You will say to me then, Why does He still find fault? For who withstands His will?

But rather, O man, who are you who answer back to God? Shall the thing molded say to him who molded it, Why did you make me thus?

Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make out of the same lump one  ¹vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor?

And what if God, wishing to demonstrate His wrath and make His power known, endured with much long-suffering vessels of wrath fitted for destruction,

In order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto  ¹glory,

Even us, whom He has also called, not only from among the Jews but also from among the Gentiles?

As He also says in Hosea, "I will call those who were not My people My people, and her who was not beloved beloved;

And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, You are not My people, there shall they be called sons of the living God.”

And Isaiah cries concerning Israel, "Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that shall be saved;

For the Lord will execute His word upon the earth, accomplishing it and cutting it short.”

And as Isaiah has previously said, “Unless the Lord of hosts had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom and been made like Gomorrah.”

What then shall we say? That the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have laid hold of righteousness, but a righteousness which is out of faith;

But Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not attain to that law.

Why? Because they pursued it not out of faith, but as it were out of works. They stumbled at the stone of stumbling,

As it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling, a rock of offense, and he who believes on Him shall not be put to shame.”

Brothers, the good pleasure of my heart and my petition to God for them is for their salvation.

For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to full knowledge;

For because they were ignorant of God's righteousness and sought to  ¹establish their own righteousness, they were not subject to the righteousness of God.

Of David

 ¹Do not be incensed because of evildoers;
Do not be envious of wrongdoers.

For they soon wither like grass
And fade away like green herbage.

Trust in Jehovah, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

Delight yourself in Jehovah,
And He will give you the requests of your heart.

Commit your way to Jehovah,
And trust in Him; and He will act.

And He will cause your righteousness to go forth like light,
And your justness like noonday.

Be still before Jehovah, and wait for Him;
Do not be incensed because of him who enjoys prosperity on his way,
Because of the man who performs his evil schemes.

Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not be incensed; it leads only to evil.

For the evildoers will be cut off;
But those who wait on Jehovah,
They will inherit the land.

And in a little while longer there will be no wicked man;
Indeed, you will look diligently for his place, and he will not be there.

But the lowly will inherit the land
And delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

The wicked man makes evil schemes against the righteous man
And gnashes his teeth at him.

The Lord will laugh at him,
For He sees that his day will come.

The wicked have drawn out the sword
And bent their bow,
To cast the poor and the needy down,
To slaughter those who are upright in their way.

Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their bows will be broken.

Better is the little that the righteous man has
Than the abundance of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
But Jehovah upholds the righteous.

Jehovah knows the days of the perfect,
And their inheritance will be forever.

They will not be put to shame in a time of evil,
And in the days of famine they will be satisfied.

But the wicked will perish,
And the enemies of Jehovah will be like the glory of the pastures:
They are consumed; in smoke they are consumed.

The wicked borrow but do not repay,
But the righteous is gracious and gives.

For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,
But those cursed by Him will be cut off.

A man's steps are established by Jehovah,
And He delights in his way.

If he falls, he is not utterly cast down;
For Jehovah upholds him by the hand.

I was once a young man; now I am old.
Yet I have not seen the righteous man forsaken,
Nor his seed seeking bread.

He is always gracious and lends,
And his seed becomes a blessing.

Turn away from evil and do good,
And abide forever.

For Jehovah loves justice
And does not abandon His faithful ones;
They are kept forever;
But the seed of the wicked is cut off.

The righteous will inherit the land,
And they will abide in it forever.

The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
And his tongue speaks justice.

The law of his God is in his heart;
His steps do not slip.

The wicked man watches for the righteous man
And seeks to slay him.

Jehovah does not leave him in his hand,
Nor let him be condemned when he is judged.

Wait for Jehovah,
And keep His way;
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

I have seen the wicked man terrorizing,
And spreading himself like a luxuriant native tree.

Then someone passes by, and behold, he is not there;
I search for him, and he is not found.

Observe the perfect man, and watch the upright man;
For there is a future for the man of peace.

But the transgressors will be altogether destroyed;
The future of the wicked will be cut off.

And the salvation of the righteous is from Jehovah;
He is their stronghold in a time of distress.

And Jehovah helps them and rescues them;
He rescues them from the wicked,
And saves them, for they take refuge in Him.

A Psalm of David, for remembrance

 ¹O Jehovah, do not rebuke me in Your indignation,
Nor chasten me in Your burning wrath.

For Your arrows have sunk deep in me,
And Your hand has come down heavy upon me.

There is no soundness in my flesh due to Your indignation;
There is no wholeness in my bones due to my sin.

For my iniquities have passed over my head;
Like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

My wounds are odious and festering
Due to my foolishness.

I am bent down and bowed utterly;
I go about all day long mourning.

For my loins are filled with burning,
And there is no soundness in my flesh.

I am benumbed and crushed utterly;
I cry out due to the  ¹groaning of my heart.

O Lord, all my desire is before You,
And my groaning is not hidden from You.

My heart throbs; my strength fails me;
And as for the light of my eyes, neither is it with me.

Those who love me and those who are my friends stand aloof from my
plague,
And my relatives stand far away.

And those who seek my soul lay traps for me,
And those who pursue my misfortune speak of destruction,
And they contemplate deceit all day long.

But I, like a deaf man, cannot hear;
And I am like a dumb man, who cannot open his mouth.

Indeed I am like a man who does not hear
And in whose mouth there are no reproofs.

For in You, O Jehovah, do I hope;
You will respond, O Lord my God.

For I said, May they never rejoice over me!
When my foot slips, they magnify themselves over me.

For I am ready to stumble,
And my pain is before me continually.

For I declare my iniquity;
I am anxious because of my sin.

But my enemies are vigorous; they are strong;
And those who wrongly hate me are many.

Those also who repay evil for good
Are my adversaries because I pursue what is good.

Do not abandon me, O Jehovah;
O my God, do not be far away from me.

Hasten to help me,
O Lord, my salvation.