UTN uW Translation Notes:

Romans 9 Chapter Introduction

Structure and Formatting

6. God’s plan for Israel (9:1–11:36)
   • Paul’s sorrow for Israel’s unbelief (9:1–5)
   • God chooses whom he wants to choose (9:6–13)
   • God shows mercy on whom he wants to show mercy (9:14–18)
   • No one can question God’s choice (9:19–33)

Chapter 9 begins a new topic in this letter. In chapters 9–11, Paul focuses on the nation of Israel.

Some translations set each line of poetry farther to the right than the rest of the text to make it easier to read. The ULT does this with 9:25–29 and 33 of this chapter. Paul quotes all of these words from the Old Testament.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Predestination

Many scholars believe that in this chapter Paul teaches extensively on a subject known as “predestination.” Some take this to indicate that God has chosen to save some people from before the world existed. Christians have different views on what the Bible teaches on this subject, so translators need to take extra care when translating this chapter. (See: predestine and save)

Important Figures of Speech in this Chapter

Stone of stumbling

In 9:30–33 Paul explains that God made some Gentiles righteous because they believed in Jesus, but most Jews rejected Jesus because they were trying to obey the law of Moses to become righteous. Paul quotes Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16 to describe Jesus as if he were a stone that the Jews trip over when walking. See the translations and notes for how Peter uses these same verses from Isaiah in 1 Peter 2:6, 8. (See: figs-metaphor)