Romans 9

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Original

Modern

Paul’s Concern for the Jews

¹Ἀλήθειαν λέγω ἐν Χριστῷ οὐ ψεύδομαι συμμαρτυρούσης μοι τῆς συνειδήσεώς μου ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ

¹I speak the truth in Christ; I am not lying, as confirmed by my conscience in the Holy Spirit.

²ὅτι λύπη μοί ἐστιν μεγάλη καὶ ἀδιάλειπτος ὀδύνη τῇ καρδίᾳ μου

²I have deep sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

³ηὐχόμην γὰρ ἀνάθεμα εἶναι αὐτὸς ἐγὼ ἀπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου τῶν συγγενῶν μου κατὰ σάρκα

³For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my own flesh and blood,

⁴οἵτινές εἰσιν Ἰσραηλῖται ὧν ἡ υἱοθεσία καὶ ἡ δόξα καὶ αἱ διαθῆκαι καὶ ἡ νομοθεσία καὶ ἡ λατρεία καὶ αἱ ἐπαγγελίαι

⁴the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.

⁵ὧν οἱ πατέρες καὶ ἐξ ὧν ὁ Χριστὸς τὸ κατὰ σάρκα ὁ ὢν ἐπὶ πάντων Θεὸς εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας ἀμήν

⁵Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them proceeds the human descent of Christ, who is God over all, forever worthy of praise!^a Amen.

God’s Sovereign Choice

⁶Οὐχ οἷον δὲ ὅτι ἐκπέπτωκεν ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐ γὰρ πάντες οἱ ἐξ Ἰσραήλ οὗτοι Ἰσραήλ

⁶It is not as though God’s word has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

⁷οὐδ’ ὅτι εἰσὶν σπέρμα Ἀβραάμ πάντες τέκνα ἀλλ’ Ἐν Ἰσαὰκ κληθήσεταί σοι σπέρμα

⁷Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”^a

⁸τοῦτ’ ἔστιν οὐ τὰ τέκνα τῆς σαρκὸς ταῦτα τέκνα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀλλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας λογίζεται εἰς σπέρμα

⁸So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.

⁹ἐπαγγελίας γὰρ ὁ λόγος οὗτος Κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἐλεύσομαι καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σάρρᾳ υἱός

⁹For this is what the promise stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”^a

¹⁰Οὐ μόνον δέ ἀλλὰ καὶ Ῥεβέκκα ἐξ ἑνὸς κοίτην ἔχουσα Ἰσαὰκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν

¹⁰Not only that, but Rebecca’s children were conceived by one man, our father Isaac.

¹¹μήπω γὰρ γεννηθέντων μηδὲ πραξάντων τι ἀγαθὸν ἢ φαῦλον ἵνα ἡ κατ’ ἐκλογὴν πρόθεσις τοῦ Θεοῦ μένῃ

¹¹Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand,

¹²οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἀλλ’ ἐκ τοῦ καλοῦντος ἐρρέθη αὐτῇ ὅτι Ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι

¹²not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”^a

¹³καθὼς γέγραπται Τὸν Ἰακὼβ ἠγάπησα τὸν δὲ Ἠσαῦ ἐμίσησα

¹³So it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”^a

¹⁴Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν μὴ ἀδικία παρὰ τῷ θεῷ μὴ γένοιτο

¹⁴What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Certainly not!

¹⁵τῷ Μωϋσεῖ γὰρ λέγει Ἐλεήσω ὃν ἂν ἐλεῶ καὶ οἰκτιρήσω ὃν ἂν οἰκτίρω

¹⁵For He says to Moses:

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,

and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”^a

¹⁶Ἄρα οὖν οὐ τοῦ θέλοντος οὐδὲ τοῦ τρέχοντος ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἐλεῶντος Θεοῦ

¹⁶So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

¹⁷λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφὴ τῷ Φαραὼ ὅτι Εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἐξήγειρά σε ὅπως ἐνδείξωμαι ἐν σοὶ τὴν δύναμίν μου καὶ ὅπως διαγγελῇ τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ

¹⁷For the 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.”^a

¹⁸ἄρα οὖν ὃν θέλει ἐλεεῖ ὃν δὲ θέλει σκληρύνει

¹⁸Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.

¹⁹Ἐρεῖς μοι οὖν Τί οὖν ἔτι μέμφεται τῷ γὰρ βουλήματι αὐτοῦ τίς ἀνθέστηκεν

¹⁹One of you will say to me, “Then why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?”

²⁰ὦ ἄνθρωπε μενοῦνγε σὺ τίς εἶ ὁ ἀνταποκρινόμενος τῷ Θεῷ μὴ ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα τῷ πλάσαντι Τί με ἐποίησας οὕτως

²⁰But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”^a

²¹ἢ οὐκ ἔχει ἐξουσίαν ὁ κεραμεὺς τοῦ πηλοῦ ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ φυράματος ποιῆσαι ὃ μὲν εἰς τιμὴν σκεῦος ὃ δὲ εἰς ἀτιμίαν

²¹Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use?

²²Εἰ δὲ θέλων ὁ Θεὸς ἐνδείξασθαι τὴν ὀργὴν καὶ γνωρίσαι τὸ δυνατὸν αὐτοῦ ἤνεγκεν ἐν πολλῇ μακροθυμίᾳ σκεύη ὀργῆς κατηρτισμένα εἰς ἀπώλειαν

²²What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction?

²³καὶ ἵνα γνωρίσῃ τὸν πλοῦτον τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ σκεύη ἐλέους ἃ προητοίμασεν εἰς δόξαν

²³What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the vessels of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory—

²⁴οὓς καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ἡμᾶς οὐ μόνον ἐξ Ἰουδαίων ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξ ἐθνῶν

²⁴including us, whom He has called not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles?

²⁵ὡς καὶ ἐν τῷ Ὡσηὲ λέγει Καλέσω τὸν οὐ λαόν μου λαόν μου καὶ τὴν οὐκ ἠγαπημένην ἠγαπημένην

²⁵As He says in Hosea:

“I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people,

and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,”^a

²⁶Καὶ Ἔσται ἐν τῷ τόπῳ οὗ ἐρρέθη αὐτοῖς Οὐ λαός μου ὑμεῖς ἐκεῖ κληθήσονται Υἱοὶ Θεοῦ ζῶντος

²⁶and,

“It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them,

‘You are not My people,’

they will be called

‘sons of the living God.’”^a

²⁷Ἠσαΐας δὲ κράζει ὑπὲρ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ Ἐὰν ᾖ ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης τὸ ὑπόλειμμα σωθήσεται

²⁷Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the Israelites is like the sand of the sea,

only the remnant will be saved.

²⁸λόγον γὰρ συντελῶν καὶ συντέμνων ποιήσει Κύριος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

²⁸For the Lord will carry out His sentence on the earth

thoroughly and decisively.”^a

²⁹Καὶ καθὼς προείρηκεν Ἠσαΐας Εἰ μὴ Κύριος Σαβαὼθ ἐγκατέλιπεν ἡμῖν σπέρμα ὡς Σόδομα ἂν ἐγενήθημεν καὶ ὡς Γόμορρα ἂν ὡμοιώθημεν

²⁹It is just as Isaiah foretold:

“Unless the Lord of Hosts had left us descendants,

we would have become like Sodom,

we would have resembled Gomorrah.”^a

Israel’s Unbelief

³⁰Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν ὅτι ἔθνη τὰ μὴ διώκοντα δικαιοσύνην κατέλαβεν δικαιοσύνην δικαιοσύνην δὲ τὴν ἐκ πίστεως

³⁰What then will we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;

³¹Ἰσραὴλ δὲ διώκων νόμον δικαιοσύνης εἰς νόμον οὐκ ἔφθασεν

³¹but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.

³²διὰ τί ὅτι οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως ἀλλ’ ὡς ἐξ ἔργων προσέκοψαν τῷ λίθῳ τοῦ προσκόμματος

³²Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,

³³καθὼς γέγραπται Ἰδοὺ τίθημι ἐν Σιὼν λίθον προσκόμματος καὶ πέτραν σκανδάλου καὶ ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ’ αὐτῷ οὐ καταισχυνθήσεται

³³as it is written:

“See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling

and a rock of offense;^a

and the one who believes in Him

will never be put to shame.”^b