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Romans 9
New International Version
Romans 9
New International Version
Paul’s Anguish Over Israel
9 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying,(A) my conscience confirms(B) it through the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself(C) were cursed(D) and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people,(E) those of my own race,(F) 4 the people of Israel.(G) Theirs is the adoption to sonship;(H) theirs the divine glory,(I) the covenants,(J) the receiving of the law,(K) the temple worship(L) and the promises.(M) 5 Theirs are the patriarchs,(N) and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah,(O) who is God over all,(P) forever praised Amen.
God’s Sovereign Choice
6 It is not as though God’s word(R) had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.(S) 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.”[b](T) 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children,(U) but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.(V) 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”[c](W)
10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac.(X) 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad(Y)—in order that God’s purpose(Z) in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”[d](AA) 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[e](AB)
14 What then shall we say?(AC) Is God unjust? Not at all!(AD) 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.”[f](AE)
16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.(AF) 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.”[g](AG) 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.(AH)
19 One of you will say to me:(AI) “Then why does God still blame us?(AJ) For who is able to resist his will?”(AK) 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?(AL) “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,(AM) ‘Why did you make me like this?’”[h](AN) 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?(AO)
22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience(AP) the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?(AQ) 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory(AR) known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory(AS)— 24 even us, whom he also called,(AT) not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?(AU) 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,”[i](AV)
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.’”[j](AW)
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:
“Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,(AX)
only the remnant will be saved.(AY)
28 For the Lord will carry out
his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”[k](AZ)
29 It is just as Isaiah said previously:
“Unless the Lord Almighty(BA)
had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.”[l](BB)
Israel’s Unbelief
30 What then shall we say?(BC) That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;(BD) 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness,(BE) have not attained their goal.(BF) 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.(BG) 33 As it is written:
Footnotes
- Romans 9:5 Or Messiah, who is over all. God be forever praised! Or Messiah. God who is over all be forever praised!
- 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
- Romans 9:33 Isaiah 8:14; 28:16
Romans 9
New King James Version
Romans 9
New King James Version
Israel’s Rejection of Christ
9 I (A)tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 (B)that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For (C)I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my [a]countrymen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, (D)to whom pertain the adoption, (E)the glory, (F)the covenants, (G)the giving of the law, (H)the service of God, and (I)the promises; 5 (J)of whom are the fathers and from (K)whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, (L)who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.
Israel’s Rejection and God’s Purpose(M)
6 (N)But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For (O)they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 (P)nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, (Q)“In Isaac your seed shall be called.” 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but (R)the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise: (S)“At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.”
10 And not only this, but when (T)Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of (U)Him who calls), 12 it was said to her, (V)“The older shall serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, (W)“Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”
Israel’s Rejection and God’s Justice
14 What shall we say then? (X)Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, (Y)“I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For (Z)the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, (AA)“For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He (AB)hardens.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For (AC)who has resisted His will?” 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? (AD)Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Does not the (AE)potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make (AF)one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering (AG)the vessels of wrath (AH)prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known (AI)the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had (AJ)prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us whom He (AK)called, (AL)not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
25 As He says also in Hosea:
(AM)“I will call them My people, who were not My people,
And her beloved, who was not beloved.”
26 “And(AN) it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them,
‘You are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:
(AO)“Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea,
(AP)The remnant will be saved.
28 For [b]He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness,
(AQ)Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.”
29 And as Isaiah said before:
(AR)“Unless the Lord of [c]Sabaoth had left us a seed,
(AS)We would have become like Sodom,
And we would have been made like Gomorrah.”
Present Condition of Israel
30 What shall we say then? (AT)That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, (AU)even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, (AV)pursuing the law of righteousness, (AW)has not attained to the law [d]of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, [e]by the works of the law. For (AX)they stumbled at that stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:
(AY)“Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,
And (AZ)whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
Footnotes
- Romans 9:3 Or relatives
- Romans 9:28 NU the Lord will finish the work and cut it short upon the earth
- Romans 9:29 Lit., in Heb., Hosts
- Romans 9:31 NU omits of righteousness
- Romans 9:32 NU by works, omitting of the law
Romans 9
New Living Translation
Romans 9
New Living Translation
God’s Selection of Israel
9 With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. 2 My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief 3 for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters.[a] I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them. 4 They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children.[b] God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. 5 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.[c]
6 Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people! 7 Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,”[d] though Abraham had other children, too. 8 This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children. 9 For God had promised, “I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”[e]
10 This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins.[f] 11 But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; 12 he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, “Your older son will serve your younger son.”[g] 13 In the words of the Scriptures, “I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.”[h]
14 Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of course not! 15 For God said to Moses,
“I will show mercy to anyone I choose,
and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.”[i]
16 So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.
17 For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.”[j] 18 So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.
19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”
20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? 22 In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. 23 He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory. 24 And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.
25 Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea,
“Those who were not my people,
I will now call my people.
And I will love those
whom I did not love before.”[k]
26 And,
“Then, at the place where they were told,
‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called
‘children of the living God.’”[l]
27 And concerning Israel, Isaiah the prophet cried out,
“Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore,
only a remnant will be saved.
28 For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth
quickly and with finality.”[m]
29 And Isaiah said the same thing in another place:
“If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
had not spared a few of our children,
we would have been wiped out like Sodom,
destroyed like Gomorrah.”[n]
Israel’s Unbelief
30 What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place. 31 But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. 32 Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law[o] instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path. 33 God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said,
“I am placing a stone in Jerusalem[p] that makes people stumble,
a rock that makes them fall.
But anyone who trusts in him
will never be disgraced.”[q]
Footnotes
- 9:3 Greek my brothers.
- 9:4 Greek chosen for sonship.
- 9:5 Or May God, the one who rules over everything, be praised forever. Amen.
- 9:7 Gen 21:12.
- 9:9 Gen 18:10, 14.
- 9:10 Greek she conceived children through this one man.
- 9:12 Gen 25:23.
- 9:13 Mal 1:2-3.
- 9:15 Exod 33:19.
- 9:17 Exod 9:16 (Greek version).
- 9:25 Hos 2:23.
- 9:26 Greek sons of the living God. Hos 1:10.
- 9:27-28 Isa 10:22-23 (Greek version).
- 9:29 Isa 1:9 (Greek version).
- 9:32 Greek by works.
- 9:33a Greek in Zion.
- 9:33b Isa 8:14; 28:16 (Greek version).
Romans 9
Good News Translation
Romans 9
Good News Translation
God and His People
9 I am speaking the truth; I belong to Christ and I do not lie. My conscience, ruled by the Holy Spirit, also assures me that I am not lying 2 when I say how great is my sorrow, how endless the pain in my heart 3 for my people, my own flesh and blood! For their sake I could wish that I myself were under God's curse and separated from Christ. 4 (A)They are God's people; he made them his children and revealed his glory to them; he made his covenants[a] with them and gave them the Law; they have the true worship; they have received God's promises; 5 they are descended from the famous Hebrew ancestors; and Christ, as a human being, belongs to their race. May God, who rules over all, be praised forever![b] Amen.
6 I am not saying that the promise of God has failed; for not all the people of Israel are the people of God. 7 (B)Nor are all of Abraham's descendants the children of God. God said to Abraham, “It is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I promised you.” 8 This means that the children born in the usual way[c] are not the children of God; instead, the children born as a result of God's promise are regarded as the true descendants. 9 (C)For God's promise was made in these words: “At the right time[d] I will come back, and Sarah will have a son.”
10 And this is not all. For Rebecca's two sons had the same father, our ancestor Isaac. 11-12 (D)But in order that the choice of one son might be completely the result of God's own purpose, God said to her, “The older will serve the younger.” He said this before they were born, before they had done anything either good or bad; so God's choice was based on his call, and not on anything they had done. 13 (E)As the scripture says, “I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau.”
14 Shall we say, then, that God is unjust? Not at all. 15 (F)For he said to Moses, “I will have mercy on anyone I wish; I will take pity on anyone I wish.” 16 So then, everything depends, not on what we humans want or do, but only on God's mercy. 17 (G)For the scripture says to the king of Egypt, “I made you king in order to use you to show my power and to spread my fame over the whole world.” 18 So then, God has mercy on anyone he wishes, and he makes stubborn anyone he wishes.
God's Anger and Mercy
19 But one of you will say to me, “If this is so, how can God find fault with anyone? Who can resist God's will?” 20 (H)But who are you, my friend, to talk back to God? A clay pot does not ask the man who made it, “Why did you make me like this?” 21 (I)After all, the man who makes the pots has the right to use the clay as he wishes, and to make two pots from the same lump of clay, one for special occasions and the other for ordinary use.
22 (J)And the same is true of what God has done. He wanted to show his anger and to make his power known. But he was very patient in enduring those who were the objects of his anger, who were doomed to destruction. 23 And he also wanted to reveal his abundant glory, which was poured out on us who are the objects of his mercy, those of us whom he has prepared to receive his glory. 24 For we are the people he called, not only from among the Jews but also from among the Gentiles. 25 (K)This is what he says in the book of Hosea:
“The people who were not mine
I will call ‘My People.’
The nation that I did not love
I will call ‘My Beloved.’
26 (L)And in the very place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called the children of the living God.”
27 (M)And Isaiah exclaims about Israel: “Even if the people of Israel are as many as the grains of sand by the sea, yet only a few of them will be saved; 28 for the Lord will quickly settle his full account with the world.” 29 (N)It is as Isaiah had said before, “If the Lord Almighty had not left us some descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.”
Israel and the Gospel
30 So we say that the Gentiles, who were not trying to put themselves right with God, were put right with him through faith; 31 while God's people, who were seeking a law that would put them right with God, did not find it. 32 And why not? Because they did not depend on faith but on what they did. And so they stumbled over the “stumbling stone” 33 (O)that the scripture speaks of:
“Look, I place in Zion a stone
that will make people stumble,
a rock that will make them fall.
But whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.”
Footnotes
- Romans 9:4 covenants; some manuscripts have covenant.
- Romans 9:5 May God, who rules over all, be praised forever!; or And may he, who is God ruling over all, be praised forever!
- Romans 9:8 This refers to the descendants Abraham had through Ishmael, his son by Hagar (see Ga 4.22-23).
- Romans 9:9 At the right time; or At this time next year.
Romans 9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Romans 9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
God’s Election of Israel
9 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit(A)— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood.(B) 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;(C) 5 to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever.[a] Amen.(D)
6 It is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all those descended from Israel are Israelites,(E) 7 and not all of Abraham’s children are his descendants, but “it is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.”(F) 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. 9 For the word of the promise is this: “About this time I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.”(G) 10 Nor is that all; something similar happened to Rebecca when she had conceived children by one husband, our ancestor Isaac:(H) 11 even before they had been born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose of election might continue, 12 not by works but by his call) she was told, “The elder shall serve the younger.”(I) 13 As it is written,
“I have loved Jacob,
but I have hated Esau.”(J)
14 What then are we to say? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!(K) 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.”(L)
16 So it depends not on human will or exertion but on God who shows mercy. 17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I may show my power in you and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”(M) 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomever he chooses.
God’s Wrath and Mercy
19 You will say to me then, “Why then does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?”(N) 20 But who indeed are you, a human, to argue with God? Will what is molded say to the one who molds it, “Why have you made me like this?”(O) 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one object for special use and another for ordinary use?(P) 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath that are made for destruction,(Q) 23 and what if he has done so in order to make known the riches of his glory for the objects of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 including us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the gentiles? 25 As he also says in Hosea,
“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ”(R)
26 “And in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they shall be called children of the living God.”(S)
27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the children of Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,(T) 28 for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth quickly and decisively.”[b] 29 And as Isaiah predicted,
“If the Lord of hosts had not left descendants to us,
we would have fared like Sodom
and been made like Gomorrah.”(U)
Israel’s Unbelief
30 What then are we to say? Gentiles, who did not strive for righteousness, have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith,(V) 31 but Israel, who did strive for the law of righteousness, did not attain that law.(W) 32 Why not? Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,(X) 33 as it is written,
New International Version (NIV) 
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New King James Version (NKJV) 
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Good News Translation (GNT) 
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New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.