¹ I say the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience is testifying together-with me in the Holy Spirit,

² that great sorrow is in me and constant anguish in my heart.

³ For$ I myself was praying to be accursed from the Christ on behalf of my brethren, my relatives according-to the flesh,

⁴ who are Israelites, whose is the sonship and the glory and the covenants$ and the institution of the law and the divine-service and the promises;

⁵ whose are the fathers and from whom is the Christ according-to the flesh, the one who is over all; Gracious$ God is forever. Amen.

⁶ But it is not such-as that the word of God has fallen short. For$ all the ones from Israel, these are not Israel;

⁷ neither are they all children, because they are Abraham’s seed, but instead, ‘Seed will be called to you in Isaac.’ {Gen 21:12}

⁸ This thing is, the children of the flesh, these are not children of God, but the children of the promise are counted toward a seed.

⁹ For$ this is the word of promise, ‘I will come according-to this season and there will be a son to Sarah.’ {Gen 18:10}

¹⁰ Now not only so, but also Rebecca has impregnation from one man– our father Isaac;

¹¹ (for$ the children were not yet born, nor had practiced anything good or evil, in-order-that the purpose of God according-to his choice might abide, not from works, but from the one who is calling).

¹² It was said to her, ‘The greater will be serving$ the inferior.’ {Gen 25:23}

¹³ Just-as it has been written, ‘Jacob I loved$, but Esau I hated.’ {Mal 1:2,3}

¹⁴ Therefore, what will we say? There is no unrighteousness with God, is there? Let it not happen!

¹⁵ For$ he says to Moses, ‘I will show-mercy on whomever I show-mercy and I will have pity on whomever I have pity.’ {Exo 33:19}

¹⁶ Therefore, consequently$, it is not of the one who wills, nor of the one who runs, but of the one who shows-mercy– God.

¹⁷ For$ the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘I lifted you up $for this same thing {i.e., purpose} , $that I myself might show in you my power and $that my name might be thoroughly proclaimed in all the earth.’ {Exo 9:16}

¹⁸ Therefore, consequently$, he shows-mercy on whom he wills and he hardens whom he wills.

¹⁹ Therefore, you will say to me, Why is he still finding-fault? For$ who is standing against his will?

²⁰ But-rather, O man, who are you who answers back against God? The molded thing will not say to the one who molded it, why have you made$ me so, will it? {Isa 45:9?}

²¹ Or does the potter not have authority over the clay, to make$ out-of the same batch one vessel which is $for honor and which is $for dishonor?

²² But what if God, willing to show the wrath and to make his power known, carried in much patience vessels of wrath, and they have been framed {Or: completed} $for destruction;

²³ and in-order-that he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand $for glory,

²⁴ even us, whom he invited, not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles?

²⁵ As he also says in Hosea, ‘I will be calling the ones not my people, my people, and the one not beloved, beloved.’ {Ho. 2:23}

²⁶ And it will be, in the place where it was said to them, ‘You° are not my people; they will be called sons of the living God there.’ {Ho. 1:10}

²⁷ Now Isaiah cries on behalf of Israel, ‘If the number of the sons of Israel is like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved;

²⁸ for$ he is completing and cutting-short the account in righteousness, because the Lord will make$ the account which has been cut-short upon the land.’ {Isa 10:22, 23}

²⁹ And, just-as Isaiah has said beforehand, ‘If the Lord of Hosts did not leave us a seed, we would have become like Sodom and we would have been similar to Gomorrah.’ {Isa 1:9}

³⁰ Therefore, what will we say? That the Gentiles, the ones not pursuing righteousness, overtook righteousness, but the righteousness from faith.

³¹ But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to that law of righteousness.

³² Why? Because it was not from the faith, but as it was from works of the law, for$ they stumbled against the stone of stumbling;

³³ just-as it has been written, ‘Behold, I place a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense in Zion and everyone who believes on him will not be ashamed.’ {Isa 8:14 & 28:16}