¹Brothers,1 my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. ²For I bear them witness that bthey have a zeal for God, cbut not according to knowledge. ³For, being ignorant of dthe righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. ⁴For eChrist is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.2

The Message of Salvation to All

⁵For fMoses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that gthe person who does the commandments shall live by them. ⁶But hthe righteousness based on faith says, i“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷“or ‘Who will descend into the jabyss?’” (that is, kto bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸But what does it say? l“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); ⁹because, if myou confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and nbelieve in your heart othat God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. ¹¹For the Scripture says, p“Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ¹²qFor there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; rfor the same Lord is Lord of all, sbestowing his riches on all who call on him. ¹³For t“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him uof whom they have never heard?3 And how are they to hear vwithout someone preaching? ¹⁵And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, w“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” ¹⁶But xthey have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, y“Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” ¹⁷So zfaith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

¹⁸But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for

a“Their voice has gone out bto all the earth,

and their words to the ends of the world.”

¹⁹But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,

c“I will dmake you jealous of those who are not a nation;

with a efoolish nation I will make you angry.”

²⁰Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,

f“I have been found by those who did not seek me;

I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”

²¹But of Israel he says, g“All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”