6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

7 What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, 8 as it is written:

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,

eyes that could not see

and ears that could not hear,

to this very day.”

9 And David says:

“May their table become a snare and a trap,

a stumbling block and a retribution for them.

10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,

and their backs be bent forever.”

6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. 7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: 10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.

6 And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.

7 So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened. 8 As the Scriptures say,

“God has put them into a deep sleep.

To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see,

and closed their ears so they do not hear.”

9 Likewise, David said,

“Let their bountiful table become a snare,

a trap that makes them think all is well.

Let their blessings cause them to stumble,

and let them get what they deserve.

10 Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see,

and let their backs be bent forever.”

6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

7 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 8 Just as it is written:

“God has given them a spirit of stupor,

Eyes that they should not see

And ears that they should not hear,

To this very day.”

9 And David says:

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,

A stumbling block and a recompense to them.

10 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see,

And bow down their back always.”

6 And if he chose them by grace, it is not for the things they have done. If they could be made God’s people by what they did, God’s gift of grace would not really be a gift.

7 So this is what has happened: Although the Israelites tried to be right with God, they did not succeed, but the ones God chose did become right with him. The others were made stubborn and refused to listen to God. 8 As it is written in the Scriptures:

“God gave the people a dull mind so they could not understand.”

“He closed their eyes so they could not see

and their ears so they could not hear.

This continues until today.”

9 And David says:

“Let their own feasts trap them and cause their ruin;

let their feasts cause them to stumble and be paid back.

10 Let their eyes be closed so they cannot see

and their backs be forever weak from troubles.”

6 But if it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. 7 What then? That which Israel seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened: 8 according as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this very day. 9 And David saith,

Let their table be made a snare, and a trap,

And a stumblingblock, and a recompense unto them:

10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see,

And bow thou down their back always.

6 But if by grace, no longer of works: since otherwise grace is no more grace. 7 What is it then? What Israel seeks for, that he has not obtained; but the election has obtained, and the rest have been blinded, 8 according as it is written, God has given to them a spirit of slumber, eyes not to see, and ears not to hear, unto this day. 9 And David says, Let their table be for a snare, and for a gin, and for a fall-trap, and for a recompense to them: 10 let their eyes be darkened not to see, and bow down their back alway.

6 If they were chosen by God’s kindness, they weren’t chosen because of anything they did. Otherwise, God’s kindness wouldn’t be kindness. 

7 So what does all this mean? It means that Israel has never achieved what it has been striving for. However, those whom God has chosen have achieved it. The minds of the rest of Israel were closed, 8 as Scripture says, 

“To this day God has given them a spirit of deep sleep. 

Their eyes don’t see, 

and their ears don’t hear!” 

9 And David says, 

“Let the table set for them become a trap and a net, 

a snare and a punishment for them. 

10 Let their vision become clouded so that they cannot see. 

Let them carry back-breaking burdens forever.” 

6 Now if by grace, then it is not by works; otherwise grace ceases to be grace.

7 What then? Israel did not find what it was looking for, but the elect did find it. The rest were hardened, 8 as it is written:

God gave them a spirit of insensitivity,

eyes that cannot see

and ears that cannot hear,

to this day.

9 And David says:

Let their feasting become a snare and a trap,

a pitfall and a retribution to them.

10 Let their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,

and their backs be bent continually.

6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,

“God gave them a sluggish spirit,

eyes that would not see

and ears that would not hear,

down to this very day.”

9 And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,

a stumbling block and a retribution for them;

10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,

and keep their backs forever bent.”

6 But if by grace, it is no longer by works, for otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

7 What then? What Israel was searching for, this it did not obtain. But the elect obtained it, and the rest were hardened, 8 just as it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,

eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear,

until this very day.”

9 And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,

and a cause for stumbling and a retribution to them;

10 let their eyes be darkened so that they do not see,

and cause their backs to bend continually.”

6 And if they are chosen by grace, it is no longer a matter of working for it. If it were, grace wouldn’t be grace anymore.

7 What should we say then? Israel did not receive what they wanted so badly. But those who were chosen did. God made the rest of them stubborn.

8 It is written,

“God made it hard for them to understand.

He gave them eyes that could not see.

He gave them ears that could not hear.

And they are still like that today.”

9 David says,

“Let their feast be a trap and a snare.

Let it make Israel trip and fall. Let Israel get what’s coming to them.

10 Let their eyes grow dark so they can’t see.

Let their backs be bent forever.”

6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

7 What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;

8 just as it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,

Eyes to see not and ears to hear not,

Down to this very day.”

9 And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,

And a stumbling block and a retribution to them.

10 “Let their eyes be darkened to see not,

And bend their backs forever.”