1 God’s Chosen People, Israel I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit,
2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.
3 For I could 9:3 Lit pray wish that I myself were accursed,separatedfrom Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh,
4 who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and thetempleservice and the promises,
5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is the 9:5Messiah Christ according to the flesh, who is God over all, blessed 9:5Lit to the ages forever. Amen.
6 Butit isnot as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who aredescendedfrom Israel;
7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s seed, but: “ 9:7 Lit in throughIsaac your seed will be named.”
8 That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are considered as seed.
9 For this is the word of promise: “At this timeIwill come,andSarah shall have a son.”
10 And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceivedtwinsby one man, our father Isaac;
11 for thoughthe twinswere not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that the purpose of God according toHischoice would 9:11Lit remain stand, not 9:11Lit from because of works but 9:11Lit from because of Him who calls,
12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.”
13 Just as it is written, “JacobIloved,butEsauIhated.”
14 What shall we say then? Is there any unrighteousness with God? May it never be!
15 For He says to Moses, “Iwill have mercy on whomIhave mercy,andIwill have compassion on whomIhave compassion.”
16 So then itdoesnotdependon the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who has mercy.
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purposeIraised you up,in order to demonstrateMy power in you,and in order thatMy name might be proclaimed 9:17Lit in throughout the whole earth.”
18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?”
20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? Will the thing molded say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this”?
21 Or does not the potter have authority over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel 9:21Lit for honor for honorable use and another 9:21Lit for dishonor for dishonorable use?
22 And 9:22Lit But what if God, wanting to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath having been prepared for destruction,
23 and in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory—
24 evenus, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles?
25 As He says also in Hosea,“Iwill call those who were notMy people, ‘My people,’And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’ ”
26 “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are notMy people,’There they shall be called sons of the livingGod.”
27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons ofIsrael be like the sand of the sea,it is the remnant that will be saved;
28 for theLord will executeHis word on the land, 9:28Lit finishing it thoroughly and 9:28Lit cutting it short quickly.”
29 And just as Isaiah foretold,“Unless theLord of 9:29Hosts Sabaoth had left to us a seed,We would have become likeSodom,and would have 9:29Lit been made like resembledGomorrah.”
30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, laid hold of righteousness, even the righteousness which is 9:30Lit out of by faith;
31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not attainthatlaw.
32 Why? Becausethey didnotpursue it 9:32 Lit out of by faith, but as thoughit were 9:32 Lit out of by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,
33 just as it is written,“Behold, Iam laying inZion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,And the one who believes uponHim will not be put to shame.”