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 was hoping that I myself would be a sacrifice from the messiah for my brothers and sisters, my fellow-citizens in this world. 4 [ref]They’re the descendants of Yisrael (Israel) who’ve been adopted as God’s children, and who God revealed his power to, as well as the agreements, the Law, the temple worship, and the promises. 5 The patriarchs are Jewish, and the messiah, who has authority over everything, physically came from them. May God be blessed throughout the ages. May it be so.

6 But it’s not that God’s message has failed. Yisrael doesn’t include all of Yisrael’s descendants, 7 [ref]nor are all of Abraham’s descendants his children, but, ‘It’s through Yitshak (Isaac) that your descendants will be counted.’ 8 That isn’t talking about biological children—these are God’s children, but the children of the promise are being counted as descendants. 9 [ref]After all, this message is the promise: ‘I’ll come back, and Sarah will have a son.’

10 And not only that, but also Rebekah, from one pregnancy to our ancestor Yitshak, delivered twins. 11 [ref]Before they were born, and so before they could do anything good or bad, in order that God’s deliberate choice would stand 12 (not as a result of effort, but by God’s announcement), 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 unfair? Of course not, 15 [ref]because he said to Mosheh: ‘I’ll be merciful to whoever I want to, and I’ll have pity on anyone I want to.’ 16 In other words, it doesn’t depend on the willingness or activities of the person, but on God’s mercy. 17 [ref]After all, in the scriptures, God says to the king of Egypt (Mitsrayim): ‘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 to, but he hardens whoever he wants to.

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 are 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 Yeshayah called out about Yisrael: ‘Even though the Israelis are as numerous as grains of sand, only the minority of them will be saved 28 because Yahweh will be abbreviating and terminating his message on the earth.’ 29 [ref]As Yeshayah had previously written: ‘If army commander Yahweh hadn’t left us some descendants, we would have become like the peoples of Sodom and Amorah (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 Tsiyyon/Zion,

a rock that causes offence.

Anyone who believes in him,

won’t be disgraced.’