Romans 2 (NASB)

The Impartiality of God

1Therefore you have ^(A)no excuse, ^(B)everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which ^(C)you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.

3But do you suppose this, ^(D)O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?

4Or do you think lightly of ^(E)the riches of His ^(F)kindness and ^(G)tolerance and ^(H)patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

5But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart ^(I)you are storing up wrath for yourself ^(J)in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

6^(K)who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:

7to those who by ^(L)perseverance in doing good seek for ^(M)glory and honor and ^(N)immortality, ^(O)eternal life;

8but to those who are ^(P)selfishly ambitious and ^(Q)do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.

9There will be ^(R)tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew ^(S)first and also of the Greek,

10but ^(T)glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew ^(U)first and also to the Greek.

11For ^(V)there is no partiality with God.

12For all who have sinned ^(W)without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law;

13for it is ^(X)not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.

14For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do ^(Y)instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves,

15in that they show ^(Z)the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,

16on the day when, ^(AA)according to my gospel, ^(AB)God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.

The Jew Is Condemned by the Law

17But if you bear the name “Jew” and ^(AC)rely upon the Law and boast in God, 18and know His will and ^(AD)approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law,

19and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,

20a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law ^(AE)the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth,

21you, therefore, ^(AF)who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal?

22You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you ^(AG)rob temples?

23You who ^(AH)boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?

24For “^(AI)THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES ^(AJ)BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.

25For indeed circumcision is of value if you ^(AK)practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, ^(AL)your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

26^(AM)So if ^(AN)the uncircumcised man ^(AO)keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?

27And ^(AP)he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not ^(AQ)judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law?

28For ^(AR)he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.

29But ^(AS)he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and ^(AT)circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the ^(AU)Spirit, not by the letter; ^(AV)and his praise is not from men, but from God.

Romans 1 (NASB)

Let’s get into Romans, and maybe we can stick to the NASB.  It’s such a deep letter, fret with theological implications and some really dense topics.  I know that we’ve each taken a look at Romans pretty in-depth at some point in life, but I personally would like to take another look, this time at one of the most literal translations of the letter, to keep as much interpretation out as possible.

And FYI, I don’t plan on taking out any of the superscripts.

The Gospel Exalted

1Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, ^(A)called as an apostle, ^(B)set apart for ^(C)the gospel of God, 2which He ^(D)promised beforehand through His ^(E)prophets in the holy Scriptures,

3concerning His Son, who was born ^(F)of a descendant of David ^(G)according to the flesh,

4who was declared ^(H)the Son of God with power ^[a]by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,

5through whom we have received grace and ^(I)apostleship to bring about the ^(J)obedience of faith among ^(K)all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,

6among whom you also are the ^(L)called of Jesus Christ;

7to all who are ^(M)beloved of God in Rome, called as ^(N)saints: ^(O)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

8First, ^(P)I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because ^(Q)your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.

9For ^(R)God, whom I ^(S)serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly ^(T)I make mention of you,

10always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by ^(U)the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.

11For ^(V)I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established;

12that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.

13^(W)I do not want you to be unaware, ^(X)brethren, that often I ^(Y)have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some ^(Z)fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.

14^(AA)I am ^[b]under obligation both to Greeks and to ^(AB)barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

15So, for my part, I am eager to ^(AC)preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

16For I am not ^(AD)ashamed of the gospel, for ^(AE)it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the ^(AF)Jew first and also to ^(AG)the Greek.

17For in it ^(AH)the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “^(AI)BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

Joshua 24 (NIV)

The Covenant Renewed at Shechem

1 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River ^[a] and worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the River and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.

5 ” ‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. 6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen ^[b] as far as the Red Sea. ^[c] 7 But they cried to the LORD for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the desert for a long time.

8 ” ‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. 9 When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. 10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.

11 ” ‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’

14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! 17 It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18 And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God.”

19 Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”

21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.”

22 Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.”
“Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied.

23 “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.”

24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.”

25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he drew up for them decrees and laws. 26 And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the LORD.

27 “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the LORD has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”

Buried in the Promised Land

28 Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance. 29 After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 30 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah ^[d] in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

31 Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the LORD had done for Israel.

32 And Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver ^[e] from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.

33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.

Joshua 23 (TNIV)

Joshua’s Farewell to the Leaders

 1 After a long time had passed and the LORD had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man, 2 summoned all Israel—their elders, leaders, judges and officials—and said to them: “I am very old. 3 You yourselves have seen everything the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the LORD your God who fought for you. 4 Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 The LORD your God himself will push them out for your sake. He will drive them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you.    6 “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. 8 But you are to hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have until now.

    9 “The LORD has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. 10 One of you routs a thousand, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as he promised. 11 So be very careful to love the LORD your God.

    12 “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, 13 then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the LORD your God has given you.

    14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. 15 But just as all the good things the LORD your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the LORD your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. 16 If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”

Joshua 22 (NIV)

Eastern Tribes Return Home

1 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh 2 and said to them, “You have done all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. 3 For a long time now—to this very day—you have not deserted your brothers but have carried out the mission the LORD your God gave you. 4 Now that the LORD your God has given your brothers rest as he promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul.” 6 Then Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their homes. 7 (To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan, and to the other half of the tribe Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan with their brothers.) When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them, 8 saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth—with large herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze and iron, and a great quantity of clothing—and divide with your brothers the plunder from your enemies.”

9 So the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan to return to Gilead, their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the LORD through Moses.

10 When they came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar there by the Jordan. 11 And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, 12 the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them.

13 So the Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead—to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 14 With him they sent ten of the chief men, one for each of the tribes of Israel, each the head of a family division among the Israelite clans.

15 When they went to Gilead—to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh—they said to them: 16 “The whole assembly of the LORD says: ‘How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the LORD and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now? 17 Was not the sin of Peor enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the LORD! 18 And are you now turning away from the LORD ?
” ‘If you rebel against the LORD today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community of Israel. 19 If the land you possess is defiled, come over to the LORD’s land, where the LORD’s tabernacle stands, and share the land with us. But do not rebel against the LORD or against us by building an altar for yourselves, other than the altar of the LORD our God. 20 When Achan son of Zerah acted unfaithfully regarding the devoted things, ^[a] did not wrath come upon the whole community of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin.’ “

21 Then Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the clans of Israel: 22 “The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows! And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the LORD, do not spare us this day. 23 If we have built our own altar to turn away from the LORD and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings ^[b] on it, may the LORD himself call us to account.

24 “No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, ‘What do you have to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? 25 The LORD has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you—you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the LORD.’ So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the LORD.

26 “That is why we said, ‘Let us get ready and build an altar—but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.’ 27 On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no share in the LORD.’

28 “And we said, ‘If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the LORD’s altar, which our fathers built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.’

29 “Far be it from us to rebel against the LORD and turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices, other than the altar of the LORD our God that stands before his tabernacle.”

30 When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community—the heads of the clans of the Israelites—heard what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased. 31 And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, “Today we know that the LORD is with us, because you have not acted unfaithfully toward the LORD in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the LORD’s hand.”

32 Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders returned to Canaan from their meeting with the Reubenites and Gadites in Gilead and reported to the Israelites. 33 They were glad to hear the report and praised God. And they talked no more about going to war against them to devastate the country where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived.

34 And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us that the LORD is God.