28The Lord will carry out his sentence on the land, completely and decisively." 29This is what Isaiah predicted: "If the Lord of Armies hadn't left us some descendants, we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah." 30So what can we say? We can say that non-Jewish people who were not trying to gain God's approval won his approval, an approval based on faith. 31The people of Israel tried to gain God's approval by obeying Moses' Teachings, but they did not reach their goal. 32Why? They didn't rely on faith to gain God's approval, but they relied on their own efforts. They stumbled over the rock that trips people. 33As Scripture says, "I am placing a rock in Zion that people trip over, a large rock that people find offensive. Whoever believes in him will not be ashamed."
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