- 1I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
- 2That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
- 3For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
- 4Who 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;
- 5Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
- 6Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
- 7Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
- 8That 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.
- 9For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.
- 10And 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;)
- 12It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
- 13As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
- 14What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
- 15For 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.
- 16So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
- 17For 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.
- 18Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
- 19Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
- 20Nay 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?
- 21Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
- 22What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
- 23And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
- 24Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
- 25As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
- 26And 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.
- 27Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
- 28For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
- 29And 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.
- 30What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
- 31But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
- 32Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
- 33As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
KING JAMES VERSION
ROMANS 9
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
Romans 9 — Paul sorrows for Israel while defending God’s freedom in promise, mercy, calling, and the preservation of a believing remnant.
About this illustration
Paul’s grief, patriarchal tents, clay vessels, remnant, and Zion stone combine the chapter’s historical references and metaphors. The vessels do not portray particular people as visibly damned, and the composition does not attempt to settle debates about election beyond Paul’s stated contrasts.
Scripture basis: Romans 9:1–33King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
3rd Century
Papyrus P27: Romans 8:33–39 in a Greek Witness
P27, P.Oxy. XI 1355 at Cambridge, is a third-century papyrus leaf preserving substantial portions of Romans 8–9, including Paul's assurance that nothing separates believers from God's love.
Romans 8:12–22 · Romans 8:24–27 · Romans 8:33–39
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
3rd Century
Papyrus P131: Romans 8:17–19, 32–33; 9:18–22, 32–33; 10:1–4 in a Greek Witness
Papyrus P131 is a third-century Greek copy of Romans reconstructed from Oxyrhynchus fragments whose modern reunification exposed both early Pauline text and the importance of collection history.
Romans 8:17–19 · Romans 8:32–33 · Romans 9:18–22
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
third century AD (palaeographic estimate)
Papyrus P40: Romans 1–4, 6, and 9
P. Heid. Inv. G 645, Gregory-Aland P40, is a third-century Greek papyrus codex represented by ten fragments preserving substantial portions of Romans 1–4, 6, and 9.
Romans 1:24–27 · Romans 1:31–32 · Romans 2:1–3
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArtifact
AD 96–97
Nerva’s FISCI IVDAICI CALVMNIA SVBLATA Sestertius
A bronze sestertius of Emperor Nerva proclaims that the abuse or reproach of the Jewish tax had been removed. Issued in AD 96–97, the type is direct imperial evidence for the continuing fiscal consequences of Rome’s destruction of Jerusalem and Nerva’s public reform.
Matthew 24:1–2 · Romans 2:17–29 · Romans 9:1–5
Prophecy Events
PROPHECY EVENTFulfilled
28
Isaiah 28:16The Tested and Precious Cornerstone
Isaiah says God lays a tested, precious cornerstone in Zion as the sure foundation for those who trust him.
CovenantcornerstoneZionfoundationfaith
PROPHECY EVENTFulfilled
Isaiah 8:13–15The Stone of Stumbling
Isaiah says the Lord will be a sanctuary yet also a stone over which many in Israel stumble.
JudgmentstonestumblingIsraelMessiah
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