Shall we say, then, that the Law itself is sinful? Of course not! But it was the Law that made me know what sin is. If the Law had not said, "Do not desire what belongs to someone else," I would not have known such a desire.

But does this mean that what is good caused my death? By no means! It was sin that did it; by using what is good, sin brought death to me, in order that its true nature as sin might be revealed. And so, by means of the commandment sin is shown to be even more terribly sinful.

And so people become enemies of God when they are controlled by their human nature; for they do not obey God's law, and in fact they cannot obey it.

But I did command them to obey me, so that I would be their God and they would be my people. And I told them to live the way I had commanded them, so that things would go well for them.

If only they would always feel this way! If only they would always honor me and obey all my commands, so that everything would go well with them and their descendants forever.

Obey them all, so that everything will go well with you and so that you will continue to live in the land that you are going to occupy.

As long as you live, you and your descendants are to honor the LORD your God and obey all his laws that I am giving you, so that you may live in that land a long time.

Listen to them, people of Israel, and obey them! Then all will go well with you, and you will become a mighty nation and live in that rich and fertile land, just as the LORD, the God of our ancestors, has promised.

How I wish my people would listen to me; how I wish they would obey me!

Those who hate me would bow in fear before me; their punishment would last forever.

Your work will provide for your needs; you will be happy and prosperous.

The righteous will be happy, and things will go well for them. They will get to enjoy what they have worked for.