Romans 9:1-13 - Israel's Rejection

¹ I am telling [you] the truth in Christ [i.e., since I am a Christian]; I am not lying. My conscience, [confirmed] by the Holy Spirit, supports my statements [as true], ² that I have great sorrow and continual anguish in my heart. ³ For I could wish that I, personally, were cut off from Christ [and lost] for the sake of my brothers, who are my physical relatives, ⁴ the Israelites. These people are God's adopted children; they have [experienced] His glorious presence; they have [received] His Agreements; they have been given the law of Moses; they possess the [Temple] service and the promises [of God]. ⁵ They are descended from our forefathers; they are the ones from whom Christ was born physically. He is God over everything [Note: Or this may be "God is over everything"] and should be praised forever! May it be so.

⁶ But it is not as if the word of God [i.e., His promise to Israel] has failed [in its fulfillment]. For not all those descended from the Israelites are [truly] Israelites [i.e., God's people]. ⁷ Neither are all [Jewish] people children [of God], [simply] because they are Abraham's descendants. But [Gen. 21:12 says], "It is through Isaac that you [i.e., Abraham] will have descendants." ⁸ This means that it is not the physical descendants [of Abraham] who are God's children, but it is the children [born] according to [God's] promise who are [Abraham's true] descendants. ⁹ For these are the words of the promise [Gen. 18:10], "I [i.e., God] will come at the appointed time and Sarah will have a son." ¹⁰ And that is not all, but Rebecca also conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac. ¹¹ (OMITTED TEXT) ¹² For even before the twins were born, and therefore had not done anything good or bad, Rebecca was told [Gen. 25:23], "The older one [i.e., Esau] will serve the younger one [i.e., Jacob]." This was so that God's purpose of choosing and calling [whomever He wanted to] might prevail, instead of [it depending on] what a person did. ¹³ Just as it is written [Mal. 1:2-3], "I [i.e., God] loved Jacob, but hated Esau."