Romans 9:6-29
New American Standard Bible 1995
6 But it is not as though (A)the word of God has failed. (B)For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children (C)because they are Abraham’s [a]descendants, but: “[b](D)through Isaac your [c]descendants will be named.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are (E)children of God, but the (F)children of the promise are regarded as [d]descendants. 9 For this is the word of promise: “(G)At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 (H)And not only this, but there was (I)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 (J)God’s purpose according to His choice would [e]stand, not [f]because of works but [g]because of Him who calls, 12 it was said to her, “(K)The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written, “(L)Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
14 (M)What shall we say then? (N)There is no injustice with God, is there? (O)May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, “(P)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 (Q)runs, but on (R)God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “(S)For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed [h]throughout the whole earth.” 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He (T)hardens whom He desires.
19 (U)You will say to me then, “(V)Why does He still find fault? For (W)who resists His will?” 20 On the contrary, who are you, (X)O man, who (Y)answers back to God? (Z)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 [i]for honorable use and another [j]for common use? 22 [k]What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much (AA)patience vessels of wrath (AB)prepared for destruction? 23 And He did so to make known (AC)the riches of His glory upon (AD)vessels of mercy, which He (AE)prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us, whom He also (AF)called, (AG)not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. 25 As He says also in Hosea,
“(AH)I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’
And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”
26 “(AI)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 (AJ)the living God.”
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “(AK)Though the number of the sons of Israel be (AL)like the sand of the sea, it is (AM)the remnant that will be saved; 28 (AN)for the Lord will execute His word on the earth, [l]thoroughly and [m]quickly.” 29 And just as Isaiah foretold,
“(AO)Unless (AP)the Lord of [n]Sabaoth had left to us a [o]posterity,
(AQ)We would have become like Sodom, and would have [p]resembled Gomorrah.”
Footnotes
- 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 9:6-29
New International Version - UK
God’s sovereign choice
6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 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] 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: ‘At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.’[b]
10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad – in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls – she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’[c] 13 Just as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’[d]
14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 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.’[e]
16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’[f] 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
19 One of you will say to me: ‘Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?’ 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? ‘Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”’[g] 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?
22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath – prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory – 24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 As he says in Hosea:
‘I will call them “my people” who are not my people;
and I will call her “my loved one” who is not my loved one,’[h]
26 and,
‘In the very place where it was said to them,
“You are not my people,”
there they will be called “children of the living God.”’[i]
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:
‘Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,
only the remnant will be saved.
28 For the Lord will carry out
his sentence on earth with speed and finality.’[j]
29 It is just as Isaiah said previously:
‘Unless the Lord Almighty
had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.’[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
- Romans 9:15 Exodus 33:19
- Romans 9:17 Exodus 9:16
- Romans 9:20 Isaiah 29:16; 45:9
- Romans 9:25 Hosea 2:23
- Romans 9:26 Hosea 1:10
- Romans 9:28 Isaiah 10:22,23 (see Septuagint)
- Romans 9:29 Isaiah 1:9
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