aI am telling the truth
in Christ
, I am not lying
, my conscience
testifies
with me in the Holy
Spirit
,
that I have great sorrow
and unceasing
grief
in my heart
.
For aI could 1wish that I myself
were baccursed
, separated from Christ
for the sake
of my brethren
, my kinsmen
caccording
to the flesh
,
who are aIsraelites
, to whom
belongs bthe adoption
as sons
, and cthe glory
and dthe covenants
and ethe giving
of the Law
and fthe temple service
and gthe promises
,
whose are athe fathers
, and bfrom whom
is 1the Christ
according
to the flesh
, cwho is over
all
, dGod
eblessed
2forever
. Amen
.
But it is not as though athe word
of God
has failed
. bFor they are not all
Israel
who
are descended from Israel
;
nor are they all
children
abecause
they are Abraham's
1descendants
, but: " 2 bTHROUGH
ISAAC
YOUR 1DESCENDANTS
WILL BE NAMED
."
That is, it is not the children of the flesh
who
are achildren
of God
, but the bchildren
of the promise
are regarded
as 1descendants
.
For this is the word
of promise
: " aAT THIS
TIME
I WILL COME
, AND SARAH
SHALL HAVE
A SON
."
aAnd not only this, but there was bRebekah
also
, when she had conceived
twins by one
man
, our father
Isaac
;
for though the twins were not yet born
and had not done
anything
good
or
bad
, so
that aGod's
purpose
according
to His choice
would 1stand
, not 2because
of works
but 2because
of Him who calls
,
it was said to her, " aTHE OLDER
WILL SERVE
THE YOUNGER
."
Just as it is written
, " aJACOB
I LOVED
, BUT ESAU
I HATED
."
aWhat shall we say
then
? bThere is no
injustice
with God
, is there? cMay it never
be!
For He says to Moses
, " aI WILL HAVE
MERCY
ON WHOM
I HAVE
MERCY
, AND I WILL HAVE
COMPASSION
ON WHOM
I HAVE
COMPASSION
."
So then
it does not depend on the man who wills
or
the man who aruns
, but on bGod
who has
mercy
.
For the Scripture says
to Pharaoh
, " aFOR THIS
VERY
PURPOSE I RAISED
YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE
MY POWER
IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME
MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED
1THROUGHOUT
THE WHOLE
EARTH
."
So then
He has
mercy
on whom
He desires
, and He ahardens
whom
He desires
.
aYou will say to me then
, " bWhy
does He still
find
fault
? For cwho
resists
His will
?"
On the contrary, who
are you, aO
man
, who banswers
back
to God
? cThe thing
molded
will not say
to the molder
, "Why
did you make
me like
this
," will it?
Or does not the potter
have
a right
over the clay
, to make
from the same
lump
one
vessel
1for honorable
use
and another
2for common
use
?
1What if
God
, although willing
to demonstrate
His wrath
and to make
His power
known
, endured
with much
apatience
vessels
of wrath
bprepared
for destruction
?
And He did so to make known
athe riches
of His glory
upon bvessels
of mercy
, which
He cprepared
beforehand
for glory
,
even us, whom He also
acalled
, bnot from among
Jews
only
, but also
from among
Gentiles
.
As He says also
in Hosea
, " aI WILL CALL
THOSE
WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE
, `MY PEOPLE
,' AND HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED
, `BELOVED
.' "
" aAND IT SHALL BE THAT IN THE PLACE WHERE
IT WAS SAID
TO THEM, `YOU ARE NOT MY PEOPLE
,' THERE
THEY SHALL BE CALLED
SONS
OF bTHE LIVING
GOD
."
Isaiah cries
out concerning
Israel
, " aTHOUGH
THE NUMBER
OF THE SONS
OF ISRAEL
BE bLIKE
THE SAND
OF THE SEA
, IT IS cTHE REMNANT
THAT WILL BE SAVED
;
aFOR THE LORD WILL EXECUTE
HIS WORD
ON THE EARTH
, 1THOROUGHLY
AND 2QUICKLY
."
And just as Isaiah
foretold
, " aUNLESS
bTHE LORD
OF 1SABAOTH
HAD LEFT
TO US A 2POSTERITY
, cWE WOULD HAVE BECOME
LIKE
SODOM
, AND WOULD HAVE 3RESEMBLED
GOMORRAH
."
aWhat shall we say
then
? That Gentiles
, who did not pursue
righteousness
, attained
righteousness
, even
bthe righteousness
which is 1by faith
;
but Israel, apursuing
a law
of righteousness
, did not barrive
at that law
.
Why? Because
they did not pursue it 1by faith
, but as though
it were 1by works
. They stumbled
over
athe stumbling
stone
,
just as it is written
, " aBEHOLD
, I LAY
IN ZION
bA STONE
OF STUMBLING
AND A ROCK
OF OFFENSE
, cAND HE WHO BELIEVES
IN HIM dWILL NOT BE 1DISAPPOINTED
."