Romans 9
The Message
God Is Calling His People
9 1-5 At the same time, you need to know that I carry with me at all times a huge sorrow. It’s an enormous pain deep within me, and I’m never free of it. I’m not exaggerating—Christ and the Holy Spirit are my witnesses. It’s the Israelites . . . If there were any way I could be cursed by the Messiah so they could be blessed by him, I’d do it in a minute. They’re my family. I grew up with them. They had everything going for them—family, glory, covenants, revelation, worship, promises, to say nothing of being the race that produced the Messiah, the Christ, who is God over everything, always. Oh, yes!
6-9 Don’t suppose for a moment, though, that God’s Word has malfunctioned in some way or other. The problem goes back a long way. From the outset, not all Israelites of the flesh were Israelites of the spirit. It wasn’t Abraham’s sperm that gave identity here, but God’s promise. Remember how it was put: “Your family will be defined by Isaac”? That means that Israelite identity was never racially determined by sexual transmission, but it was God-determined by promise. Remember that promise, “When I come back next year at this time, Sarah will have a son”?
10-13 And that’s not the only time. To Rebecca, also, a promise was made that took priority over genetics. When she became pregnant by our one-of-a-kind ancestor, Isaac, and her babies were still innocent in the womb—incapable of good or bad—she received a special assurance from God. What God did in this case made it perfectly plain that his purpose is not a hit-or-miss thing dependent on what we do or don’t do, but a sure thing determined by his decision, flowing steadily from his initiative. God told Rebecca, “The firstborn of your twins will take second place.” Later that was turned into a stark epigram: “I loved Jacob; I hated Esau.”
14-18 Is that grounds for complaining that God is unfair? Not so fast, please. God told Moses, “I’m in charge of mercy. I’m in charge of compassion.” Compassion doesn’t originate in our bleeding hearts or moral sweat, but in God’s mercy. The same point was made when God said to Pharaoh, “I picked you as a bit player in this drama of my salvation power.” All we’re saying is that God has the first word, initiating the action in which we play our part for better or worse.
19 Are you going to object, “So how can God blame us for anything since he’s in charge of everything? If the big decisions are already made, what say do we have in it?”
20-33 Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn’t talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, “Why did you shape me like this?” Isn’t it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? If God needs one style of pottery especially designed to show his angry displeasure and another style carefully crafted to show his glorious goodness, isn’t that all right? Either or both happens to Jews, but it also happens to the other people. Hosea put it well:
I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies;
I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved.
In the place where they yelled out, “You’re nobody!”
they’re calling you “God’s living children.”
Isaiah maintained this same emphasis:
If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered
and the sum labeled “chosen of God,”
They’d be numbers still, not names;
salvation comes by personal selection.
God doesn’t count us; he calls us by name.
Arithmetic is not his focus.
Isaiah had looked ahead and spoken the truth:
If our powerful God
had not provided us a legacy of living children,
We would have ended up like ghost towns,
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
How can we sum this up? All those people who didn’t seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their “God projects” that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling. Isaiah (again!) gives us the metaphor for pulling this together:
Careful! I’ve put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion,
a stone you can’t get around.
But the stone is me! If you’re looking for me,
you’ll find me on the way, not in the way.
罗马书 9
Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified)
保罗忧愁以色列人不信
9 我在基督里说真话，并不谎言，有我良心被圣灵感动给我作见证。 2 我是大有忧愁，心里时常伤痛。 3 为我弟兄，我骨肉之亲，就是自己被咒诅，与基督分离，我也愿意。 4 他们是以色列人，那儿子的名分、荣耀、诸约、律法、礼仪、应许都是他们的； 5 列祖就是他们的祖宗；按肉体说，基督也是从他们出来的——他是在万有之上永远可称颂的神！阿门。 6 这不是说神的话落了空。因为从以色列生的，不都是以色列人； 7 也不因为是亚伯拉罕的后裔，就都做他的儿女，唯独“从以撒生的，才要称为你的后裔”。 8 这就是说，肉身所生的儿女不是神的儿女，唯独那应许的儿女才算是后裔。 9 因为所应许的话是这样说：“到明年这时候我要来，撒拉必生一个儿子。” 10 不但如此，还有利百加，既从一个人，就是从我们的祖宗以撒怀了孕， 11 双子还没有生下来，善恶还没有做出来——只因要显明神拣选人的旨意，不在乎人的行为，乃在乎召人的主—— 12 神就对利百加说：“将来大的要服侍小的。” 13 正如经上所记：“雅各是我所爱的，以扫是我所恶的。”
随意怜悯慈悲
14 这样，我们可说什么呢？难道神有什么不公平吗？断乎没有！ 15 因他对摩西说：“我要怜悯谁就怜悯谁，要恩待谁就恩待谁。” 16 据此看来，这不在乎那定意的，也不在乎那奔跑的，只在乎发怜悯的神。 17 因为经上有话向法老说：“我将你兴起来，特要在你身上彰显我的权能，并要使我的名传遍天下。” 18 如此看来，神要怜悯谁就怜悯谁，要叫谁刚硬就叫谁刚硬。
预言外邦人蒙爱
19 这样，你必对我说：“他为什么还指责人呢？有谁抗拒他的旨意呢？” 20 你这个人哪，你是谁，竟敢向神强嘴呢？受造之物岂能对造他的说：“你为什么这样造我呢？” 21 窑匠难道没有权柄从一团泥里拿一块做成贵重的器皿，又拿一块做成卑贱的器皿吗？ 22 倘若神要显明他的愤怒，彰显他的权能，就多多忍耐宽容那可怒、预备遭毁灭的器皿， 23 又要将他丰盛的荣耀彰显在那蒙怜悯、早预备得荣耀的器皿上—— 24 这器皿就是我们被神所召的，不但是从犹太人中，也是从外邦人中——这有什么不可呢？ 25 就像神在何西阿书上说：“那本来不是我子民的，我要称为我的子民；本来不是蒙爱的，我要称为蒙爱的。 26 从前在什么地方对他们说‘你们不是我的子民’，将来就在那里称他们为‘永生神的儿子’。” 27 以赛亚指着以色列人喊着说：“以色列人虽多如海沙，得救的不过是剩下的余数。 28 因为主要在世上施行他的话，叫他的话都成全，速速地完结。” 29 又如以赛亚先前说过：“若不是万军之主给我们存留余种，我们早已像所多玛、蛾摩拉的样子了。”
律法的义和信心的义相比
30 这样，我们可说什么呢？那本来不追求义的外邦人反得了义，就是因信而得的义； 31 但以色列人追求律法的义，反得不着律法的义。 32 这是什么缘故呢？是因为他们不凭着信心求，只凭着行为求，他们正跌在那绊脚石上。 33 就如经上所记：“我在锡安放一块绊脚的石头、跌人的磐石，信靠他的人必不至于羞愧。”
Romans 9
The Message
God Is Calling His People
9 1-5 At the same time, you need to know that I carry with me at all times a huge sorrow. It’s an enormous pain deep within me, and I’m never free of it. I’m not exaggerating—Christ and the Holy Spirit are my witnesses. It’s the Israelites . . . If there were any way I could be cursed by the Messiah so they could be blessed by him, I’d do it in a minute. They’re my family. I grew up with them. They had everything going for them—family, glory, covenants, revelation, worship, promises, to say nothing of being the race that produced the Messiah, the Christ, who is God over everything, always. Oh, yes!
6-9 Don’t suppose for a moment, though, that God’s Word has malfunctioned in some way or other. The problem goes back a long way. From the outset, not all Israelites of the flesh were Israelites of the spirit. It wasn’t Abraham’s sperm that gave identity here, but God’s promise. Remember how it was put: “Your family will be defined by Isaac”? That means that Israelite identity was never racially determined by sexual transmission, but it was God-determined by promise. Remember that promise, “When I come back next year at this time, Sarah will have a son”?
10-13 And that’s not the only time. To Rebecca, also, a promise was made that took priority over genetics. When she became pregnant by our one-of-a-kind ancestor, Isaac, and her babies were still innocent in the womb—incapable of good or bad—she received a special assurance from God. What God did in this case made it perfectly plain that his purpose is not a hit-or-miss thing dependent on what we do or don’t do, but a sure thing determined by his decision, flowing steadily from his initiative. God told Rebecca, “The firstborn of your twins will take second place.” Later that was turned into a stark epigram: “I loved Jacob; I hated Esau.”
14-18 Is that grounds for complaining that God is unfair? Not so fast, please. God told Moses, “I’m in charge of mercy. I’m in charge of compassion.” Compassion doesn’t originate in our bleeding hearts or moral sweat, but in God’s mercy. The same point was made when God said to Pharaoh, “I picked you as a bit player in this drama of my salvation power.” All we’re saying is that God has the first word, initiating the action in which we play our part for better or worse.
19 Are you going to object, “So how can God blame us for anything since he’s in charge of everything? If the big decisions are already made, what say do we have in it?”
20-33 Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn’t talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, “Why did you shape me like this?” Isn’t it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? If God needs one style of pottery especially designed to show his angry displeasure and another style carefully crafted to show his glorious goodness, isn’t that all right? Either or both happens to Jews, but it also happens to the other people. Hosea put it well:
I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies;
I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved.
In the place where they yelled out, “You’re nobody!”
they’re calling you “God’s living children.”
Isaiah maintained this same emphasis:
If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered
and the sum labeled “chosen of God,”
They’d be numbers still, not names;
salvation comes by personal selection.
God doesn’t count us; he calls us by name.
Arithmetic is not his focus.
Isaiah had looked ahead and spoken the truth:
If our powerful God
had not provided us a legacy of living children,
We would have ended up like ghost towns,
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
How can we sum this up? All those people who didn’t seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their “God projects” that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling. Isaiah (again!) gives us the metaphor for pulling this together:
Careful! I’ve put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion,
a stone you can’t get around.
But the stone is me! If you’re looking for me,
you’ll find me on the way, not in the way.
罗马书 9
Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified)
保罗忧愁以色列人不信
9 我在基督里说真话，并不谎言，有我良心被圣灵感动给我作见证。 2 我是大有忧愁，心里时常伤痛。 3 为我弟兄，我骨肉之亲，就是自己被咒诅，与基督分离，我也愿意。 4 他们是以色列人，那儿子的名分、荣耀、诸约、律法、礼仪、应许都是他们的； 5 列祖就是他们的祖宗；按肉体说，基督也是从他们出来的——他是在万有之上永远可称颂的神！阿门。 6 这不是说神的话落了空。因为从以色列生的，不都是以色列人； 7 也不因为是亚伯拉罕的后裔，就都做他的儿女，唯独“从以撒生的，才要称为你的后裔”。 8 这就是说，肉身所生的儿女不是神的儿女，唯独那应许的儿女才算是后裔。 9 因为所应许的话是这样说：“到明年这时候我要来，撒拉必生一个儿子。” 10 不但如此，还有利百加，既从一个人，就是从我们的祖宗以撒怀了孕， 11 双子还没有生下来，善恶还没有做出来——只因要显明神拣选人的旨意，不在乎人的行为，乃在乎召人的主—— 12 神就对利百加说：“将来大的要服侍小的。” 13 正如经上所记：“雅各是我所爱的，以扫是我所恶的。”
随意怜悯慈悲
14 这样，我们可说什么呢？难道神有什么不公平吗？断乎没有！ 15 因他对摩西说：“我要怜悯谁就怜悯谁，要恩待谁就恩待谁。” 16 据此看来，这不在乎那定意的，也不在乎那奔跑的，只在乎发怜悯的神。 17 因为经上有话向法老说：“我将你兴起来，特要在你身上彰显我的权能，并要使我的名传遍天下。” 18 如此看来，神要怜悯谁就怜悯谁，要叫谁刚硬就叫谁刚硬。
预言外邦人蒙爱
19 这样，你必对我说：“他为什么还指责人呢？有谁抗拒他的旨意呢？” 20 你这个人哪，你是谁，竟敢向神强嘴呢？受造之物岂能对造他的说：“你为什么这样造我呢？” 21 窑匠难道没有权柄从一团泥里拿一块做成贵重的器皿，又拿一块做成卑贱的器皿吗？ 22 倘若神要显明他的愤怒，彰显他的权能，就多多忍耐宽容那可怒、预备遭毁灭的器皿， 23 又要将他丰盛的荣耀彰显在那蒙怜悯、早预备得荣耀的器皿上—— 24 这器皿就是我们被神所召的，不但是从犹太人中，也是从外邦人中——这有什么不可呢？ 25 就像神在何西阿书上说：“那本来不是我子民的，我要称为我的子民；本来不是蒙爱的，我要称为蒙爱的。 26 从前在什么地方对他们说‘你们不是我的子民’，将来就在那里称他们为‘永生神的儿子’。” 27 以赛亚指着以色列人喊着说：“以色列人虽多如海沙，得救的不过是剩下的余数。 28 因为主要在世上施行他的话，叫他的话都成全，速速地完结。” 29 又如以赛亚先前说过：“若不是万军之主给我们存留余种，我们早已像所多玛、蛾摩拉的样子了。”
律法的义和信心的义相比
30 这样，我们可说什么呢？那本来不追求义的外邦人反得了义，就是因信而得的义； 31 但以色列人追求律法的义，反得不着律法的义。 32 这是什么缘故呢？是因为他们不凭着信心求，只凭着行为求，他们正跌在那绊脚石上。 33 就如经上所记：“我在锡安放一块绊脚的石头、跌人的磐石，信靠他的人必不至于羞愧。”
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Copyright © 2011 by Global Bible Initiative