Concern for Israel
1 I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me [enlightened and prompted] by the Holy Spirit,
2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
3 For [if it were possible] I would wish that I myself were accursed, [separated, banished] from Christ for the sake [of the salvation] of my brothers, my natural kinsmen,
4 who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, the glory (Shekinah), the [special] covenants [with Abraham, Moses, and David], the giving of the Law, the [system of temple] worship, and the [original] promises.
5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to His natural descent,camethe Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), He who is exaltedandsupreme over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
6 However, it is not as though God’s word has failed [coming to nothing]. For not all who are descended from Israel (Jacob) are [the true] Israel;
7 and they are not all the children of Abraham because they are his descendants [by blood], but [the promise was]: “Your descendants will be named throughIsaac” [though Abraham had other sons].
8 That is, it is not the children of the body [Abraham’s natural descendants] who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are counted as [Abraham’s true] descendants.
9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time[next year] Iwill come,andSarah shall have a son.”
10 And not only that, but this too: Rebekah conceivedtwin sonsby one man [under the same circumstances], by our father Isaac;
11 and thoughthe twinswere not yet born and had not done anythingeithergood or bad, so that God’s purpose [His choice, His election] would stand, not because of works [done by either child], but because of [the plan of] Him who calls them,
12 it was said to her, “Theolder(Esau)will serve theyounger(Jacob).”
13 As it is writtenandforever remains written, “JacobIloved(chose, protected, blessed),butEsauIhated(held in disregard compared to Jacob).”
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Certainly not!
15 For He says to Moses, “Iwill have mercy on whomeverIhave mercy,andIwill have compassion on whomeverIhave compassion.”
16 So then God’s choice is not dependent on human will, nor on human effort [the totality of human striving], but on God who shows mercy [to whomever He chooses–it is His sovereign gift].
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “Iraised you up for this very purpose,to displayMy power in[dealing with]you,and so thatMy name would be proclaimed in all the earth.”
18 So then, He has mercy on whom He wills (chooses), and He hardens [the heart of] whom He wills.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still blame me [for sinning]? For who [including myself] has [ever] resisted His willandpurpose?”
20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers [arrogantly] back to Godanddares to defy Him? Will the thing which is formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”
21 Does the potter not have the right over the clay, to make from the same lump [of clay] one object for honorable use [something beautiful or distinctive] and another for common use [something ordinary or menial]?
22 What if God, although willing to show His [terrible] wrath and to make His power known, has tolerated with great patience the objects of His wrath [which are] prepared for destruction?
23 And what if He has done so to make known the riches of His glory to the objects of His mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory,
24 includingus, whom He also called, not only from among the Jews, but also from among the Gentiles?
25 Just as He says in [the writings of the prophet] Hosea:
“Iwill call those who were notMy people, ‘My people,’
And[I will call]her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”
26 “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are notMy people,’
There they shall be called sons ofthe livingGod.”
27 And Isaiah calls out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons ofIsrael belike the sand of the sea,it is onlythe remnant[a small believing minority]that will be saved[from God’s judgment];
28 For theLord will executeHis word upon the earth[He will conclude His dealings with mankind]completely and without delay.”
29 It is as Isaiah foretold,
“IftheLord ofHosts had not left us seed[future generations from which a believing remnant of Israelites came],
We would have become likeSodom,and would have resembledGomorrah[totally rejected and destroyed]!”
30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness [who did not seek salvation and a right relationship with God, nevertheless] obtained righteousness, that is, the righteousness which is produced by faith;
31 whereas Israel, [though always] pursuing the law of righteousness, did not succeed in fulfilling the law.
32 And why not? Because it was not by faith [that they pursued it], but as though it were by works [relying on the merit of their works instead of their faith]. They stumbled over the stumbling Stone [Jesus Christ].
33 As it is writtenandforever remains written,
“BeholdIam laying inZionaStone of stumbling and aRock of offense;
And he who believes inHim[whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him]will not be disappointed[in his expectations].”