19 Therefore you will say to me, “Why then does he still find fault? For who has resisted[a] his will? 20 On the contrary, O man, who are you who answers back to God? Will what is molded say to the one who molded it, “Why did you make me like this”?[b] 21 Or does the potter not have authority over the clay, to make from the same lump a vessel that is for honorable use[c] and one that is for ordinary use[d]? 22 And what if God, wanting to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? 23 And he did so[e] in order that he could make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy that he prepared beforehand for glory, 24 us whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 9:19 Or “who resists”
  2. Romans 9:20 A quotation from Isa 29:16; 45:9
  3. Romans 9:21 Literally “honor”
  4. Romans 9:21 Literally “dishonor”
  5. Romans 9:23 The words “he did so” are not in the Greek text, but are an understood repetition from the previous clause

19 One of you will say to me:(A) “Then why does God still blame us?(B) For who is able to resist his will?”(C) 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?(D) “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,(E) ‘Why did you make me like this?’”[a](F) 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?(G)

22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience(H) the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?(I) 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory(J) known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory(K) 24 even us, whom he also called,(L) not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?(M)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 9:20 Isaiah 29:16; 45:9