14 What then shall we say?(A) Is God unjust? Not at all!(B) 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.”[a](C)

16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.(D) 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.”[b](E) 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.(F)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 9:15 Exodus 33:19
  2. Romans 9:17 Exodus 9:16

14 So what are we going to say? Isn’t this unfair on God’s part? Absolutely not! 15 He says to Moses, I’ll have mercy on whomever I choose to have mercy, and I’ll show compassion to whomever I choose to show compassion.[a] 16 So then, it doesn’t depend on a person’s desire or effort. It depends entirely on God, who shows mercy. 17 Scripture says to Pharaoh, I have put you in this position for this very thing: so I can show my power in you and so that my name can be spread through the entire earth.[b] 18 So then, God has mercy on whomever he wants to, but he makes resistant whomever he wants to.

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