Romans 9:8,26
Romans 9:6-9 The Message (MSG)
Don’t suppose for a moment, though, that God’s Word has malfunctioned in some way or other. The problem goes back a long way. From the outset, not all Israelites of the flesh were Israelites of the spirit. It wasn’t Abraham’s sperm that gave identity here, but God’s promise. Remember how it was put: “Your family will be defined by Isaac”? That means that Israelite identity was never racially determined by sexual transmission, but it was God-determined by promise. Remember that promise, “When I come back next year at this time, Sarah will have a son”?
Romans 9:20-33 The Message (MSG)
Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn’t talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, “Why did you shape me like this?” Isn’t it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? If God needs one style of pottery especially designed to show his angry displeasure and another style carefully crafted to show his glorious goodness, isn’t that all right? Either or both happens to Jews, but it also happens to the other people. Hosea put it well: I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved. In the place where they yelled out, “You’re nobody!” they’re calling you “God’s living children.” Isaiah maintained this same emphasis: If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered and the sum labeled “chosen of God,” They’d be numbers still, not names; salvation comes by personal selection. God doesn’t count us; he calls us by name. Arithmetic is not his focus. Isaiah had looked ahead and spoken the truth: If our powerful God had not provided us a legacy of living children, We would have ended up like ghost towns, like Sodom and Gomorrah. How can we sum this up? All those people who didn’t seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their “God projects” that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling. Isaiah (again!) gives us the metaphor for pulling this together: Careful! I’ve put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion, a stone you can’t get around. But the stone is me! If you’re looking for me, you’ll find me on the way, not in the way.
Romans 9:8 King James Version (KJV)
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.
Romans 9:26 King James Version (KJV)
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.
Romans 9:8 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.
Romans 9:26 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
“AND IT SHALL BE THAT IN THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS SAID TO THEM, ‘YOU ARE NOT MY PEOPLE,’ THERE THEY SHALL BE CALLED SONS OF THE LIVING GOD.”
Romans 9:8 New Century Version (NCV)
This means that not all of Abraham’s descendants are God’s true children. Abraham’s true children are those who become God’s children because of the promise God made to Abraham.
Romans 9:26 New Century Version (NCV)
“They were called, ‘You are not my people,’ but later they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ ”
Romans 9:8 American Standard Version (ASV)
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.
Romans 9:26 American Standard Version (ASV)
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.
Romans 9:8 New International Version (NIV)
In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.
Romans 9:26 New International Version (NIV)
and, “In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ ”
Romans 9:8 New King James Version (NKJV)
That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
Romans 9:26 New King James Version (NKJV)
“And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
Romans 9:8 Amplified Bible (AMP)
That is, it is not the children of the body [Abraham’s natural descendants] who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are counted as [Abraham’s true] descendants.
Romans 9:26 Amplified Bible (AMP)
“AND IT SHALL BE THAT IN THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS SAID TO THEM, ‘YOU ARE NOT MY PEOPLE,’ THERE THEY SHALL BE CALLED SONS OF THE LIVING GOD.” [Hos 1:10]
Romans 9:8 New Living Translation (NLT)
This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children.
Romans 9:26 New Living Translation (NLT)
And, “Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”
Romans 9:8 The Passion Translation (TPT)
This confirms that it is not merely the natural offspring of Abraham who are considered the children of God; rather, the children born because of God’s promise are counted as descendants.
Romans 9:26 The Passion Translation (TPT)
And: “In the place where they were told, ‘You are nobody,’ this will be the very place where they will be renamed ‘Children of the living God.’ ”