Romans 9

Romans · Chapter 9

Romans 9:16

1I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,2That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.3For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:4Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;5Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.6Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:7Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.8That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.9For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son.10And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;11(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)12It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.13As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.14What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.15For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.16So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.17For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.18Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.19Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?20Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?21Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?22What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:23And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,24Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?25As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.26And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.27Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:28For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.29And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.30What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.31But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.32Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;33As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
16So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy.

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

Romans 9:6-18The children of the promise

About Romans 9Paul has "great heaviness and continual sorrow" for his kinsmen, the Israelites, "to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants," yet "they are not all Israel, which are of Israel," for "the children of the promise are counted for the seed," and of Rebecca's twins it is written, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." God says, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy," so "it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy," and Paul asks, "who art thou that repliest against God." The Gentiles have attained "the righteousness which is of faith," but Israel did not, "Because they sought it not by faith," stumbling at the stone laid in Sion, though "whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." Romans 9:2Romans 9:4Romans 9:6Romans 9:8Romans 9:10Romans 9:13Romans 9:15Romans 9:16Romans 9:20Romans 9:30Romans 9:32Romans 9:33

Who, where and when in this chapter

Original Greek words

EnglishGreekSay itStrong'sMeaning
SoἄραaraG0686
therefore

ἄρα (ara) ἄρα, illative particle, expressing a more subjective or informal inference than οὖν, then: prop. (as in cl.), the second word in the sentence, Rom.7:21 8:1, Gal.3:7; ἐπεὶ ἄρα, 1Co.7:14 (with another word between) 5:10; as the first word, Luk.11:48, Act.11:18, Rom.10:17, 1Co.15:18, 2Co.5:15 7:12, Heb.4:9; so prop. in apodosis after protasis with εἰ, Mat.12:28, Luk.11:20, Gal.2:21 3:29 5:11, Heb.12:8 (κενὸν ἄρα), 1Co.15:14; often in interrogations, direct and indirect, τίς (τί) ἄρα, Mat.18:1 19:25, 27 24:45, Mrk.4:41, Luk.1:66 8:25 12:42 22:23, Act.12:18; εἰ ἄρα, Mrk.11:13, Act.8:22; εἴπερ ἄρα …

thenοὖνounG3767
therefore/then

οὖν (oun) οὖν, particle expressing consequence or simple sequence (never standing first in a sentence), wherefore, therefore, then: Mat.3:10, Luk.3:9, Jhn.8:38, Act.1:21, Rom.5:9, al.; in exhortations, Mat.3:8, Luk.11:35, Act.3:19, Rom.6:12, al.; in questions, Mat.13:28, Mrk.15:12, Jhn.8:[5], Rom.6:1, al.; continuing a narrative or resuming it after a digression, Mat.1:17, Luk.3:18, Jhn.1:22 2:18 (and very frequently in this Gospel), Act.26:22, al.; ἄρα οὖν (see: ἄρα); ἐπεὶ οὖν, Heb.2:14; οὖν with ptcp. (= ἐπεὶ οὖν), Act.2:30, Rom.5:1, al.; ἐὰν οὖν (where οὖν rather in sense belongs to the apodosis), …

[it is] notοὐouG3756
no

οὐ (ou) οὐ, before a vowel with smooth breathing οὐκ, before one with rough breathing οὐχ (but improperly οὐχ ἰδού, Act.2:7, WH, mg.; cf. WH, Intr., §409; M, Pr., 44, 244), [in LXX for אֵין ,אַיִן ,לֹא ;] neg. particle, not, no, used generally with indic, and for a denial of fact (cf . μή); 1. absol. (accented), οὔ, no: Mat.13:29 Jhn.1:21 21:5; οὒ οὕ, Mat.5:37 Jas.5:12. …

willingθέλοντοςthelontosG2309
to will/desire

θέλω (thelō) θέλω (the strengthened form ἐθέλω is found in Hom., and is the more frequently in Attic; see Rutherford, NPhr., 415f.), [in LXX for חפץ ,אבה; with neg., מאן pi., etc. ;] to will, be willing, wish, desire (more frequently than βούλομαι, which see, in vernac. and late Gk., also in MGr.; for various views as to its relation to β., see Thayer, 286; but see also BL, §24, see word): absol., Rom.9:16, 1Co.4:19 12:18, Jas.4:15; τ. θεοῦ θέλοντος, Act.18:21; with accusative of thing(s), Mat.20:21, Mrk.14:36, Jhn.15:7, Rom.7:15, 16 1Co.4:21 7:36, Gal.5:17; with inf., Mat.5:40, Mrk.10:43, Jhn.6:21, 67 R …

norοὐδὲoudeG3761
nor

οὐδέ (oude) οὐδέ, negative particle, related to μηδέ as οὐ to μή. I. As conjc., and not, also not, neither, nor: Mat.6:15, Luk.16:31, Rom.4:15, al.; οὐ . . . οὐδέ, Mat.5:15 10:24, Mrk.4:22, Luk.6:43, 44, Jhn.6:24, Act.2:27, Rom.2:28, al. (see Bl., §77, 10). II. As adv., not even: Mat.6:29, Mrk.6:31, Luk.7:9, 1Co.5:1; οὐδὲ εἷς, Act.4:32, Rom.3:10" (LXX) . (AS)

runningτρέχοντοςtrechontosG5143
to run

τρέχω (trechō) τρέχω [in LXX chiefly for רוּץ ;] to run: Mrk.5:6, Jhn.20:2, 4, 1Co.9:24 9:26; with inf., Mat.28:8; before ἐπί, Luk.24:12 [T [WH] R, mg., om.]; εἰς, Rev.9:9; ptcp., δραμών, with indic., Mat.27:48, Mrk.15:36, Luk.15:20. Metaphorical, from runners in a race, of swiftness or of effort to attain an end: Rom.9:16, Gal.2:2 5:7, Php.2:16; τ. ἀγῶνα (Hdt., Eur., al.), Heb.12:1; ὁ λόγος τ. κυρίου (cf. Psa.147:4), ἕως τάχους δραμεῖται ὁ λ. αὐτοῦ), 2Th.3:1 (cf. εἰς-, κατα-, περι-, προ-, προσ-, συν-, ἐπι-συν-, ὑπο-τρέχω) δράμω, obsol., to run, see: τρέχω (AS)

butἀλλὰallaG0235
but

ἀλλά (alla) ἀλλά (ἀλλ᾽ usually bef. α and υ, often bef. ε and η, rarely bef. ο and ω, never bef. ι; Tdf., Pr., 93 f.; WH, App., 146), adversative particle, stronger than δέ; prop. neuter pl. of ἄλλος, used adverbially, with changed accent; hence prop. otherwise, on the other hand (cf. Rom.3:31); …

showing mercyἐλεῶντοςeleōntosG1653
to have mercy

ἐλεέω (eleeō) ἐλεέω (in Rom.9:16, Ju 22, -άω, which see), -ῶ (ἔλεος), [in LXX (Hex, Pss, Pr) chiefly for חָנַן, also frequently in Proph. for רָחַם, etc. ;] to have pity or mercy on, to show mercy: absol., Rom.9:16 12:8; with accusative, Mat.9:27 15:22 17:15 18:33 20:30-31, Mrk.5:19 10:47-48, Luk.16:24 17:13 18:38-39 Rom.9:15, 18 11:32, Php.2:27, Ju 22. Pass., to have pity or mercy shown one (EV, obtain mercy): Mat.5:7, Rom.11:30-31, 1Co.7:25, 2Co.4:1, 1Ti.1:13 1:16, 1Pe.2:10.† (AS)

of God.θεοῦ.theouG2316
God

θεός (theos) θεός, -οῦ, ὁ, ἡ (Act.19:37 only; see M, Pr., 60, 244), late voc., θεέ (Mat.27:46; cf. Deu.3:24, al.), [in LXX chiefly for אֱלֹהִים, also for אֵל and other cognate forms, יהוה, etc. ;] a god or deity, God. 1. In polytheistic sense, a god or deity: Act.28:6, 1Co.8:4, 2Th.2:4, al.; pl., Ac. 14:11 19:26, Gal.4:8, al. 2. Of the one true God; …

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.