The Ruined Loincloth

1 Thus says the Lord to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and ^qput it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, 4 “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, ^rgo to the Euphrates and hide it there in ^sa cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. 6 And after many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there ^qthe loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took ^qthe loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was ^tspoiled; it was ^ugood for nothing.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Thus says the Lord: ^vEven so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great ^wpride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, ^xwho stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is ^ugood for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, ^ythat they might be for me a people, ^za name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.

12 Let not ^gsin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 ^hDo not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but ⁱpresent yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For ^jsin ^kwill have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? ^lAre we to sin ^mbecause we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves ⁿto anyone as obedient slaves,¹ you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But ^othanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the ^pstandard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, ^qhaving been set free from sin, ^rhave become slaves of righteousness. 19 ^sI am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For ^tjust as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members ^uas slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

20 ^vFor when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 ^wBut what fruit were you getting at that time from the things ^xof which you are now ashamed? ^yFor the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you ^zhave been set free from sin and ^ahave become slaves of God, ^bthe fruit you get leads to sanctification and ^cits end, eternal life. 23 ^dFor the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

47 ^dWhoever is of God hears the words of God. ^eThe reason why you do not hear them is that ^fyou are not of God.”

Before Abraham Was, I Am

48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and ^ghave a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but ^hI honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet ⁱI do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, ^jI say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never ^ksee death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! ^lAbraham died, as did the prophets, yet ^myou say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never ⁿtaste death.’ 53 ^oAre you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, ^p“If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. ^qIt is my Father who glorifies me, ^rof whom you say, ‘He is our God.’¹ 55 But ^syou have not known him. ^tI know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be ^ua liar ^vlike you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 ^wYour father Abraham ^xrejoiced ^ythat he would see my day. ^zHe saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”² 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, ^aI am.” 59 So ^bthey picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.