A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.

I speak the truth in Christ:  I do not lie.  My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that there is great grief and constant pain in my heart.

Indeed, I could even wish to be separated from Christ for the sake of my sisters and brothers, my kinfolk the Israelites.  Theirs were the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the Law-giving, the worship, and the promises; theirs was the ancestry, and from them came the Messiah.  I refer here to human ancestry.  Blessed forever be God who is over all!  Amen.

The Word of God recorded in the letter of Paul to the Romans.