Romans 9:25-33

God's Sovereign Choice

25 As indeed he says in Hosea,
k "Those who were not my people I will call 'my people,'
and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved.'"
 26 l "And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,'
there they will be called m 'sons of the living God.'"

27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: n "Though the number of the sons of Israel 1 be as the sand of the sea, o only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay."

29 And as Isaiah predicted,
p q "If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,
r we would have been like Sodom
and become like Gomorrah."

Israel's Unbelief

30 What shall we say, then? s That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, t a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel u who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness 2 v did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the w stumbling stone,

33 as it is written,
x "Behold, I am laying in Zion y a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
z and whoever believes in him will not be a put to shame."

  1. Cross References
    Hosea 2:23
    And I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, 'You are my people'; and he shall say, 'You are my God.'
    1 Peter 2:10
    Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
  2. Cross References
    Hosea 2:23
    And I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, 'You are my people'; and he shall say, 'You are my God.
  3. Cross References
    Hosea 1:10
    Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," it shall be said to them, "Children of the living God.
  4. Cross References
    Romans 8:14
    For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
    Matthew 16:16
    Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
  5. Cross References
    Hosea 1:10
    Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," it shall be said to them, "Children of the living God.
  6. Cross References
    Isaiah 10:22 - 23
    For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.
    Hosea 1:10
    Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," it shall be said to them, "Children of the living God.
  7. Cross References
    Romans 11:5
    So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.
  8. Cross References
    Isaiah 10:22 - 23
    For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.
  9. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:9
    If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.
  10. Cross References
    James 5:4
    Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
  11. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 29:23
    The whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath -
    Isaiah 13:19
    And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
    Jeremiah 49:18
    As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, no man shall dwell there, no man shall sojourn in her.
    Jeremiah 50:40
    As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.
    Amos 4:11
    I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me," declares the Lord.
  12. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:9
    If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.
  13. Cross References
    Romans 10:20
    Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, "I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.
  14. Cross References
    Romans 1:17
    For in it the righteousness of God is revealed ...
    Romans 3:21 - 22
    But now the righteousness of God has been manif...
    Romans 10:6
    But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do ...
    Galatians 2:16
    Yet we know that a person is not justified by w...
    Galatians 3:24
    So then, the law was our guardian until Christ ...
    Philippians 3:9
    And be found in him, not having a righteousness...
    Hebrews 11:7
    By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning e...
  15. Cross References
    Romans 10:2 - 3
    For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
    Romans 11:7
    What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened.
  16. Cross References
    Galatians 5:4
    You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
  17. Cross References
    1 Peter 2:8
    And "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
  18. Cross References
    1 Peter 2:6 - 7
    For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.
    Isaiah 28:16
    Therefore thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: 'Whoever believes will not be in haste.
    Psalms 118:22
    The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
  19. Cross References
    Isaiah 8:14
    And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
  20. Cross References
    Romans 10:11
    For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.
  21. Cross References
    Isaiah 49:23
    Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord ; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.
    Joel 2:26 - 27
    You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
  22. Cross References
    Isaiah 28:16
    Therefore thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: 'Whoever believes will not be in haste.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.