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 神拣选以色列人

我在基督里说的是实话,并没有撒谎,因为我的良心在圣灵里一同为我作证; 我大大忧愁,心里常常伤痛。 为我的同胞,就是我骨肉之亲,就算自己受咒诅,与基督隔绝,我也甘心。 他们是以色列人:嗣子的名分、荣耀、众约、律法、敬拜的礼仪和各样的应许,都是他们的。 蒙拣选的列祖也是他们的祖宗;按肉身来说,基督也是出自他们这一族。其实,他是在万有之上,永远受称颂的 神。阿们。

当然,这不是说 神的话落了空,因为出自以色列的,不都是以色列人; 也不因为他们是亚伯拉罕的后裔,就都成为他的儿女,只有“以撒生的,才可以称为你的后裔”, 这就是说,肉身生的儿女并不是 神的儿女,只有凭着应许生的儿女才算是后裔。 因为所应许的话是这样:“明年这个时候我要来,撒拉必定生一个儿子。” 10 不但如此,利百加也是这样:既然从一个人,就是从我们的祖宗以撒怀了孕, 11 双生子还没有生下来,善恶也没有行出来(为要坚定 神拣选人的旨意,不是由于行为,而是由于那呼召者), 12  神就对她说:“将来大的要服事小的。” 13 正如经上所记的:

“我爱雅各,

却恶以扫。”

14 既是这样,我们可以说甚么呢? 神不公平吗?绝对不会! 15 因为他对摩西说:

“我要怜悯谁,就怜悯谁;

我要恩待谁,就恩待谁。”

16 这样看来,既不是出于人意,也不是由于人为(“人为”原文作“奔走”或“奔跑”),只在于那怜悯人的 神。 17 经上有话对法老说:“我把你兴起来,是要借着你显出我的大能,并且使我的名传遍全地。” 18 这样看来,他愿意怜悯谁就怜悯谁,愿意谁刚硬就使谁刚硬。

 神显出忿怒又施行怜悯

19 这样,你会对我说:“那么他为甚么责怪人呢?有谁抗拒他的旨意呢?” 20 你这个人哪,你是谁,竟敢跟 神顶嘴呢?被造的怎么可以对造他的说:“你为甚么把我做成这个样子呢?” 21 陶匠难道没有权用同一团的泥,又做贵重的、又做卑贱的器皿吗? 22 如果 神有意要显明他的忿怒,彰显他的大能,而多多容忍那可怒、预备遭毁灭的器皿, 23 为了要使他丰盛的荣耀,彰显在那蒙恩、早已预备要得荣耀的器皿上,这又有甚么不可呢? 24 这器皿就是我们这些不但从犹太人中,也从外族人中蒙召的人。 25 就如 神在何西阿书上说的:

“我要称那不是我子民的为我的子民,

那不蒙爱的为蒙爱的;

26 从前在甚么地方对他们说:

你们不是我的子民,

将来就在那里称他们为永活 神的儿子。”

27 以赛亚指着以色列人大声说:“以色列子孙的数目虽然多如海沙,得救的不过是剩下的余数; 28 因为主必在地上迅速而彻底地成就他的话。” 29 又如以赛亚早已说过的:

“如果不是万军之主给我们存留后裔,

我们早就像所多玛

和蛾摩拉一样了。”

以色列人因为不信而绊倒

30 既是这样,我们还有甚么可说的呢?那不追求义的外族人却得了义,就是因信而得的义。 31 但以色列人追求律法的义(“律法的义”原文作“义的律法”),却达不到律法的要求。 32 这是甚么缘故呢?因为他们不凭信心,只靠行为。他们绊倒在那绊脚石上, 33 正如经上所记:

“看哪,我在锡安放了一块绊脚石,

是绊倒人的盘石;

信靠他的人,

必不致失望。”

上帝的选民

我在基督里说真话,绝无谎言。我被圣灵感动的良心可以作证, 我心里极为忧愁,痛苦不止! 为了我的弟兄——我的同胞以色列人,即使我自己被咒诅、与基督隔绝,我也愿意! 身为以色列人,他们拥有上帝儿子的名分、上帝的荣耀、诸约、律法、圣殿敬拜和各种应许。 蒙拣选的族长是他们的先祖,基督降世为人也是做以色列人。祂是至大至尊,永远当受称颂的上帝。阿们!

当然,这并不表示上帝的话落了空,因为从以色列生的,不一定都是以色列人, 亚伯拉罕的后裔不一定都是亚伯拉罕的儿女,圣经上说:“以撒生的才可算为你的后裔。” 这话的意思是:亚伯拉罕凭血气所生的儿女并不是上帝的儿女,只有凭应许所生的才算是他的后裔。 因为上帝曾这样应许他:“明年这时候,我会再来,撒拉必生一个儿子。”

10 后来,利百加和我们的先祖以撒结婚,怀了双胞胎。 11 在这对孩子还未出生,还没有显出谁善谁恶之前,上帝为了显明自己拣选人并不是按人的行为,而是按祂自己的旨意, 12 便对利百加说:“将来大的要服侍小的。” 13 正如圣经上说:“我爱雅各,厌恶以扫。”

14 这样看来,我们该怎么下结论呢?难道上帝不公平吗?当然不是! 15 祂曾对摩西说:

“我要怜悯谁就怜悯谁,
要恩待谁就恩待谁。”

16 可见这并不在于人的意志和努力,而在于祂的怜悯。 17 圣经记载着上帝对法老说的话:“我使你兴起是为了在你身上彰显我的权能,使我的名传遍天下。” 18 总之,上帝要怜悯谁,就怜悯谁;要叫谁顽固,就叫谁顽固。

上帝的烈怒和怜悯

19 这样,你肯定会对我说:“为什么上帝还指责人呢?谁能抗拒祂的旨意呢?” 20 你这个人啊!你是谁啊?竟敢顶撞上帝!受造之物怎能对造物主说:“你为什么把我造成这样?” 21 陶匠难道不可以从一团泥中拿一部分造贵重的器皿,又拿一部分造平凡的器皿吗?

22 倘若上帝要显示祂的烈怒和权能,就尽量容忍那些祂预备要毁灭的器皿, 23 以便在那些祂怜悯并预备赐予荣耀的器皿上彰显祂丰盛的荣耀,这难道不可以吗? 24 那些蒙怜悯的器皿就是我们这些从犹太人和外族人中被上帝呼召的人。 25 正如上帝在《何西阿书》上说:

“本来不是我子民的,
我要称他们为‘我的子民’;
本来不是我所爱的,
我要称他们为‘我所爱的’。
26 从前我在什么地方对他们说,
‘你们不是我的子民。’
将来也要在那里对他们说,
‘你们是永活上帝的儿女。’”

27 关于以色列人,以赛亚先知曾疾呼:

“以色列人虽多如海沙,
但得救的只是剩余的人,
28 因为上帝要在世上迅速、
彻底地执行祂的判决。”

29 以赛亚又说:

“若不是万军之主给我们存留后裔,
我们早就像所多玛和蛾摩拉一样灭亡了。”

以色列人和福音

30 这样看来,我们该说什么呢?本来不追求义的外族人却因信而得到了义。 31 以色列人靠遵行律法追求义,却徒劳无功。 32 为什么会这样呢?因为他们不凭信心,只靠自己的行为去追求义,结果就在那块“绊脚石”上跌倒了。 33 正如圣经上说:

“看啊!我在锡安放了一块绊脚石,
一块使人跌倒的磐石。
但信靠祂的人必不致蒙羞。”

Israel’s Rejection Considered

[a] I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me[b] in the Holy Spirit— I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.[c] For I could wish[d] that I myself were accursed—cut off from Christ—for the sake of my people,[e] my fellow countrymen,[f] who are Israelites. To them belong[g] the adoption as sons,[h] the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple worship,[i] and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs,[j] and from them,[k] by human descent,[l] came the Christ,[m] who is God over all, blessed forever![n] Amen.

It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel,[o] nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants; rather “through Isaac will your descendants be counted.”[p] This means[q] it is not the children of the flesh[r] who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants. For this is what the promise declared:[s]About a year from now[t] I will return and Sarah will have a son.”[u] 10 Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man,[v] our ancestor Isaac— 11 even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election[w] would stand, not by works but by[x] his calling)[y] 12 [z] it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,”[aa] 13 just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[ab]

14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! 15 For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”[ac] 16 So then,[ad] it does not depend on human desire or exertion,[ae] but on God who shows mercy. 17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh:[af]For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”[ag] 18 So then,[ah] God[ai] has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden.[aj]

19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who has ever resisted his will?” 20 But who indeed are you—a mere human being[ak]—to talk back to God?[al] Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?[am] 21 Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay[an] one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?[ao] 22 But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects[ap] of wrath[aq] prepared for destruction?[ar] 23 And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects[as] of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 As he also says in Hosea:

I will call those who were not my people, ‘My people,’ and I will call her who was unloved,[at]My beloved.’”[au]
26 And in the very place[av] where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be calledsons of the living God.’”[aw]

27 And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, “Though the number of the children[ax] of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved, 28 for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth completely and quickly.”[ay] 29 Just[az] as Isaiah predicted,

“If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[ba] had not left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
and we would have resembled Gomorrah.”[bb]

Israel’s Rejection Culpable

30 What shall we say then?—that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith, 31 but Israel even though pursuing[bc] a law of righteousness[bd] did not attain it.[be] 32 Why not? Because they pursued[bf] it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works.[bg] They stumbled over the stumbling stone,[bh] 33 just as it is written,

Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble
and a rock that will make them fall,[bi]
yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.[bj]

Footnotes

  1. Romans 9:1 sn Rom 9:1-11:36. These three chapters are among the most difficult and disputed in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. One area of difficulty is the relationship between Israel and the church, especially concerning the nature and extent of Israel’s election. Many different models have been constructed to express this relationship. For a representative survey, see M. Barth, The People of God (JSNTSup), 22-27. The literary genre of these three chapters has been frequently identified as a diatribe, a philosophical discussion or conversation evolved by the Cynic and Stoic schools of philosophy as a means of popularizing their ideas (E. Käsemann, Romans, 261 and 267). But other recent scholars have challenged the idea that Rom 9-11 is characterized by diatribe. Scholars like R. Scroggs and E. E. Ellis have instead identified the material in question as midrash. For a summary and discussion of the rabbinic connections, see W. R. Stegner, “Romans 9.6-29—A Midrash,” JSNT 22 (1984): 37-52.
  2. Romans 9:1 tn Or “my conscience bears witness to me.”
  3. Romans 9:2 tn Grk “my sorrow is great and the anguish in my heart is unceasing.”
  4. Romans 9:3 tn Or “For I would pray.” The implied condition is “if this could save my fellow Jews.”
  5. Romans 9:3 tn Grk “brothers.” See BDAG 18-19 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.b.
  6. Romans 9:3 tn Grk “my kinsmen according to the flesh.”
  7. Romans 9:4 tn Grk “of whom.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  8. Romans 9:4 tn The Greek term υἱοθεσία (huiothesia) was originally a legal technical term for adoption as a son with full rights of inheritance. BDAG 1024 s.v. notes, “a legal t.t. of ‘adoption’ of children, in our lit., i.e., in Paul, only in a transferred sense of a transcendent filial relationship between God and humans (with the legal aspect, not gender specificity, as major semantic component).” Although some modern translations remove the filial sense completely and render the term merely “adoption” (cf. NAB, ESV), the retention of this component of meaning was accomplished in the present translation by the phrase “as sons.”
  9. Romans 9:4 tn Or “cultic service.”
  10. Romans 9:5 tn Grk “of whom are the fathers.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  11. Romans 9:5 tn Grk “from whom.” Here the relative pronoun has been replaced by a personal pronoun.
  12. Romans 9:5 tn Grk “according to the flesh.”
  13. Romans 9:5 tn Or “Messiah.” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed.”)
  14. Romans 9:5 tn Or “the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever,” or “the Messiah. God who is over all be blessed forever!” or “the Messiah who is over all. God be blessed forever!” The translational difficulty here is not text-critical in nature, but is a problem of punctuation. Since the genre of these opening verses of Romans 9 is a lament, it is probably best to take this as an affirmation of Christ’s deity (as the text renders it). Although the other renderings are possible, to see a note of praise to God at the end of this section seems strangely out of place. But for Paul to bring his lament to a crescendo (that is to say, his kinsmen had rejected God come in the flesh), thereby deepening his anguish, is wholly appropriate. This is also supported grammatically and stylistically: The phrase ὁ ὢν (ho ōn, “the one who is”) is most naturally taken as a phrase which modifies something in the preceding context, and Paul’s doxologies are always closely tied to the preceding context. For a detailed examination of this verse, see B. M. Metzger, “The Punctuation of Rom. 9:5, ” Christ and the Spirit in the New Testament, 95-112; and M. J. Harris, Jesus as God, 144-72.
  15. Romans 9:6 tn Grk “For not all those who are from Israel are Israel.”
  16. Romans 9:7 tn Grk “be called.” The emphasis here is upon God’s divine sovereignty in choosing Isaac as the child through whom Abraham’s lineage would be counted as opposed to Ishmael.sn A quotation from Gen 21:12.
  17. Romans 9:8 tn Grk “That is,” or “That is to say.”
  18. Romans 9:8 tn Because it forms the counterpoint to “the children of promise” the expression “children of the flesh” has been retained in the translation.sn The expression the children of the flesh refers to the natural offspring.
  19. Romans 9:9 tn Grk “For this is the word of promise.”
  20. Romans 9:9 tn Grk “About this time I will return.” Since this refers to the time when the promised child would be born, it would be approximately a year later.
  21. Romans 9:9 sn A quotation from Gen 18:10, 14.
  22. Romans 9:10 tn Or possibly “by one act of sexual intercourse.” See D. Moo, Romans (NICNT), 579.
  23. Romans 9:11 tn Grk “God’s purpose according to election.”
  24. Romans 9:11 tn Or “not based on works but based on…”
  25. Romans 9:11 tn Grk “by the one who calls.” sn The entire clause is something of a parenthetical remark.
  26. Romans 9:12 sn Many translations place this verse division before the phrase “not by works but by his calling” (NA28/UBS5, NIV, NRSV, NLT, NAB). Other translations place this verse division in the same place that the translation above does (NASB, KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV). The translation has followed the latter to avoid breaking the parenthetical statement.
  27. Romans 9:12 sn A quotation from Gen 25:23.
  28. Romans 9:13 sn A quotation from Mal 1:2-3.
  29. Romans 9:15 sn A quotation from Exod 33:19.
  30. Romans 9:16 sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.
  31. Romans 9:16 tn Grk “So then, [it does] not [depend] on the one who desires nor on the one who runs.”
  32. Romans 9:17 sn Paul uses a typical rabbinic formula here in which the OT scriptures are figuratively portrayed as speaking to Pharaoh. What he means is that the scripture he cites refers (or can be applied) to Pharaoh.
  33. Romans 9:17 sn A quotation from Exod 9:16.
  34. Romans 9:18 sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.
  35. Romans 9:18 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  36. Romans 9:18 tn Grk “So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.”
  37. Romans 9:20 tn Grk “O man.”
  38. Romans 9:20 tn Grk “On the contrary, O man, who are you to talk back to God?”
  39. Romans 9:20 sn A quotation from Isa 29:16; 45:9.
  40. Romans 9:21 tn Grk “Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make from the same lump.”
  41. Romans 9:21 tn Grk “one vessel for honor and another for dishonor.”
  42. Romans 9:22 tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.
  43. Romans 9:22 tn Or “vessels destined for wrath.” The genitive ὀργῆς (orgēs) could be taken as a genitive of destination.
  44. Romans 9:22 tn Or possibly “objects of wrath that have fit themselves for destruction.” The form of the participle could be taken either as a passive or middle (reflexive). ExSyn 417-18 argues strongly for the passive sense (which is followed in the translation), stating that “the middle view has little to commend it.” First, καταρτίζω (katartizō) is nowhere else used in the NT as a direct or reflexive middle (a usage which, in any event, is quite rare in the NT). Second, the lexical force of this verb, coupled with the perfect tense, suggests something of a “done deal” (against some commentaries that see these vessels as ready for destruction yet still able to avert disaster). Third, the potter-clay motif seems to have one point: The potter prepares the clay.
  45. Romans 9:23 tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.
  46. Romans 9:25 tn Grk “and her who was not beloved, ‘Beloved.’”
  47. Romans 9:25 sn A quotation from Hos 2:23.
  48. Romans 9:26 tn Grk “And it will be in the very place.”
  49. Romans 9:26 sn A quotation from Hos 1:10.
  50. Romans 9:27 tn Grk “sons.”
  51. Romans 9:28 tc In light of the interpretive difficulty of this verse, a longer reading seems to have been added to clarify the meaning. The addition, in the middle of the sentence, makes the whole verse read as follows: “For he will execute his sentence completely and quickly in righteousness, because the Lord will do it quickly on the earth.” The shorter reading is found largely in Alexandrian mss (P46 א* A B 6 1506 1739 1881 co), while the longer reading is found principally in Western and Byzantine mss (א2 D F G Ψ 33 1175 1241 1505 2464 M lat). The longer reading follows Isa 10:22-23 (LXX) verbatim, while Paul in the previous verse quoted the LXX loosely. This suggests the addition was made by a copyist trying to make sense out of a difficult passage rather than by the author himself. tn There is a wordplay in Greek (in both the LXX and here) on the phrase translated “completely and quickly” (συντελῶν καὶ συντέμνων, suntelōn kai suntemnōn). These participles are translated as adverbs for smoothness; a more literal (and more cumbersome) rendering would be: “The Lord will act by closing the account [or completing the sentence], and by cutting short the time.” The interpretation of this text is notoriously difficult. Cf. BDAG 975 s.v. συντέμνω.sn A modified quotation from Isa 10:22-23. Since it is not exact, it has been printed as italics only.
  52. Romans 9:29 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  53. Romans 9:29 tn Traditionally, “Lord of Hosts”; or “Lord Sabaoth,” which means “Lord of the [heavenly] armies,” sometimes translated more generally as “Lord Almighty.”
  54. Romans 9:29 sn A quotation from Isa 1:9.
  55. Romans 9:31 tn Or “who pursued.” The participle could be taken adverbially or adjectivally.
  56. Romans 9:31 tn Or “a legal righteousness,” that is, a righteousness based on law. This translation would treat the genitive δικαιοσύνης (dikaiosunēs) as an attributed genitive (see ExSyn 89-91).
  57. Romans 9:31 tn Grk “has not attained unto the law.”
  58. Romans 9:32 tn Grk “Why? Because not by faith but as though by works.” The verb (“they pursued [it]”) is to be supplied from the preceding verse for the sake of English style; yet a certain literary power is seen in Paul’s laconic style.
  59. Romans 9:32 tc Most mss, especially the later ones (א2 D Ψ 33 1175 1241 1505 2464 M sy), read νόμου (nomou, “of the law”) here, echoing Paul’s usage in Rom 3:20, 28 and elsewhere. The qualifying phrase is lacking in א* A B F G 6 629 630 1739 1881 lat co. The longer reading thus is weaker externally and internally, apparently being motivated by a need to clarify.tn Grk “but as by works.”
  60. Romans 9:32 tn Grk “the stone of stumbling.”
  61. Romans 9:33 tn Grk “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”
  62. Romans 9:33 sn A quotation from Isa 28:16; 8:14.

My Heart Has Great Grief And Pain Over Israel

I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying— my conscience bearing-witness-with me in the Holy Spirit— that there is great grief in me and unceasing pain in my heart. For I would pray[a] that I myself might be accursed from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh— who are Israelites, of whom[b] is the adoption and the glory[c] and the covenants and the Law-giving and the [temple] service and the promises, of whom are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according-to[d] the flesh, the One being[e] over all, God, blessed forever, amen.

But Not All Abraham’s Physical Children Are Children of God

But it is not such as that the word of God has failed— for not all[f] these ones from Israel are Israel. Nor are they all children because they are seed of Abraham, but “In Isaac a seed will be called for you” [Gen 21:12]. That is, these children of the flesh are not children of God, but the children of [g] the promise are counted for seed. For the word of promise is this: “I will come at this time, and there will be a son to Sarah” [Gen 18:10]. 10 And not only this, but there is also Rebekah having bed[h] from one man, Isaac our father. 11 For the twins having not yet been born nor having done anything good or bad— in order that the purpose[i] of God according to His choosing[j] might continue[k], 12 not of works but of the One calling— it was said to her [in Gen 25:23] that “the older will serve the younger”. 13 Just as it has been written [in Mal 1:2-3]: “I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau”.

God Has Mercy On Whom He Wants, And He Hardens Whom He Wants

14 Therefore what shall we say? There is not unrighteousness[l] with God, is there? May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses [in Ex 33:19], “I will have-mercy-on whomever I have-mercy, and I will have-compassion-on whomever I have compassion”. 16 So then, mercy is not of [m] the one wanting, nor of the one running, but of the One having-mercy[n]— God. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh [in Ex 9:16] that “I raised you up for this very purpose: so that I might demonstrate My power[o] in you, and so that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth”. 18 So then, He has-mercy-on whom He wants, and He hardens[p] whom He wants.

The Creator Is Making Known His Wrath And His Mercy In Humankind

19 Therefore you will say to me, “Why then does He still find-fault? For who has resisted[q] His will?” 20 O human, on the contrary, who are you, the one answering-back to God? The thing formed will not say to the one having formed it, “Why did you make me like-this?”, will it? 21 Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make from the same lump one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? 22 But what if God, wanting[r] to demonstrate His wrath and to make-known His power, bore[s] with much patience vessels of wrath having been prepared[t] for destruction, 23 and did so in order that He might make-known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy which He prepared-beforehand[u] for glory— 24 even us whom He called not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles?

He Is Making Those Not His People His Own Children

25 As[v] He says also in Hosea: “I will call ‘Not My people’, ‘My people’; and ‘Not having been loved’, ‘Having been loved’” [Hos 2:23]. 26 “And it shall be in the place where it was said to them ‘you are not My people’, there they will be called sons of the living God” [Hos 1:10].

But Only a Remnant of Israel Will Be Saved

27 But[w] Isaiah cries-out concerning Israel: “If the number of the sons of Israel should be like the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved. 28 For the Lord will accomplish[x] His word upon the earth, completing[y] and cutting-short[z]” [in Isa 10:22-23]. 29 And just as Isaiah said-before [in Isa 1:9]: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left-behind a seed for us, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been likened[aa] as Gomorrah”.

Israel Pursued a Righteousness Through The Law, And Did Not Attain It

30 Therefore, what shall we say? That Gentiles, the ones not pursuing righteousness, took-hold-of [ab] righteousness— but a righteousness by faith. 31 But Israel, pursuing the Law of righteousness, did not attain to that Law. 32 For what reason? Because they pursued it not by faith, but as-if it was by works. They stumbled on the Stone of stumbling, 33 just as it has been written [in Isa 28:16]: “Behold— I am laying in Zion a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of falling. And the one putting-faith upon Him will not be put-to-shame”.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 9:3 Or, I would wish (pray in a non-religious sense). Paul may mean ‘I would pray’ or ‘I could almost pray’, but don’t since it is not possible; or, ‘I was wishing’, meaning he did at one period in his life wish it.
  2. Romans 9:4 That is, to whom belong.
  3. Romans 9:4 That is, the glory of God in all its manifestations in their history.
  4. Romans 9:5 Or, with respect to.
  5. Romans 9:5 That is, the One Who is the following three things. Or, the One being over all, blessed God forever; or, the One being God over all, blessed forever.
  6. Romans 9:6 All of Abraham’s physical descendants are not partakers of God’s promises made to him, as seen even in the very first case, Isaac and Ishmael.
  7. Romans 9:8 That is, belonging to, originating in, proceeding from the promise.
  8. Romans 9:10 That is, having conceived.
  9. Romans 9:11 Same word as in 8:28.
  10. Romans 9:11 Or, election, selection.
  11. Romans 9:11 With Jacob as with Isaac, God chose before their birth, without reference to their works, who would be the promised ‘seed’ of Abraham.
  12. Romans 9:14 Is God unjust to choose one over the other without reference to their works?
  13. Romans 9:16 That is, not dependent on.
  14. Romans 9:16 God is not unrighteous because mercy is not a matter of justice or debt; it is a matter of undeserved kindness. Gift-giving is the prerogative of the giver. God cannot be faulted for blessing Isaac and Jacob.
  15. Romans 9:17 That is, My power both to punish (Egypt) and to save (Israel); My wrath and My mercy.
  16. Romans 9:18 God is not unrighteous to harden because all punishment for sin is earned and deserved.
  17. Romans 9:19 How can people be held accountable since God has mercy or hardens as He pleases and people cannot resist His will in either direction? Paul’s answer is that people are accountable, and the Creator intends to demonstrate both His wrath and mercy on mankind.
  18. Romans 9:22 Or, willing, wishing, intending. Paul may mean because of wanting; or, although wanting.
  19. Romans 9:22 Or, endured, put up with.
  20. Romans 9:22 By whom? Perhaps God (as in 9:18; 11:7-8; Jn 12:37-40); Satan; or themselves, rendering it ‘having prepared-themselves’.
  21. Romans 9:23 Note that God endured the one group, but actively prepared-beforehand the other.
  22. Romans 9:25 Here Paul proves that those not in a relationship with God would be called to salvation.
  23. Romans 9:27 Here Paul proves that only a remnant of physical Israel would be saved.
  24. Romans 9:28 Or more specifically, execute His sentence; less specifically, carry-out the matter.
  25. Romans 9:28 That is, completing the judgment; or, carrying-out His word; or, closing the account.
  26. Romans 9:28 Or, cutting-down, cutting-off. Paul may mean cutting-short the nation, cutting it down to the remnant; or, cutting short the time, ‘quickly’.
  27. Romans 9:29 That is, we would have been used as an illustration of desolation, like Gomorrah.
  28. Romans 9:30 Or, took possession of, seized.