1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah - how he appealed to God against Israel: 3 "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me" 1 ? 4 And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal." 2 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened,
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as it is written:
"God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that could not see
and ears that could not hear,
to this very day." 3
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And David says:
"May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
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May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever." 4