Romans 9:1–13

God’s Sovereign Choice

9^aI am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— ²that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³For ^bI could wish that I myself were ^caccursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers,¹ my kinsmen ^daccording to the flesh. ⁴They are ^eIsraelites, and to them belong ^fthe adoption, ^gthe glory, ^hthe covenants, ⁱthe giving of the law, ^jthe worship, and ^kthe promises. ⁵To them belong ^lthe patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, ^mwho is God over all, ⁿblessed forever. Amen.

⁶But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, ⁷and not all are children of Abraham ^obecause they are his offspring, but ^p“Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ⁸This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but ^qthe children of the promise are counted as offspring. ⁹For this is what the promise said: ^r“About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” ¹⁰And not only so, but ^salso when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, ¹¹though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of ^thim who calls— ¹²she was told, ^u“The older will serve the younger.” ¹³As it is written, ^v“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”