Letters to the Churches

and it shall be--in the place where it was said to them, Ye are not My people; there they shall be called sons of the living God.'

And Isaiah doth cry concerning Israel, `If the number of the sons of Israel may be as the sand of the sea, the remnant shall be saved;

for a matter He is finishing, and is cutting short in righteousness, because a matter cut short will the Lord do upon the land.

and according as Isaiah saith before, `Except the Lord of Sabaoth did leave to us a seed, as Sodom we had become, and as Gomorrah we had been made like.'

What, then, shall we say? that nations who are not pursuing righteousness did attain to righteousness, and righteousness that is of faith,

and Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, at a law of righteousness did not arrive;

wherefore? because--not by faith, but as by works of law; for they did stumble at the stone of stumbling,

according as it hath been written, `Lo, I place in Sion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence; and every one who is believing thereon shall not be ashamed.'

Brethren, the pleasure indeed of my heart, and my supplication that is to God for Israel, is--for salvation;

for I bear them testimony that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge,

for not knowing the righteousness of God, and their own righteousness seeking to establish, to the righteousness of God they did not submit.

For Christ is an end of law for righteousness to every one who is believing,

for Moses doth describe the righteousness that is of the law, that, `The man who did them shall live in them,'

and the righteousness of faith doth thus speak: `Thou mayest not say in thine heart, Who shall go up to the heaven,' that is, Christ to bring down?

or, `Who shall go down to the abyss,' that is, Christ out of the dead to bring up.

But what doth it say? `Nigh thee is the saying--in thy mouth, and in thy heart:' that is, the saying of the faith, that we preach;

that if thou mayest confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and mayest believe in thy heart that God did raise him out of the dead, thou shalt be saved,

for with the heart doth one believe to righteousness, and with the mouth is confession made to salvation;

for the Writing saith, `Every one who is believing on him shall not be ashamed,'

for there is no difference between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord of all is rich to all those calling upon Him,

for every one--whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, he shall be saved.'

How then shall they call upon him in whom they did not believe? and how shall they believe on him of whom they did not hear? and how shall they hear apart from one preaching?

and how shall they preach, if they may not be sent? according as it hath been written, `How beautiful the feet of those proclaiming good tidings of peace, of those proclaiming good tidings of the good things!'

But they were not all obedient to the good tidings, for Isaiah saith, `Lord, who did give credence to our report?'

so then the faith is by a report, and the report through a saying of God,