God’s Righteous Judgment (Psalm 75:1–10)
1 UDB You may say that God must punish people for doing what he hates. But when you say that, you are really saying that God should punish you because you also have lived the same kind of life. You did the same things they have done. BSB BSB: You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
2 UDB We know very well that God will judge and punish fairly people who do such evil deeds. BSB BSB: And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.
3 UDB So you who say that God should punish others for doing evil deeds, although you do evil deeds yourself, you should certainly not think that you yourself will be able to escape from God when he begins to punish you! BSB BSB: So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?
4 UDB And you should not say, "God is acting very tolerantly and patiently toward me, so I do not need to turn away from my sin." You should understand that God is patiently waiting for you to repent from your sins. BSB BSB: Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
5 UDB But instead, because you are stubborn and refuse to stop sinning, God will punish you even more severely. He will do that at the time when he shows that he is angry and judges all people fairly. BSB BSB: But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
7 UDB Specifically, some people keep doing good deeds because they want God to honor them, and they want to live forever with him. God will reward them in this way. BSB BSB: To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.
8 UDB But some people act in selfish ways and refuse to believe that what God says is true, and they do the things that God says are wrong. God will be very angry and will punish them severely. BSB BSB: But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.
9 UDB He will cause everyone who habitually does evil deeds to suffer greatly and to have many troubles. This certainly will happen to the Jews who refuse to accept God's message because God gave them the privilege of being his special people, but it will also happen to the Gentiles. BSB BSB: There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek;
10 UDB But God will praise, honor, and give peace to every person who habitually does good deeds. He will certainly do this for the Jews because he chose them as his special people, but he will also do it for the Gentiles. BSB BSB: but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek.
11 UDB God will do this fairly, because he pays no attention to how important anyone is. BSB BSB: For God does not show favoritism.
12 UDB Those who do not have the laws that God gave to Moses and still sin without having a law, God will bring them to ruin forever. And he will also punish all the Jews who have disobeyed his law because he will judge them according to what the law says. BSB BSB: All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.
13 UDB God does not consider people to be righteous if they only listen to the law being read; they must do what God commands in the law. BSB BSB: For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous.
15 UDB They show that they know in their own minds what God commands in his law, for each person in his very own conscience either accuses himself of bad behavior or defends himself. BSB BSB: So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them
16 UDB God will punish them at the time when he will judge people according to what they have thought and done secretly. He will judge people by authorizing Christ Jesus to judge them. This is what I tell people when I preach the good news to them. BSB BSB: on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus, as proclaimed by my gospel.
The Jews and the Law 17 UDB Now I have something to say to anyone to whom I am writing who is a Jew: You trust that God will save you because you know the laws that he gave to Moses. You boast that you belong to God. BSB BSB: Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;
18 UDB You know what God desires. Because you have been taught God's laws, you are able to know what things are right and to choose to do them. BSB BSB: if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;
19 UDB You are certain that you are able to show people what God's truth is, and that you can instruct those who know nothing about God. BSB BSB: if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those in darkness,
20 UDB You are certain that you can instruct those who believe foolish things about God and those who are like children because they know nothing about him at all. You are certain about all this because you have the law that teaches you truly about God. BSB BSB: an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—
21 UDB Since you claim that you have all these advantages because you are a Jew, it is disgusting that you teach others but do not obey the laws yourself! You who preach that people should not steal things, it is disgusting that you yourself steal things! BSB BSB: you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?
22 UDB You who command people not to sleep with someone to whom they are not married, it is disgusting that you commit adultery yourself! You who command others not to worship idols, it is disgusting that you rob the temples where people worship those idols. BSB BSB: You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
23 UDB You who boast, saying, "I have God's laws," it is disgusting that you disobey those same laws! As a result you are insulting God! BSB BSB: You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?
24 UDB It is just as the scriptures tell us, "Because of the evil things that you Jewish people do, the Gentiles say insulting things about God." BSB BSB: As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
25 UDB Any one of you who is circumcised to show that he belongs to God can benefit from that if he obeys the law that he gave to Moses. But if you, a circumcised person, disobey the law, God will consider you to be no better in his sight than someone who is not circumcised. BSB BSB: Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.
26 UDB This means that God will certainly consider that even Gentiles who are not circumcised can become his people if they obey the things that he commanded in his laws. BSB BSB: If a man who is not circumcised keeps the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?
27 UDB These people, who are not circumcised but who still obey God's laws, will declare that God is right when he punishes you, for you are circumcised but still break the law. BSB BSB: The one who is physically uncircumcised yet keeps the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
28 UDB It is not those who perform rituals for God who are true Jews, and it is not being circumcised in their bodies that causes God to accept them. BSB BSB: A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical.
29 UDB On the contrary, we whom God has changed inwardly are the true Jews. God has accepted us, and God's Spirit has changed our nature, not because we perform the rituals commanded by the law. Even if other people will not praise us, God will praise us. BSB BSB: No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.
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