A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.

Brothers and sisters:  Sin entered the world through one person, and through sin, death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race, because all have sinned.  Sin existed in the world long before the Law was given.  There was no law and so no one could be accused of the sin of “lawbreaking”.  Yet death reigned over all from our first parents to Moses, even though their sin, unlike that of our first parents, was not a matter of breaking a law.

But the gift is not like the offense.  For if by the offense of the first human all died, much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of Jesus Christ, abound for all.

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