Romans 9:6-13
GOD’S WORD Translation
6 Now it is not as though God’s word has failed. Clearly, not everyone descended from Israel is part of Israel 7 or a descendant of Abraham. However, ⌞as Scripture says,⌟ “Through Isaac your descendants will carry on your name.” 8 This means that children born by natural descent ⌞from Abraham⌟ are not necessarily God’s children. Instead, children born by the promise are considered Abraham’s descendants.
9 For example, this is what the promise said, “I will come back at the right time, and Sarah will have a son.” 10 The same thing happened to Rebekah. Rebekah became pregnant by our ancestor Isaac. 11 Before the children had been born or had done anything good or bad, Rebekah was told that the older child would serve the younger one. This was said to Rebekah so that God’s plan would remain a matter of his choice, 12 a choice based on God’s call and not on anything people do.[a] 13 The Scriptures say, “I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 9:12 The last part of verse 12 (in Greek) has been placed in verse 11 to express the complex Greek sentence structure more clearly in English.
Romans 9:6-13
New International Version
God’s Sovereign Choice
6 It is not as though God’s word(A) had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.(B) 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”[a](C) 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children,(D) but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.(E) 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”[b](F)
10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac.(G) 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad(H)—in order that God’s purpose(I) in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”[c](J) 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[d](K)
Footnotes
- Romans 9:7 Gen. 21:12
- Romans 9:9 Gen. 18:10,14
- Romans 9:12 Gen. 25:23
- Romans 9:13 Mal. 1:2,3
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