Passage

Romans 9

Book: Romans · NASB95

Paul's grief over Israel's unbelief opens the most concentrated New Testament treatment of God's sovereign election. Jacob and Esau, Pharaoh, the potter and the clay, vessels of mercy and vessels of wrath - the chapter is the textual epicenter of the Calvinist-Arminian-Molinist dispute, and the load-bearing passage for every account of how grace, foreknowledge, and human will fit together.

Key verses

"So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy." (Romans 9:16, NASB95)

"Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?" (Romans 9:21, NASB95)

"What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory." (Romans 9:22-23, NASB95)

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit, 2. that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart. 3. For I could wish that I myself were anathema from Christ for my brethren's sake, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 4. who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5. whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. 6. But it is not as though the word of God hath come to nought. For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel: 7. neither, because they are Abraham's seed, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8. That is, it is not the children of the flesh that are children of God; but the children of the promise are reckoned for a seed. 9. For this is a word of promise, According to this season will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. 10. And not only so; but Rebecca also having conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, 11. for the children being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, 12. it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. 13. Even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. 14. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. 16. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy. 17. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, For this very purpose did I raise thee up, that I might show in thee my power, and that my name might be published abroad in all the earth. 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: 23. and that he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory, 24. even us, whom he also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles? 25. As he saith also in Hosea, I will call that my people, which was not my people; And her beloved, that was not beloved. 26. And it shall be, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, There shall they be called sons of the living God. 27. And Isaiah crieth concerning Israel, If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that shall be saved: 28. for the Lord will execute his word upon the earth, finishing it and cutting it short. 29. And, as Isaiah hath said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We had become as Sodom, and had been made like unto Gomorrah. 30. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith: 31. but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by works. They stumbled at the stone of stumbling; 33. even as it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence: And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame." (Romans 9:1-33, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. I tell the truth in Christ. I am not lying, my conscience testifying with me in the Holy Spirit, 2. that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart. 3. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brothers’ sake, my relatives according to the flesh, 4. who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service, and the promises; 5. of whom are the fathers, and from whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen. 6. But it is not as though the word of God has come to nothing. For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel. 7. Neither, because they are Abraham’s offspring, are they all children. But, “your offspring will be accounted as from Isaac.” 8. That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as heirs. 9. For this is a word of promise, “At the appointed time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.” 10. Not only so, but Rebekah also conceived by one, by our father Isaac. 11. For being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls, 12. it was said to her, “The elder will serve the younger.” 13. Even as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? May it never be! 15. For he said to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16. So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy. 17. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I caused you to be raised up, that I might show in you my power, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 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, 23. and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory, 24. us, whom he also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles? 25. As he says also in Hosea, “I will call them ‘my people,’ which were not my people; and her ‘beloved,’ who was not beloved.” 26. “It will be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ There they will be called ‘children of the living God.’” 27. Isaiah cries concerning Israel, “If the number of the children of Israel are as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant who will be saved; 28. for He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth.” 29. As Isaiah has said before, “Unless the Lord of Armies had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and would have been made like Gomorrah.” 30. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who didn’t follow after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith; 31. but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, didn’t arrive at the law of righteousness. 32. Why? Because they didn’t seek it by faith, but as it were by works of the law. They stumbled over the stumbling stone; 33. even as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense; and no one who believes in him will be disappointed.”" (Romans 9:1-33, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2. That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 3. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: ^{accursed: or, separated} 4. Who 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; ^{covenants: or, testaments} 5. Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. 6. Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: 7. Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8. That 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. 9. For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. 10. And 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;) 12. It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. ^{elder: or, greater} ^{elder: or, greater} ^{younger: or, lesser} 13. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. 14. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15. For 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. 16. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 17. For 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. 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} 23. And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24. Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25. As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 26. And 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. 27. Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 28. For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. ^{the work: or, the account} 29. And 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. 30. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 31. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 32. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; 33. As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. ^{ashamed: or confounded}" (Romans 9:1-33, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. Truth I say in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing testimony with me in the Holy Spirit, 2. that I have great grief and unceasing pain in my heart, 3. for I was wishing, I myself, to be anathema from the Christ, for my brethren, my kindred, according to the flesh, 4. who are Israelites, whose [is] the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the lawgiving, and the service, and the promises, 5. whose [are] the fathers, and of whom [is] the Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed to the ages. Amen. 6. And it is not possible that the word of God hath failed; for not all who [are] of Israel are these Israel; 7. nor because they are seed of Abraham [are] all children, but, 'in Isaac shall a seed be called to thee;' 8. that is, the children of the flesh, these [are] not children of God; but the children of the promise are reckoned for seed; 9. for the word of promise [is] this; 'According to this time I will come, and there shall be to Sarah a son.' 10. And not only [so], but also Rebecca, having conceived by one, Isaac our father, 11. (for they being not yet born, neither having done anything good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to choice, might remain; not of works, but of Him who is calling,) it was said to her, 12. 'The greater shall serve the less;' 13. according as it hath been written, 'Jacob I did love, and Esau I did hate.' 14. What, then, shall we say? unrighteousness [is] with God? let it not be! 15. for to Moses He saith, 'I will do kindness to whom I do kindness, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion;' 16. so, then, not of him who is willing, nor of him who is running, but of God who is doing kindness: 17. for the Writing saith to Pharaoh, 'For this very thing I did raise thee up, that I might shew in thee My power, and that My name might be declared in all the land;' 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, 23. and that He might make known the riches of His glory on vessels of kindness, that He before prepared for glory, whom also He did call, us, 24. not only out of Jews, but also out of nations, 25. as also in Hosea He saith, 'I will call what [is] not My people, My people; and her not beloved, Beloved, 26. and it shall be, in the place where it was said to them, Ye [are] not My people; there they shall be called sons of the living God.' 27. And Isaiah doth cry concerning Israel, 'If the number of the sons of Israel may be as the sand of the sea, the remnant shall be saved; 28. for a matter He is finishing, and is cutting short in righteousness, because a matter cut short will the Lord do upon the land. 29. and according as Isaiah saith before, 'Except the Lord of Sabaoth did leave to us a seed, as Sodom we had become, and as Gomorrah we had been made like.' 30. What, then, shall we say? that nations who are not pursuing righteousness did attain to righteousness, and righteousness that [is] of faith, 31. and Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, at a law of righteousness did not arrive; 32. wherefore? because, not by faith, but as by works of law; for they did stumble at the stone of stumbling, 33. according as it hath been written, 'Lo, I place in Sion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence; and every one who is believing thereon shall not be ashamed.'" (Romans 9:1-33, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Paul the Apostle (dictating; Tertius likely as amanuensis)
Audience: the church at Rome, a mixed Jewish-Gentile congregation
Location: written from Corinth during Paul's third missionary journey
Time period: c. AD 57

Theological reading

Romans 9 opens the epistle's longest and most-fought passage, the three-chapter unit on Israel (chapters 9-11). The argument is provoked by a pastoral crisis: if the gospel is for Israel first (Romans 1:16) and Israel has largely rejected it, has God's promise failed? Paul answers by relocating "Israel" - "not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel" (9:6) - and then defends God's right to elect within the natural line: Isaac not Ishmael, Jacob not Esau, the choice made "though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad" (9:11). The pattern climaxes in Pharaoh, the potter, and the two kinds of vessels.

The chapter's main theological move is to insist that God's electing purpose stands independent of human merit ("not because of works but because of Him who calls," 9:11) and that this electing operates at the level of God's sovereign mercy - "He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires" (9:18). Paul anticipates the obvious objection - "why does He still find fault?" - and answers with the potter and clay (9:20-21), the same image Isaiah uses against complaining Israel (Isaiah 29.16, Isaiah 45.9). The objector is told the question itself is out of place: the clay does not arraign the potter.

This is where Romans 9 becomes the Calvinist-Arminian-Molinist battleground. The Reformed reading (Augustine, Calvin, Edwards, Piper, Schreiner) takes the chapter at face value: unconditional individual election to salvation, with hardening as a divine prerogative parallel to mercy. The Arminian / classical Wesleyan reading (Wesley, F. F. Bruce, N. T. Wright on some points, Witherington) reads "Jacob and Esau" as corporate-and-historical (the nations Jacob and Edom) rather than individual, treats Pharaoh as God's hardening of an already-hard heart, and reads the potter language as God's right to choose which group receives mercy on what condition rather than which individuals to save. The Molinist reading (Craig, Calvinism vs Arminianism vs Molinism vs Open Theism) interposes God's middle knowledge: God elects on the basis of His knowledge of how each free creature would respond in each possible world. All three readings are defended by serious exegetes; the chapter does not by itself settle the question, which is part of why the dispute persists.

Apologetically, Romans 9 generates two recurring atheist objections. First, hardening Pharaoh is read as a violation of free will and a basis for moral complaint against God; the standard defender response (see Hardening Pharaohs Heart Objection Defeater) notes that Pharaoh hardens his own heart before God hardens it, that hardening is a divine handing-over to what the creature already wills (compare Romans 1.24-32), and that the potter language is about God's right to differentiate purposes, not about manufactured automata. Second, the "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated" line is misread as God arbitrarily despising an infant; Hebrew-idiomatic "loved / hated" elsewhere (e.g., Luke 14.26) functions as comparative preference, and the quotation is from Malachi 1.2 about historical nations, not about Esau's eternal destiny in the womb.

Key words

G1656 - eleos, eleos, "mercy" - the key term in Romans 9:15-16, 18, 23; God's covenant mercy that grounds election.
H7592 - shaal, shaal, "to ask, inquire" - background term in the LXX of Exodus's hardening narrative quoted here.
H8085 - shama, shama, "to hear, obey" - the obedience-of-faith failure Israel falls into in 9:31-33.
G1344 - dikaioo, dikaioo, "to justify, declare righteous" - the unspoken backdrop; chapters 1-8 establish justification by faith, and 9 defends why Israel can be passed over without God being unjust.

Theological themes

Sovereign election. God's choosing of Jacob "before they were born" frames election as prior to creaturely action.
Hardening and mercy as twin divine acts. Verses 17-18 pair the two; defenders distinguish active mercy from permissive hardening.
God's freedom over the clay. The potter image refuses the human prerogative to arraign the Creator.
Vessels of mercy and wrath. The middle voice in "prepared for destruction" (9:22) versus active "He prepared beforehand for glory" (9:23) is exegetically significant.
Israel and the Gentiles. Chapter 9 reframes "true Israel" to include believing Gentiles without canceling the promises to ethnic Israel (the argument continues in 10-11).
Rock of stumbling. The closing citation (Isaiah 8:14 / 28:16) makes Israel's failure not random but predicted - Christ Himself is the stumbling stone.

Cross-references

Romans 9.13 - the "Jacob I loved, Esau I hated" verse, often cited on its own.
Romans 9.20 - the potter and clay objection-response.
Romans 9.22-23 - vessels of wrath and mercy.
Exodus 9.16 - the Pharaoh "raised up" verse Paul quotes in 9:17.
Malachi 1.2-3 - the original "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" passage.
Romans 11.32 - the chapter's resolution: God shut all up in disobedience that He might show mercy to all.

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.