I, the LORD, will rescue all the descendants of Jacob, and they will give me praise.

Trust in the LORD forever; he will always protect us.

But to the people of Judah I will show love. I, the LORD their God, will save them, but I will not do it by war---with swords or bows and arrows or with horses and horsemen."

After all, who is a real Jew, truly circumcised? It is not the man who is a Jew on the outside, whose circumcision is a physical thing.

Rather, the real Jew is the person who is a Jew on the inside, that is, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of God's Spirit, not of the written Law. Such a person receives praise from God, not from human beings.

There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus.

And this is how all Israel will be saved. As the scripture says, "The Savior will come from Zion and remove all wickedness from the descendants of Jacob.

But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom. By him we are put right with God; we become God's holy people and are set free.

So then, as the scripture says, "Whoever wants to boast must boast of what the Lord has done."

Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come.

Our message is that God was making all human beings his friends through Christ. God did not keep an account of their sins, and he has given us the message which tells how he makes them his friends.

Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God.

Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ

and be completely united with him. I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law. I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith.

If we declare that Jesus is the Son of God, we live in union with God and God lives in union with us.

Look up at the heavens; look at the earth! The heavens will disappear like smoke; the earth will wear out like old clothing, and all its people will die like flies. But the deliverance I bring will last forever; my victory will be final.

they will vanish like moth-eaten clothing! But the deliverance I bring will last forever; my victory will endure for all time."

I turned away angry for only a moment, but I will show you my love forever." So says the LORD who saves you.

"No longer will the sun be your light by day Or the moon be your light by night; I, the LORD, will be your eternal light; The light of my glory will shine on you.

But for those who honor the LORD, his love lasts forever, and his goodness endures for all generations

I appeared to them from far away. People of Israel, I have always loved you, so I continue to show you my constant love.

"I am telling you the truth: those who hear my words and believe in him who sent me have eternal life. They will not be judged, but have already passed from death to life.

For what my Father wants is that all who see the Son and believe in him should have eternal life. And I will raise them to life on the last day."

I give them eternal life, and they shall never die. No one can snatch them away from me.

We must thank God at all times for you, friends, you whom the Lord loves. For God chose you as the first to be saved by the Spirit's power to make you his holy people and by your faith in the truth.

God called you to this through the Good News we preached to you; he called you to possess your share of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us unfailing courage and a firm hope,

When he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him,

The testimony is this: God has given us eternal life, and this life has its source in his Son.

I am writing this to you so that you may know that you have eternal life---you that believe in the Son of God.

So now the LORD, the God of Israel, who rescued Abraham from trouble, says, "My people, you will not be disgraced any longer, and your faces will no longer be pale with shame.

Kings will be like fathers to you; queens will be like mothers. They will bow low before you and honor you; they will humbly show their respect for you. Then you will know that I am the LORD; no one who waits for my help will be disappointed."

Do not be afraid---you will not be disgraced again; you will not be humiliated. You will forget your unfaithfulness as a young wife, and your desperate loneliness as a widow.

Defeat does not come to those who trust in you, but to those who are quick to rebel against you.

Now you will have plenty to eat, and be satisfied. You will praise the LORD your God, who has done wonderful things for you. My people will never be despised again.

Then, Israel, you will know that I am among you and that I, the LORD, am your God and there is no other. My people will never be despised again.

At that time you, my people, will no longer need to be ashamed that you rebelled against me. I will remove everyone who is proud and arrogant, and you will never again rebel against me on my sacred hill.

that the scripture speaks of: "Look, I place in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall. But whoever believes in him will not be disappointed."

The scripture says, "Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed."

For the scripture says, "I chose a valuable stone, which I am placing as the cornerstone in Zion; and whoever believes in him will never be disappointed."