Roma 9:6-8

9:6 It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel, ¹  9:7 nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants; rather “through Isaac will your descendants be counted.” ²  9:8 This means ³  it is not the children of the flesh ⁴  who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants.

Mazmur 73:1

Book 3
(Psalms 73-89)

Psalm 73 ⁵ 

A psalm by Asaph.

73:1 Certainly God is good to Israel, ⁶ 

and to those whose motives are pure! ⁷ 

Yesaya 1:9-15

1:9 If the Lord who commands armies ⁸  had not left us a few survivors,

we would have quickly become like Sodom, ⁹ 

we would have become like Gomorrah.

1:10 Listen to the Lord’s word,

you leaders of Sodom! ¹⁰ 

Pay attention to our God’s rebuke, ¹¹ 

people of Gomorrah!

1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” ¹² 

says the Lord.

“I am stuffed with ¹³  burnt sacrifices

of rams and the fat from steers.

The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats

I do not want. ¹⁴ 

1:12 When you enter my presence,

do you actually think I want this –

animals trampling on my courtyards? ¹⁵ 

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless ¹⁶  offerings;

I consider your incense detestable! ¹⁷ 

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! ¹⁸ 

1:14 I hate your new moon festivals and assemblies;

they are a burden

that I am tired of carrying.

1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,

I look the other way; ¹⁹ 

when you offer your many prayers,

I do not listen,

because your hands are covered with blood. ²⁰ 

Yesaya 48:1-2

The Lord Appeals to the Exiles

48:1 Listen to this, O family of Jacob, ²¹ 

you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’

and are descended from Judah, ²² 

who take oaths in the name of the Lord,

and invoke ²³  the God of Israel –

but not in an honest and just manner. ²⁴ 

48:2 Indeed, they live in the holy city; ²⁵ 

they trust in ²⁶  the God of Israel,

whose name is the Lord who commands armies.

Hosea 1:6-9

1:6 She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord ²⁷  said to him, “Name her ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah) because I will no longer have pity ²⁸  on the nation ²⁹  of Israel. For ³⁰  I will certainly not forgive ³¹  their guilt. ³²  1:7 But I will have pity on the nation ³³  of Judah. ³⁴  I will deliver them by the Lord their God; I will not deliver them by the warrior’s bow, by sword, by military victory, ³⁵  by chariot horses, or by chariots.” ³⁶ 

1:8 When ³⁷  she had weaned ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah) she conceived again and gave birth to another son. 1:9 Then the Lord ³⁸  said: “Name him ‘Not My People’ (Lo-Ammi), because you ³⁹  are not my people and I am not your ⁴⁰  God.” ⁴¹ 

Matius 3:9

3:9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Yohanes 1:47

1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, ⁴²  “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴³ 

Yohanes 8:37-39

8:37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. ⁴⁴  But you want ⁴⁵  to kill me, because my teaching ⁴⁶  makes no progress among you. ⁴⁷  8:38 I am telling you the things I have seen while with the ⁴⁸  Father; ⁴⁹  as for you, ⁵⁰  practice the things you have heard from the ⁵¹  Father!”

8:39 They answered him, ⁵²  “Abraham is our father!” ⁵³  Jesus replied, ⁵⁴  “If you are ⁵⁵  Abraham’s children, you would be doing ⁵⁶  the deeds of Abraham.

Galatia 6:15

6:15 For ⁵⁷  neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for ⁵⁸  anything; the only thing that matters is a new creation! ⁵⁹ 

Wahyu 2:9

2:9 ‘I know the distress you are suffering ⁶⁰  and your poverty (but you are rich). I also know ⁶¹  the slander against you ⁶²  by those who call themselves Jews and really are not, but are a synagogue ⁶³  of Satan.

[9:6]  ¹ tn Grk “For not all those who are from Israel are Israel.”

[9:7]  ² tn Grk “be called.” The emphasis here is upon God’s divine sovereignty in choosing Isaac as the child through whom Abraham’s lineage would be counted as opposed to Ishmael.

[9:7]  sn A quotation from Gen 21:12.

[9:8]  ³ tn Grk “That is,” or “That is to say.”

[9:8]  ⁴ tn Because it forms the counterpoint to “the children of promise” the expression “children of the flesh” has been retained in the translation.

[9:8]  sn The expression the children of the flesh refers to the natural offspring.

[73:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 73. In this wisdom psalm the psalmist offers a personal testimony of his struggle with the age-old problem of the prosperity of the wicked. As he observed evil men prosper, he wondered if a godly lifestyle really pays off. In the midst of his discouragement, he reflected upon spiritual truths and realities. He was reminded that the prosperity of the wicked is only temporary. God will eventually vindicate his people.

[73:1]  ⁶ tn Since the psalm appears to focus on an individual’s concerns, not the situation of Israel, this introduction may be a later addition designed to apply the psalm’s message to the entire community. To provide a better parallel with the next line, some emend the Hebrew phrase לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֱלֹהִים (lÿyisra’el ’elohim, “to Israel, God”) to אֱלֹהִים [or אֵל] לָיָּשָׁר (’elohim [or ’el] lÿyyashar, “God [is good] to the upright one”).

[73:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “to the pure of heart.”

[1:9]  ⁸ tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts.” The title pictures God as the sovereign king who has at his disposal a multitude of attendants, messengers, and warriors to do his bidding. In some contexts, like this one, the military dimension of his rulership is highlighted. In this case, the title pictures him as one who leads armies into battle against his enemies.

[1:9]  ⁹ tc The translation assumes that כִּמְעָט (kim’at, “quickly,” literally, “like a little”) goes with what follows, contrary to the MT accents, which take it with what precedes. In this case, one could translate the preceding line, “If the Lord who commands armies had not left us a few survivors.” If כִּמְעָט goes with the preceding line (following the MT accents), this expression highlights the idea that there would only be a few survivors (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:20; H. Zobel, TDOT 8:456). Israel would not be almost like Sodom but exactly like Sodom.

[1:10]  ¹⁰ sn Building on the simile of v. 9, the prophet sarcastically addresses the leaders and people of Jerusalem as if they were leaders and residents of ancient Sodom and Gomorrah. The sarcasm is appropriate, for if the judgment is comparable to Sodom’s, that must mean that the sin which prompted the judgment is comparable as well.

[1:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to the instruction of our God.” In this context, which is highly accusatory and threatening, תּוֹרָה (torah, “law, instruction”) does not refer to mere teaching, but to corrective teaching and rebuke.

[1:11]  ¹² tn Heb “Why to me the multitude of your sacrifices?” The sarcastic rhetorical question suggests that their many sacrifices are of no importance to the Lord. This phrase answers the possible objection that an Israelite could raise in response to God’s indictment: “But we are offering the sacrifices you commanded!”

[1:11]  sn In this section the Lord refutes a potential objection that his sinful people might offer in their defense. He has charged them with rebellion (vv. 2-3), but they might respond that they have brought him many sacrifices. So he points out that he requires social justice first and foremost, not empty ritual.

[1:11]  ¹³ tn The verb שָׂבַע (sava’, “be satisfied, full”) is often used of eating and/or drinking one’s fill. See BDB 959 s.v. שָׂבַע. Here sacrifices are viewed, in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion, as food for the deity. God here declares that he has eaten and drunk, as it were, his fill.

[1:11]  ¹⁴ sn In the chiastic structure of the verse, the verbs at the beginning and end highlight God’s displeasure, while the heaping up of references to animals, fat, and blood in the middle lines hints at why God wants no more of their sacrifices. They have, as it were, piled the food on his table and he needs no more.

[1:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “When you come to appear before me, who requires this from your hand, trampling of my courtyards?” The rhetorical question sarcastically makes the point that God does not require this parade of livestock. The verb “trample” probably refers to the eager worshipers and their sacrificial animals walking around in the temple area.

[1:13]  ¹⁶ tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”

[1:13]  ¹⁷ sn Notice some of the other practices that Yahweh regards as “detestable”: homosexuality (Lev 18:22-30; 20:13), idolatry (Deut 7:25; 13:15), human sacrifice (Deut 12:31), eating ritually unclean animals (Deut 14:3-8), sacrificing defective animals (Deut 17:1), engaging in occult activities (Deut 18:9-14), and practicing ritual prostitution (1 Kgs 14:23).

[1:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “sin and assembly” (these two nouns probably represent a hendiadys). The point is that their attempts at worship are unacceptable to God because the people’s everyday actions in the socio-economic realm prove they have no genuine devotion to God (see vv. 16-17).

[1:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”

[1:15]  ²⁰ sn This does not just refer to the blood of sacrificial animals, but also the blood, as it were, of their innocent victims. By depriving the poor and destitute of proper legal recourse and adequate access to the economic system, the oppressors have, for all intents and purposes, “killed” their victims.

[48:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV, CEV “people of Israel.”

[48:1]  ²² tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and from the waters of Judah came out.” מִמֵּי (mimme) could be a corruption of מִמְּעֵי (mimmÿ’e, “from the inner parts of”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT, NRSV) as suggested in the above translation. Some translations (ESV, NKJV) retain the MT reading because the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, which corrects a similar form to “from inner parts of” in 39:7, does not do it here.

[48:1]  ²³ tn Heb “cause to remember”; KJV, ASV “make mention of.”

[48:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “not in truth and not in righteousness.”

[48:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “they call themselves [or “are called”] from the holy city.” The precise meaning of the statement is uncertain. The Niphal of קָרָא (qara’) is combined with the preposition מִן (min) only here. When the Qal of קָרָא is used with מִן, the preposition often indicates the place from which one is summoned (see 46:11). So one could translate, “from the holy city they are summoned,” meaning that they reside there.

[48:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “lean on” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB, NIV “rely on.”

[1:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Then he said”; the referent (the Lord) does not appear in Hebrew, but has been specified in the translation for clarity. Many English versions specify the speaker here (KJV “God”; ASV “Jehovah”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “the Lord”).

[1:6]  ²⁸ sn The negative particle לאֹ (lo’, “no, not”) and the root רָחַם (rakham, “compassion”) are repeated in 1:6, creating a wordplay between the name Lo-Ruhamah (literally “No-Pity”) and the announcement of divine judgment, “I will no longer have pity on the nation of Israel.”

[1:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “house”; cf. TEV, NLT “the people of Israel.”

[1:6]  ³⁰ tn The particle כִּי (ki) probably denotes cause (so NCV, TEV, CEV) or result here (GKC 505 §166.b; BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 3.c).

[1:6]  ³¹ tn The verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to take away”) frequently denotes “to forgive” meaning to take away sin (BDB 671 s.v. נָשָׂא 3.c). The construction נָשׂא אֶשָּׂא (naso’ ’esa’, “I will certainly take away,” infinitive absolute + imperfect of the same root) repeats the root נָשָׂא for rhetorical emphasis, stressing the divine resolution not to forgive Israel.

[1:6]  ³² tn The phrase “their guilt” does not appear in Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for clarification. The ellipsis of the accusative direct object of נָשׂא אֶשָּׂא (naso’ ’esa’, “I will certainly take away”) is an example of brachyology. The accusative “guilt” must be supplied frequently with נָשַׂא (see BDB 671 s.v. נָשָׂא 3.c; e.g., Num 14:19; Isa 2:9; Ps 99:8). Many recent English versions simplify this to “forgive them” (e.g., NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[1:7]  ³³ tn Heb “house”; cf. NCV, TEV, NLT “the people of Judah.”

[1:7]  ³⁴ tn The word order in this line is rhetorical, emphasizing the divine decision to withhold pity from Israel but to bestow it on Judah. The accusative direct object, which is introduced by a disjunctive vav (to denote contrast), appears before the verb: וְאֶת־בֵּית יְהוּדָה אֲרַחֵם (vé’et-bet yéhudah ’arakhem, “but upon the house of Judah I will show pity”).

[1:7]  ³⁵ tn Heb “by war” (so NAB, NRSV, TEV); KJV, NASB, NIV “battle.”

[1:7]  ³⁶ sn These military weapons are examples of the metonymy of adjunct (the specific weapons named) for subject (warfare).

[1:8]  ³⁷ tn The preterite וַתִּגְמֹל (vatigmol, literally, “and she weaned”) functions in a synchronic sense with the following preterite וַתַּהַר (vattahar, literally, “and she conceived”) and may be treated in translation as a dependent temporal clause: “When she had weaned…she conceived” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV). Other English versions render this as sequential with “After” (NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT).

[1:9]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Then he said”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity. As in v. 6, many English versions specify the speaker here.

[1:9]  ³⁹ tn The independent personal pronoun אַתֶּם (’attem, “you”) is a plural form, referring to the people of Israel as a whole. To make this clear TEV translates this as third person: “the people of Israel are not my people” (cf. CEV, NLT).

[1:9]  ⁴⁰ tn The pronominal suffix on the preposition לָכֶם (lakhem, “your”) is a plural form, referring to the people of Israel as a whole.

[1:9]  ⁴¹ tc The MT reads לֹא־אֶהְיֶה לָכֶם (lo’-’ehyeh lakhem, “I will not be yours”). The editors of BHS suggest emending the text to לֹא־אֱלֹהֵיכֶם (lo’-’elohekhem, “I will not be your God”). The emendation creates a tighter parallel with the preceding אַתֶּם לֹא עַמִּי (’attem lo’ ’ammi, “you are not my people”). Because of a lack of external evidence, however, the reading of the MT should be retained.

[1:9]  tn Heb “I am not yours.” The divine name “God” is supplied in the translation for clarity even though the reading of the MT is followed (see previous tc note). Almost all English versions (including KJV, ASV, NASB) supply “God” here.

[1:9]  sn This is an allusion to Yahweh’s promise to Moses אֶהְיֶה עִמָּךְ (’ehyeh ’immakh, “I will be with you”; Exod 3:12, 14). In effect, it is a negation of Exod 3:12, 14 and a cancellation of Israel’s status as vassal of Yahweh in the conditional Mosaic covenant.

[1:47]  ⁴² tn Grk “said about him.”

[1:47]  ⁴³ tn Or “treachery.”

[1:47]  sn An allusion to Ps 32:2.

[8:37]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “seed” (an idiom).

[8:37]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “you are seeking.”

[8:37]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:37]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “finds no place in you.” The basic idea seems to be something (in this case Jesus’ teaching) making headway or progress where resistance is involved. See BDAG 1094 s.v. χωρέω 2.

[8:38]  ⁴⁸ tc The first person pronoun μου (mou, “my”) may be implied, especially if ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) follows the second mention of “father” in this verse (as it does in the majority of mss); no doubt this implication gave rise to the reading μου found in most witnesses (א D Θ Ψ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï it sy). No pronoun here is read by Ì^66,75 B C L 070 pc. This problem cannot be isolated from the second in the verse, however. See that discussion below.

[8:38]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “The things which I have seen with the Father I speak about.”

[8:38]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “and you.”

[8:38]  ⁵¹ tc A few significant witnesses lack ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) here (Ì^66,75 B L W 070 pc), while the majority have the pronoun (א C D Θ Ψ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 565 892 Ï al lat sy). However, these mss do not agree on the placement of the pronoun: τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν ποιεῖτε (tou patro" Jumwn poieite), τῷ πατρὶ ὑμῶν (tw patri Jumwn), and τῷ πατρὶ ὑμῶν ταῦτα (tw patri Jumwn tauta) all occur. If the pronoun is read, then the devil is in view and the text should be translated as “you are practicing the things you have heard from your father.” If it is not read, then the same Father mentioned in the first part of the verse is in view. In this case, ποιεῖτε should be taken as an imperative: “you [must] practice the things you have heard from the Father.” The omission is decidedly the harder reading, both because the contrast between God and the devil is now delayed until v. 41, and because ποιεῖτε could be read as an indicative, especially since the two clauses are joined by καί (kai, “and”). Thus, the pronoun looks to be a motivated reading. In light of the better external and internal evidence the omission is preferred.

[8:39]  ⁵² tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

[8:39]  ⁵³ tn Or “Our father is Abraham.”

[8:39]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:39]  ⁵⁵ tc Although most mss (C W Θ Ψ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï) have the imperfect ἦτε (hte, “you were”) here, making this sentence a proper second class condition, the harder reading, ἐστε (este, “you are”), is found in the better witnesses (Ì^66,75 א B D L 070 pc lat).

[8:39]  ⁵⁶ tc Some important mss (Ì⁶⁶ B* [700]) have the present imperative ποιεῖτε (poieite) here: “If you are Abraham’s children, then do,” while many others (א² C K L N Δ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 565 579 892 pm) add the contingent particle ἄν (an) to ἐποιεῖτε (epoieite) making it a more proper second class condition by Attic standards. The simple ἐποιεῖτε without the ἄν is the hardest reading, and is found in some excellent witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ א* B² D W Γ Θ 070 0250 1424 pm).

[8:39]  tn Or “you would do.”

[6:15]  ⁵⁷ tc The phrase “in Christ Jesus” is found after “For” in some mss (א A C D F G 0278 1881 Ï lat bo), but lacking in Ì⁴⁶ B Ψ 33 1175 1505 1739* and several fathers. The longer reading probably represents a harmonization to Gal 5:6.

[6:15]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “is.”

[6:15]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “but a new creation”; the words “the only thing that matters” have been supplied to reflect the implied contrast with the previous clause (see also Gal 5:6).

[2:9]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “know your suffering.” This could refer to suffering or distress caused by persecution (see L&N 22.2).

[2:9]  ⁶¹ tn Because of the length and complexity of this Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the phrase “I also know” to link this English sentence back to “I know” at the beginning of the verse.

[2:9]  ⁶² tn The words “against you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[2:9]  ⁶³ sn A synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (e.g., Mt 4:23, Mk 1:21, Lk 4:15, Jn 6:59).