Romans 9:1–23

Israel’s Rejection

9I am telling the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears witness to me in the Holy Spirit—²that my grief is great and there is constant distress in my heart. ³For I could wish myself to be accursed from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my fellow countrymen according to the flesh, ⁴who are Israelites, to whom belong the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the temple service, and the promises, ⁵to whom belong the patriarchs, and from whom is the Christ according to human descent, who is God over all, blessed forever^a! Amen.

⁶But it is not as if the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel, ⁷nor are they all children because they are descendants of Abraham, but “In Isaac will your descendants be named.”^{b 8}That is, it is not the children by human descent^c who are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. ⁹For the statement of the promise is this: “At this time I will return and Sarah will have^d a son.”^{e 10}And not only this, but also when^* Rebecca conceived children by one man,^f Isaac our father—¹¹for although they^* had not yet been born, or done anything good or evil, in order that the purpose of God according to election might remain, ¹²not by works but by the one who calls—it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,”^{g 13}just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”^h

God’s Sovereign Choice to Show Mercy

¹⁴What then shall we say? There is no injustice with God, is there?^* May it never be! ¹⁵For to Moses he says, “I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I have compassion.”^{i 16}Consequently therefore, it does not depend on the^j one who wills or on the one who runs, but on God who shows mercy. ¹⁷For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very reason I have raised you up, so that I may demonstrate my power in you, and so that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”^{k 18}Consequently therefore, he has mercy on whomever he wishes, and he hardens whomever he wishes.

¹⁹Therefore you will say to me, “Why then does he still find fault? For who has resisted^l his will? ²⁰On the contrary, O man, who are you who answers back to God? Will what is molded say to the one who molded it, “Why did you make me like this”?^{m 21}Or does the potter not have authority over the clay, to make from the same lump a vessel that is for honorable useⁿ and one that is for ordinary use^o? ²²And what if God, wanting to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? ²³And he did so^* in order that he could make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy that he prepared beforehand for glory,