Romans 9

I speak what is true as one whom God has united with the Messiah. I do not speak what is false. The Holy Spirit confirms what my conscience testifies within myself {when I say}

that I grieve very greatly and constantly! \*

{I do so} because I truly wish that God would curse me and completely alienate me from {Jesus} the Messiah for my fellow {kinsmen} {to be saved}! They are physically related to me.

These {kinsmen of mine} are the Israelites. {They are those} whom God {spiritually} adopted. God allowed them to experience how glorious he is. God made covenants with them. God gave them his laws. God gave them the way to worship him. God also made promises to them.

{Our Jewish} forefathers {Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob} were Israelites. The Messiah is also one of them, as someone physically related to them. The Messiah rules over everything. {He is} the blessed God forever. May it be so! \*

Yet God has not failed to do what he promised {to the Israelites}. {This is true} because not all people who have physically descended from Israel are {true} Israelites.

{It is} also not {true} that all those who physically descended {from Abraham} are Abraham’s {true} offspring. Rather, {as God says to Abraham in the Scriptures,} “I will identify your {true} offspring through {those who descend from} Isaac.” \*

In other words, the people who {only} physically descended {from Abraham} are not God’s {spiritual} children. Rather, those {who became God’s spiritual} children as a result of what God promised are regarded as {Abraham’s true spiritual} offspring.

Indeed, this is what God promised {would happen} {when he said in the Scriptures}, “At a set time, I will come. As a result, Sarah will give birth to a son.” \*

This is not the only {promise God made}. But {God made a promise} also when Rebekah became pregnant by this same man, Isaac. {He is} the ancestor of us {Israelites}.

Indeed, {God chose only one of her two sons} even though she had not yet born them and they had not yet done anything right or wrong. {God did this} in order that what he had previously planned with regard to choosing {people} would happen.

{God did not choose only one of her sons} because of what he did. Rather, it was because God summons {those whom he chooses}. {This is why} God told Rebekah {in the Scriptures}, “Your older son will become a slave to your younger son.”

This is what {God meant when} he said {in the Scriptures}, “I love {the younger son} Jacob, but I emphatically reject {the older son} Esau.” \*

{Someone might say,} “{If what you have said is true,} then surely God must be unrighteous!” {Then I would say,} “Of course not!”

{We know that God is truly righteous} because God told Moses {in the Scriptures}, “I will be merciful to whomever I want to be merciful. I will be compassionate to whomever I want to be compassionate.”

Therefore, {who receives God’s mercy does} not {depend} on {how much} someone desires {to receive it}. {Who receives God’s mercy} also does not depend on {how much} effort someone exerts. Rather, {it depends on} what God wants. {He is} the one who is merciful. \*

Indeed, this is what God told Pharaoh in the Scriptures, “I allowed you {to become king in Egypt} for this exact reason: in order that I could use you to exhibit how powerful I am. I also {allowed you to become king} in order that I will be famous all over the world.”

Therefore, God is merciful to whomever he wants {to be merciful}. But he makes stubborn whomever he wants {to become stubborn}. \*

As a result {of what I have said,} one of you may tell me, “{If what you have said is true,} then surely God should not blame people {for doing what they do}! {God should not do that} because no one can ever stop him from doing whatever he wants {to do}!”

{Then I would say,} “You {mere} human! You who argue with God are truly not worthy {to do so}! Who God has made surely must not say to God who made him, ‘You should not have made me to be like this!’”

{God can surely do whatever he wants to do with what he has made. In the same way,} someone who makes containers can do whatever he wants to do with his materials. From the same material he can make both containers for special use and containers for ordinary use. \*

Now, {you should surely not argue with God} because he very patiently endured those people whom he would punish {and} had prepared to destroy {eternally}. {He endured them} because he wanted to show how angry he is and to reveal how powerful he is.

{God} also {endures those whom he will punish} in order to reveal how abundantly glorious he is to those people to whom he will be merciful. God has previously arranged to glorify these people {eternally}.

We are also {among those people to whom God is merciful and} whom God has summoned. {God summons people} from {among} Jewish people and even from {among} non-Jewish people. \*

In the same way, God also told Hosea {in the Scriptures}, “I will give the name ‘My people’ to people who were not my people. I will also give the name ‘Loved one’ to the person whom I did not love.”

{God also told Hosea,} “Then it will happen, in the {exact} same location where I previously told them, ‘You are not my people,’ I will give them the name, ‘Children of God who lives.’” \*

Indeed, {elsewhere in the Scriptures} Isaiah shouts out about {the people} of Israel, “Even though there were as many Israelites as there are grains of sand along the seashore, God will refrain from punishing {only} a few of them.

{This is} because the Lord will fully and swiftly accomplish what he promised {to do} on the earth.”

{It is} also just like Isaiah previously said {in the Scriptures}, “Unless the Lord, who rules over angel armies, had preserved offspring for us {Israelites}, he would have utterly destroyed us like he destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.” \*

{Since these things are true}, we should surely say that {although} the nations are not trying to be righteous, {they} became righteous. {However,} they became righteous by trusting {God}.

By contrast, {the people of} Israel tried to obey the laws {God gave them} in order to become righteous. {But} they could not become righteous by {obeying} those laws. \*

The reason why {the people of Israel could not become righteous} is that they did not {try to become righteous} by trusting {God}. Instead, they tried to become righteous by working {for it}. {Because of this} {the Messiah offended them when he came. It is as if the Messiah is} a stone that causes them to trip.

This is what {God meant when} he had {Isaiah} write {in the Scriptures}, “Pay attention! I am placing in Jerusalem {someone who is like} a stone that trips {people} and a rock that offends {people}. But God will not humiliate {anyone} who trusts in that person.” \*