Solicitude for Israel
9 (A)I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3 For (B)I could [a]wish that I myself were (C)accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen (D)according to the flesh, 4 who are (E)Israelites, to whom belongs (F)the adoption as sons, and (G)the glory and (H)the covenants and (I)the giving of the Law and (J)the temple service and (K)the promises, 5 whose are (L)the fathers, and (M)from whom is [b]the Christ according to the flesh, (N)who is over all, (O)God (P)blessed [c]forever. Amen.
6 But it is not as though (Q)the word of God has failed. (R)For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children (S)because they are Abraham’s [d]descendants, but: “[e](T)through Isaac your [f]descendants will be named.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are (U)children of God, but the (V)children of the promise are regarded as [g]descendants. 9 For this is the word of promise: “(W)At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 (X)And not only this, but there was (Y)Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; 11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that (Z)God’s purpose according to His choice would [h]stand, not [i]because of works but [j]because of Him who calls, 12 it was said to her, “(AA)The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written, “(AB)Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
14 (AC)What shall we say then? (AD)There is no injustice with God, is there? (AE)May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, “(AF)I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who (AG)runs, but on (AH)God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “(AI)For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed [k]throughout the whole earth.” 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He (AJ)hardens whom He desires.
19 (AK)You will say to me then, “(AL)Why does He still find fault? For (AM)who resists His will?” 20 On the contrary, who are you, (AN)O man, who (AO)answers back to God? (AP)The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel [l]for honorable use and another [m]for common use? 22 [n]What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much (AQ)patience vessels of wrath (AR)prepared for destruction? 23 And He did so to make known (AS)the riches of His glory upon (AT)vessels of mercy, which He (AU)prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us, whom He also (AV)called, (AW)not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. 25 As He says also in Hosea,
“(AX)I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’
And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”
26 “(AY)And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of (AZ)the living God.”
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “(BA)Though the number of the sons of Israel be (BB)like the sand of the sea, it is (BC)the remnant that will be saved; 28 (BD)for the Lord will execute His word on the earth, [o]thoroughly and [p]quickly.” 29 And just as Isaiah foretold,
“(BE)Unless (BF)the Lord of [q]Sabaoth had left to us a [r]posterity,
(BG)We would have become like Sodom, and would have [s]resembled Gomorrah.”
30 (BH)What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even (BI)the righteousness which is [t]by faith; 31 but Israel, (BJ)pursuing a law of righteousness, did not (BK)arrive at that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it [u]by faith, but as though it were [v]by works. They stumbled over (BL)the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written,
“(BM)Behold, I lay in Zion (BN)a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,
(BO)And he who believes in Him (BP)will not be [w]disappointed.”
Footnotes
- Romans 9:3 Lit pray
- Romans 9:5 I.e. the Messiah
- Romans 9:5 Lit unto the ages
- Romans 9:7 Lit seed
- Romans 9:7 Lit in
- Romans 9:7 Lit seed
- Romans 9:8 Lit seed
- Romans 9:11 Lit remain
- Romans 9:11 Lit from
- Romans 9:11 Lit from
- Romans 9:17 Lit in
- Romans 9:21 Lit for honor
- Romans 9:21 Lit for dishonor
- Romans 9:22 Lit But
- Romans 9:28 Lit finishing it
- Romans 9:28 Lit cutting it short
- Romans 9:29 I.e. Hosts
- Romans 9:29 Lit seed
- Romans 9:29 Lit been made like
- Romans 9:30 Lit out of
- Romans 9:32 Lit out of
- Romans 9:32 Lit out of
- Romans 9:33 Lit put to shame
Cross references
- Romans 9:1 : 2 Cor 11:10; Gal 1:20; 1 Tim 2:7
- Romans 9:3 : Ex 32:32
- Romans 9:3 : 1 Cor 12:3; 16:22; Gal 1:8f
- Romans 9:3 : Rom 1:3; 11:14; Eph 6:5
- Romans 9:4 : Deut 7:6; 14:1f; Rom 9:6
- Romans 9:4 : Ex 4:22; Rom 8:15
- Romans 9:4 : Ex 40:34; 1 Kin 8:11; Ezek 1:28; Heb 9:5
- Romans 9:4 : Gen 17:2; Deut 29:14; Luke 1:72; Acts 3:25; Eph 2:12
- Romans 9:4 : Deut 4:13f; Ps 147:19
- Romans 9:4 : Heb 9:1, 6
- Romans 9:4 : Acts 2:39; 13:32; Eph 2:12
- Romans 9:5 : Acts 3:13; Rom 11:28
- Romans 9:5 : Matt 1:1-16; Rom 1:3
- Romans 9:5 : Col 1:16-19
- Romans 9:5 : John 1:1
- Romans 9:5 : Rom 1:25
- Romans 9:6 : Num 23:19
- Romans 9:6 : John 1:47; Rom 2:28f; Gal 6:16
- Romans 9:7 : John 8:33, 39; Gal 4:23
- Romans 9:7 : Gen 21:12; Heb 11:18
- Romans 9:8 : Rom 8:14
- Romans 9:8 : Rom 4:13, 16; Gal 3:29; 4:28; Heb 11:11
- Romans 9:9 : Gen 18:10
- Romans 9:10 : Rom 5:3
- Romans 9:10 : Gen 25:21
- Romans 9:11 : Rom 4:17; 8:28
- Romans 9:12 : Gen 25:23
- Romans 9:13 : Mal 1:2f
- Romans 9:14 : Rom 3:5
- Romans 9:14 : 2 Chr 19:7; Rom 2:11
- Romans 9:14 : Luke 20:16
- Romans 9:15 : Ex 33:19
- Romans 9:16 : Gal 2:2
- Romans 9:16 : Eph 2:8
- Romans 9:17 : Ex 9:16
- Romans 9:18 : Ex 4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 17; Deut 2:30; Josh 11:20; John 12:40; Rom 11:7, 25
- Romans 9:19 : Rom 11:19; 1 Cor 15:35; James 2:18
- Romans 9:19 : Rom 3:7
- Romans 9:19 : 2 Chr 20:6; Job 9:12; Dan 4:35
- Romans 9:20 : Rom 2:1
- Romans 9:20 : Job 33:13
- Romans 9:20 : Is 29:16; 45:9; 64:8; Jer 18:6; Rom 9:22f; 2 Tim 2:20
- Romans 9:22 : Rom 2:4
- Romans 9:22 : Prov 16:4; 1 Pet 2:8
- Romans 9:23 : Rom 2:4; Eph 3:16
- Romans 9:23 : Acts 9:15
- Romans 9:23 : Rom 8:29f
- Romans 9:24 : Rom 8:28
- Romans 9:24 : Rom 3:29
- Romans 9:25 : Hos 2:23; 1 Pet 2:10
- Romans 9:26 : Hos 1:10
- Romans 9:26 : Matt 16:16
- Romans 9:27 : Is 10:22
- Romans 9:27 : Gen 22:17; Hos 1:10
- Romans 9:27 : Rom 11:5
- Romans 9:28 : Is 10:23
- Romans 9:29 : Is 1:9
- Romans 9:29 : James 5:4
- Romans 9:29 : Deut 29:23; Is 13:19; Jer 49:18; 50:40; Amos 4:11
- Romans 9:30 : Rom 9:14
- Romans 9:30 : Rom 1:17; 3:21f; 10:6; Gal 2:16; 3:24; Phil 3:9; Heb 11:7
- Romans 9:31 : Is 51:1; Rom 9:30; 10:2f, 20; 11:7
- Romans 9:31 : Gal 5:4
- Romans 9:32 : Is 8:14; 1 Pet 2:6, 8
- Romans 9:33 : Is 28:16
- Romans 9:33 : Is 8:14
- Romans 9:33 : Rom 10:11
- Romans 9:33 : Rom 5:5