’t have any respect for God.” (Psalm 36:1)
19What the law says, it says to those who are ruled by the law. Its purpose is to shut every mouth and make the whole world accountable to God. 20So no one will be considered right with God by obeying the law. Instead, the law makes us more aware of our sin.
Becoming Right With God by Faith
21But now God has shown us his saving power without the help of the law. But the Law and the Prophets tell us about this. 22We are made right with God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ. This happens to all who believe. It is no different for the Jews than for the Gentiles. 23Everyone has sinned. No one measures up to God’s glory. 24The free gift of God’s grace makes us right with him. Christ Jesus paid the price to set us free. 25God gave Christ as a sacrifice to pay for sins through the spilling of his blood. So God forgives the sins of those who have faith. God did all this to prove that he does what is right. He is a God of mercy. So he did not punish for their sins the people who lived before Jesus lived. 26God did all this to prove in our own time that he does what is right. He also makes right with himself those who believe in Jesus.
27So who can brag? No one! Are people saved by the law that requires them to obey? Not at all! They are saved because of the law that requires faith. 28We firmly believe that a person is made right with God because of their faith. They are not saved by obeying the law. 29Or is God the God of Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of Gentiles? Yes, he is their God too. 30There is only one God. When those who are circumcised believe in him, he makes them right with himself. Suppose those who are not circumcised believe in him. Then God also will make them right with himself. 31Does faith make the law useless? Not at all! We agree with the law.
