Romans 9:7-8

9:7 nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants; rather “through Isaac will your descendants be counted.” ¹  9:8 This means ²  it is not the children of the flesh ³  who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants.

Romans 9:25-26

9:25 As he also says in Hosea:

“I will call those who were not my people, ‘My people,’ and I will call her who was unloved, ⁴  ‘My beloved.’” ⁵ 

9:26 “And in the very place ⁶  where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’

there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’” ⁷ 

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¹ tn Grk “be called.” The emphasis here is upon God’s divine sovereignty in choosing Isaac as the child through whom Abraham’s lineage would be counted as opposed to Ishmael.

sn A quotation from Gen 21:12.

² tn Grk “That is,” or “That is to say.”

³ tn Because it forms the counterpoint to “the children of promise” the expression “children of the flesh” has been retained in the translation.

sn The expression the children of the flesh refers to the natural offspring.

⁴ tn Grk “and her who was not beloved, ‘Beloved.’”

⁵ sn A quotation from Hos 2:23.

⁶ tn Grk “And it will be in the very place.”

⁷ sn A quotation from Hos 1:10.