(Isaiah 65:1–16)
1
Brothers, the pleasure indeed of my heart, and my supplication that [is] to God for Israel, is—for salvation;
2
for I bear them testimony that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge,
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for not knowing the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God.
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For Christ is an end of law for righteousness to everyone who is believing,
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for Moses describes the righteousness that [is] of the Law, that, “The man who did them will live in them,”
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and the righteousness of faith thus speaks: “You may not say in your heart, Who will go up to Heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down)
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or, “Who will go down to the abyss?” (that is, to bring up Christ out of the dead).
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But what does it say? “The saying is near you—in your mouth, and in your heart”: that is, the saying of the faith that we preach;
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that if you may confess with your mouth that Jesus [is] LORD, and may believe in your heart that God raised Him out of the dead, you will be saved,
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for with the heart [one] believes to righteousness, and with the mouth is confession made to salvation;
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for the Writing says, “Everyone who is believing on Him will not be ashamed,”
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for there is no difference between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord of all [is] rich to all those calling on Him,
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for “Everyone who, if he may have called on the Name of the LORD, will be saved.”
14
How then will they call on [Him] in whom they did not believe? And how will they believe [on Him] of whom they did not hear? And how will they hear apart from one preaching?
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And how will they preach, if they may not be sent? According as it has been written: “How beautiful the feet of those proclaiming good tidings of peace, of those proclaiming good tidings of the good things!”
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But they were not all obedient to the good tidings, for Isaiah says, “LORD, who gave credence to our report?”
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So then faith [is] by a report, and the report through a saying of God,
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but I say, did they not hear? Yes, indeed, “their voice went forth to all the earth, and their sayings to the ends of the habitable world.”
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But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says, “I will provoke you to jealousy by [that which is] not a nation, || By an unintelligent nation I will anger you,”
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and Isaiah is very bold and says, “I was found by those not seeking Me; I became visible to those not inquiring after Me”;
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and to Israel He says, “All the day I stretched out My hands to a people unbelieving and contradicting.”
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