OET-RV ROM Chapter 9

9 I’m not lying—I’m speaking truthfully in Messiah, and both my conscience and the holy spirit agree 2 that my sorrow is extensive and the sorrow in my heart just won’t stop 3 because I myself was hoping to be a sacrifice from the messiah for my brothers and sisters, my fellow-citizens in this world. 4 [ref]They’re the descendants of Israel who’ve been adopted as God’s children and God revealed his power and the agreements and the Law and the temple worship and the promises. 5 The patriarchs are Jewish and the messiah who is over everything came from them in a body. May God be blessed throughout the ages. May it be so.

6 But it’s not that God’s message has fallen. Not all of Israel’s descendants are pro-Israel, 7 [ref]nor are all of Abraham’s descendants his children, but, ‘It’s through Isaak that your descendants will be counted.’ 8 That isn’t talking about worldly children—these are God’s children, but the children of the promise are being counted as descendants. 9 [ref]Because this is the message of the promise: ‘I will be coming and Sarah will have a son.’

10 And not only that, but also Rebekah from one pregnancy delivered twins, one being our ancestor Isaac. 11 [ref]Before they were born, and so before they could do anything good or bad, in order that God’s choice purpose would stand 12 (not by actions but by God’s calling), she was told, ‘The older child will serve the younger one.’ 13 [ref]As it was written: ‘I loved Yacob but I hated Esau.’

14 So what should we say then? Is God not an impartial judge, i.e., unfair? May it never be, 15 [ref]because he said to Moses: ‘I will be merciful to whoever I want, and I will have pity on anyone I want.’ 16 In other words, it doesn’t depend on the willingness or activities of the person, but on God’s mercy. 17 [ref]Because in the scriptures, God says to the king of Egypt: ‘I chose you as king so that I can demonstrate my power through you, and so that my name will be talked about all over the world.’ 18 In other words, God will be merciful to whoever he wants, but he hardens whoever he wants.

19 So now you’ll ask me: Then how can God blame us, because how could anyone resist whatever he wants to do? 20 [ref]Oh human, it is you who’s talking back to God? Can the creature that was made talk back to the maker and ask: ‘Why did you make me like this?’ 21 Doesn’t the potter have the right to split the lump of clay and make a beautiful bowl out of half and a chamber pot out of the other half?

22 What if God wanted to display his severe anger and to demonstrate his power, but then showed great patience to the objects of his severe anger that he’d prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did that in order to make the riches of his greatness known to the objects of his mercy that he’d prepared for honour? 24 Yes, he even called us, not only from among the Jews but also from non-Jews. 25 The prophet Hosea even wrote:[ref]

“I’ll be calling those ‘my people’

who’re not my people,

and I’ll be calling as ‘my love’

the woman who was never loved.

26 [ref]In the place where they said,

‘You’re not my people’

that’s where they’ll be called ‘children of the living God’.”

27 [ref]The prophet Isayah called out about Israel: ‘Even though the Israeli’s are as numerous as grains of sand, only the minority of them will be saved 28 because the master will be abbreviating and terminating his message on the earth.’ 29 [ref]As Isayah had previously written: ‘If the master of armies hadn’t left us some descendants, we would have become like the peoples of Sodom and Gomorrah.’

30 So then, what should we say? That non-Jews who weren’t godly, reached out by faith to achieve righteousness, 31 but Jews who chased after righteousness by obeying The Law, didn’t achieve it? 32 How come? Because they tried to reach it by works and not by faith. They tripped over the stumbling stone, 33 [ref]as it’s written:

‘Look, I’m laying down a stumbling stone in Zion,

a rock that causes offence.

Anyone who believes in him,

won’t be disgraced.’