God ¹  made the one who did not know sin ²  to be sin for us, so that in him ³  we would become the righteousness of God.

Do not become partners ¹  with those who do not believe, for what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship does light have with darkness?

Now God ¹  who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your supply of seed and will cause the harvest of your righteousness to grow.

to demonstrate in the coming ages ¹  the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward ²  us in Christ Jesus.

and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

so that you may not be sluggish, ¹  but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises.

By his sovereign plan he gave us birth ¹  through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings. ¹ 

and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness ¹  – a righteousness from God that is in fact ²  based on Christ’s ³  faithfulness. ⁴ 

For though ¹  I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see ²  your morale ³  and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

For from you the message of the Lord ¹  has echoed forth not just in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place reports of your faith in God have spread, ²  so that we do not need to say anything.

I recall ¹  your sincere faith ²  that was alive first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am sure ³  is in you.

For we had good news proclaimed to us just as they did. But the message they heard did them no good, since they did not join in ¹  with those who heard it in faith. ² 

let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, ¹  because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience ²  and our bodies washed in pure water.

Remember your leaders, who spoke God’s message to you; reflect on the outcome of their lives and imitate their faith.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues ¹  of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years – even if he lives a long, long time, ¹  but cannot enjoy his prosperity – even if he were to live forever ²  – I would say, “A stillborn child ³  is better off than he is!” ⁴ 

The person who sins is the one who will die. A son will not suffer ¹  for his father’s iniquity, and a father will not suffer ²  for his son’s iniquity; the righteous person will be judged according to his righteousness, and the wicked person according to his wickedness. ³ 

“But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing according to all the abominable practices the wicked carry out, will he live? All his righteous acts will not be remembered; because of the unfaithful acts he has done and the sin he has committed, he will die. ¹