Romans 9:1-18
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 9
1I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my countrymen, my kinsmen according to the flesh, 4who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons and daughters, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Law, the temple service, and the promises; 5whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
6But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel;
7nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: 'THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE NAMED.'
8That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.
9For this is the word of promise: 'AT THIS TIME I WILL COME, AND SARAH WILL HAVE A SON.'
10And not only that, but there was also Rebekah, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac;
11for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,
12it was said to her, 'THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER.'
13Just as it is written: 'JACOB I HAVE LOVED, BUT ESAU I HAVE HATED.'
14What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? Far from it!
15For He says to Moses, 'I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOMEVER I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL SHOW COMPASSION TO WHOMEVER I SHOW COMPASSION.'
16So then, it does not depend on the person who wants it nor the one who runs, but on God who has mercy.
17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, 'FOR THIS VERY REASON I RAISED YOU UP, IN ORDER TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE EARTH.'
18So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
King James Version
Chapter 9
1I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 3For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 4Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
6Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
7Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
8That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
9For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.
10And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
11For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
12It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
13As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
14What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
15For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
17For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
18Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 9
1I speak the truth in Christ —I am not lying; my conscience testifies to me through the Holy Spirit — 2that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the benefit of my brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood. 4They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, and the promises. 5The ancestors are theirs, and from them, by physical descent, came the Christ, who is God over all, praised forever. Amen.
6Now it is not as though the word of God has failed, because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.
7Neither are all of Abraham’s children his descendants. On the contrary, your offspring will be traced through Isaac.
8That is, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but the children of the promise are considered to be the offspring.
9For this is the statement of the promise: At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.
10And not only that, but Rebekah conceived children through one man, our father Isaac.
11For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand—
12not from works but from the one who calls—she was told, The older will serve the younger.
13As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.
14What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not!
15For he tells Moses, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16So then, it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy.
17For the Scripture tells Pharaoh, I raised you up for this reason so that I may display my power in you and that my name may be proclaimed in the whole earth.
18So then, he has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
New Living Translation
Chapter 9
1With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. 2My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief 3for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed — cut off from Christ! — if that would save them. 4They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. 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. 5Abraham, 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.
6Well 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!
7Being 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,' though Abraham had other children, too.
8This 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.
9For God had promised, 'I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.'
10This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins.
11But 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;
12he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, 'Your older son will serve your younger son.'
13In the words of the Scriptures, 'I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.'
English Standard Version
Chapter 9
1I am speaking the truth in Christ — I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit — 2that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
6But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,
7and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named."
8This 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 offspring.
9For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son."
10And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,
11though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad — in order that God 's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls —
12she was told, "The older will serve the younger."
13As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
14What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God 's part? By no means!
15For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
16So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."
18So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
New International Version
Chapter 9
1I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— 2I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
6It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.
7Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."
8In 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.
9For this was how the promise was stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son."
10Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac.
11Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand:
12not by works but by him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger."
13Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
16It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
17For 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."
18Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
New King James Version
Chapter 9
1I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, 4who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; 5of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.
6But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,
7nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.”
8That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
9For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.”
10And not only this, but when 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 Him who calls),
12it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.”
13As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”
14What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!
15For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”
16So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
17For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “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.”
18Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
