¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God^(A) to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it,^(B) in hope ²¹ that^[a] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay^(C) and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.^(D)

The Parable of the Lost Sheep^(A)

15 Now the tax collectors^(B) and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”^(C)

³ Then Jesus told them this parable:^{(D) 4} “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?^{(E) 5} And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’^{(F) 7} I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.^(G)