I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, {Greek: well-pleasing.}acceptable to God, which is your {Greek: belonging to the reason.}spiritual {Or, worship}service.
And be not fashioned according to this {Or, age}world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is {Or, the will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect}the good and {Greek: well-pleasing.}acceptable and perfect will of God.
For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but so to think as to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith.
For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office:
so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another.
And having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith;
or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry; or he that teacheth, to his teaching;
or he that exhorteth, to his exhorting: he that giveth, let him do it with {Greek: singleness.}liberality; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.
Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to another; in honor preferring one another;
in diligence not slothful; fervent in spirit; serving {Some ancient authorities read the opportunity.}the Lord;
rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing stedfastly in prayer;
communicating to the necessities of the saints; {Greek: pursuing.}given to hospitality.
Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not.
Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that weep.
Be of the same mind one toward another. Set not your mind on high things, but {Greek: be carried away with.}condescend to {Or, them}things that are lowly. Be not wise in your own conceits.
Render to no man evil for evil. Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men.
If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men.
Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto {Or, wrath}the wrath of God: for it is written, {Deuteronomy 32:35}Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord.
But {(Proverbs 25:21 f.)}if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Querverweise zu Römer 12,16 Röm 12,16
Now the God of {Or, stedfastness}patience and of comfort grant you to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus:
A Song of Ascents; of David.Jehovah, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty;Neither do I {Hebrew: walk.}exercise myself in great matters,Or in things too wonderful for me.
If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant,When they contended with me;
What then shall I do when God riseth up?And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?
Did not he that made me in the womb make him?And did not one fashion us in the womb?
If I have withheld {Or, aught that the poor desired}the poor from their desire,Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in;
God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein?
Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul;Like a weaned child with his mother,Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any:He is mighty in strength of {Hebrew: heart.}understanding.
Be not wise in thine own eyes;Fear Jehovah, and depart from evil:
Also upon Judah came the hand of God to give them one heart, to do the commandment of the king and of the princes by the word of Jehovah.
And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not; for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith Jehovah; but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.
Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker;And he that is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.
Seest thou a man wise in {Hebrew: his own eyes.}his own conceit?There is more hope of a fool than of him.
and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
In that hour came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who then is {Greek: greater.}greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
And he called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them,
and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the {Greek: greater.}greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
All the brethren of the poor do hate him:How much more do his friends go far from him! {Or, he pursueth after words, which are nought}He pursueth them with words, but they are gone.
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul: and not one of them said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
And he said unto her, What wouldest thou? She saith unto him, Command that these my two sons may sit, one on thy right hand, and one on thy left hand, in thy kingdom.
But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? They say unto him, We are able.
He saith unto them, My cup indeed ye shall drink: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left hand, is not mine to give; but it is for them for whom it hath been prepared of my Father.
And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation concerning the two brethren.
But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
Not so shall it be among you: but whosoever would become great among you shall be your {Or, servant}minister;
and whosoever would be first among you shall be your {Greek: bondservant.}servant:
even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto Jehovah,And his good deed will he pay him again.
Let no man deceive himself. If any man thinketh that he is wise among you in this {Or, age}world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise.
Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no {Greek: schisms.}divisions among you; but that ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
And the devil said unto him, To thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them: for it hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
If thou therefore wilt {The Greek word denotes an act of reverence, whether paid to a creature, or to the Creator (compare marginal note on Matthew 2:2).}worship before me, it shall all be thine.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
And he led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the {Greek: wing.}pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
for it is written, {Psalm 91:11, 12}He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to guard thee:
and,On their hands they shall bear thee up,Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.
That which maketh a man to be desired is his kindness;And a poor man is better than a liar.
We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye have glory, but we have dishonor.
Only {Greek: behave as citizens worthily. Compare chapter 3:20.}let your manner of life be worthy of the {Greek: good tidings. See marginal note on chapter 1:5.}gospel of Christ: that, whether I come and see you or be absent, I may hear of your state, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one soul striving {Greek: with.}for the faith of the {Greek: good tidings. See marginal note on chapter 1:5.}gospel;
And there arose also a contention among them, which of them was accounted to be {Greek: greater.}greatest.
And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles have lordship over them; and they that have authority over them are called Benefactors.
But ye shall not be so: but he that is the greater among you, let him become as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.
For which is greater, he that {Greek: reclineth.}sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that {Greek: reclineth.}sitteth at meat? but I am in the midst of you as he that serveth.
Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment?
I say this to move you to shame. {Or, Is it so, that there cannot &c.}What, cannot there be found among you one wise man who shall be able to decide between his brethren,
make full my joy, that ye be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, {Some ancient authorities read of the same mind.}of one mind;
neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves ensamples to the flock.
Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they?
If any man thinketh that he knoweth anything, he knoweth not yet as he ought to know;
doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself;
I wrote somewhat unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have {Or, the gospel}good tidings preached to them.
Who is wise and understanding among you? let him show by his good life his works in meekness of wisdom.
But if ye have bitter jealousy and faction in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth.
This wisdom is not a wisdom that cometh down from above, but is earthly, {Or, natural Or, animal}sensual, {Greek: demoniacal.}devilish.
For where jealousy and faction are, there is confusion and every vile deed.
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without {Or, doubtfulness Or, partiality}variance, without hypocrisy.
only, whereunto we have attained, by that same rule let us walk.
{Some ancient authorities omit And it was given…overcome them.}And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and there was given to him authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.
For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
I exhort Euodia, and I exhort Syntyche, to be of the same mind in the Lord.
And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, every one whose name hath not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain.
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed are ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
Finally, be ye all likeminded, {Greek: sympathetic.}compassionate, loving as brethren, tenderhearted, humbleminded:
But when thou makest a feast, bid the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content.
I know how to be abased, and I know also how to abound: in everything and in all things have I learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in want.
I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me.
But godliness with contentment is great gain:
for we brought nothing into the world, for neither can we carry anything out;
but having food and covering {Or, in these we shall have enough}we shall be therewith content.
But they that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition.
{Greek: Let your turn of mind be free.}Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have: for himself hath said, {Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:5}I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee.
Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him?
But ye have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats?