9I am speaking the truth; I belong to Christ and I do not lie. My conscience, ruled by the Holy Spirit, also assures me that I am not lying ²when I say how great is my sorrow, how endless the pain in my heart ³for my people, my own flesh and blood! For their sake I could wish that I myself were under God’s curse and separated from Christ. ⁴^*They are God’s people; he made them his children and revealed his glory to them; he made his covenants^m with them and gave them the Law; they have the true worship; they have received God’s promises; ⁵they are descended from the famous Hebrew ancestors; and Christ, as a human being, belongs to their race. May God, who rules over all, be praised for ever!ⁿ Amen.

⁶I am not saying that the promise of God has failed; for not all the people of Israel are the people of God. ⁷^*Nor are all Abraham’s descendants the children of God. God said to Abraham, “It is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I promised you.” ⁸This means that the children born in the usual way^o are not the children of God; instead, the children born as a result of God’s promise are regarded as the true descendants.

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Footnotes

mcovenants; some manuscripts have covenant.
nMay God, who rules over all, be praised for ever!; or And may he, who is God ruling over all, be praised for ever!
ochildren born in the usual way: This refers to the descendants Abraham had through Ishmael, his son by Hagar (see Gal 4:22–23).

Cross references

*9.4: Ex 4:22
*9.7: Gn 21:12