Paul writes instead, “The righteousness that is by faith says.…” This looser reference is to Deuteronomy 30:12–14. In that passage Moses is speaking to the people, assuring them that God will bless the nation if they obey his commands and decrees: Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you