Romans 9:1-13 - Israel's Rejection

¹ I am telling the truth as a Christian man. I am telling no lie, because my conscience enlightened by the Holy Spirit is bearing me witness to this fact, ² that I have deep grief and constant anguish in my heart; ³ for I could wish myself accursed, even cut off from Christ, for the sake of my brothers, my natural kinsmen. ⁴ For they are Israelites; to them belong the privileges of sonship, God's glorious presence, the special covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, the promises, ⁵ the patriarchs, and from them by natural descent the Christ has come, who is exalted over all, God blessed forever. Amen!

⁶ But it is not that God's word has failed. For not everybody that is descended from Israel really belongs to Israel, ⁷ nor are they all children of Abraham, because they are his descendants, but the promise was "In the line of Isaac your descendants will I be counted." ⁸ That is, it is not Abraham's natural descendants who are God's children, but those who are made children by the promise are counted his true descendants. ⁹ For this is the language of the promise, "About this time next year I will come back, and Sarah will have a son." ¹⁰ Not only that but this too: There was Rebecca who was impregnated by our forefather Isaac. ¹¹ For even before the twin sons were born, and though they had done nothing either good or bad, that God's purpose in accordance with His choice might continue to stand, conditioned not on men's actions but on God's calling them, ¹² she was told, "The elder will be a slave to the younger." ¹³ As the Scripture says, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated."