Passage

Romans 9.20

Book: Romans · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"18. So then he hath mercy on whom he will, and whom he will be hardeneth. 19. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he still find fault? For who withstandeth his will?"

"20. Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why didst thou make me thus?"

"21. Or hath not the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? 22. What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction:" (Romans 9:18-22, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"18. So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires. 19. You will say then to me, “Why does he still find fault? For who withstands his will?”"

"20. But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed ask him who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”"

"21. Or hasn’t the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel for honor, and another for dishonor? 22. What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath made for destruction," (Romans 9:18-22, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"18. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 19. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?"

"20. Nay 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? ^{repliest: or, answerest again, or, disputest with God?}"

"21. Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22. What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: ^{fitted: or, made up}" (Romans 9:18-22, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"18. so, then, to whom He willeth, He doth kindness, and to whom He willeth, He doth harden. 19. Thou wilt say, then, to me, 'Why yet doth He find fault? for His counsel who hath resisted?'"

"20. nay, but, O man, who art thou that art answering again to God? shall the thing formed say to Him who did form [it], Why me didst thou make thus?"

"21. hath not the potter authority over the clay, out of the same lump to make the one vessel to honour, and the one to dishonour? 22. And if God, willing to shew the wrath and to make known His power, did endure, in much long suffering, vessels of wrath fitted for destruction," (Romans 9:18-22, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.