who, as regards His human descent, belonged to the posterity of David,

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or consider Him worth knowing [as their Creator], God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do things which are improper and repulsive,

But if so, what can we say about Abraham, our forefather by natural descent?

For I could almost wish to be cursed and cut off from the Messiah for the benefit of my brothers, my own flesh and blood.

To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to His natural descent, came the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), He who is exalted and supreme over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

they are not all children of Abraham because they are descended from Abraham. No, it is through Isaac that your offspring shall be reckoned ??8 meaning that instead of God's children being the children born to him by natural descent, it is the children of the Promise who are reckoned as his true offspring.

That is, [it is] not the children {by human descent} [who are] children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants.

But the righteousness by faith speaks thus; Say not in your mind, who shall ascend into heaven???hat is, to bring Christ down,??7 or who shall descend into the abyss???hat is, to bring Christ up from the dead.

Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)