Romans 9:22-30

9:22 But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects¹ of wrath² prepared for destruction?³ 9:23 And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects⁴ of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory – 9:24 even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 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,⁵ ‘My beloved.’”⁶

9:26 “And in the very place⁷ where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’

there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”⁸

9:27 And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, “Though the number of the children⁹ of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved, 9:28 for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth completely and quickly.”¹⁰ 9:29 Just¹¹ as Isaiah predicted,

“If the Lord of armies¹² had not left us descendants,

we would have become like Sodom,

and we would have resembled Gomorrah.”¹³

Israel’s Rejection Culpable

9:30 What shall we say then? – that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith,

¹tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.

²tn Or “vessels destined for wrath.” The genitive ὀργῆς (orghs) could be taken as a genitive of destination.

³tn Or possibly “objects of wrath that have fit themselves for destruction.” The form of the participle could be taken either as a passive or middle (reflexive). ExSyn 417-18 argues strongly for the passive sense (which is followed in the translation), stating that “the middle view has little to commend it.” First, καταρτίζω (katartizw) is nowhere else used in the NT as a direct or reflexive middle (a usage which, in any event, is quite rare in the NT). Second, the lexical force of this verb, coupled with the perfect tense, suggests something of a “done deal” (against some commentaries that see these vessels as ready for destruction yet still able to avert disaster). Third, the potter-clay motif seems to have one point: The potter prepares the clay.

⁴tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.

⁵tn Grk “and her who was not beloved, ‘Beloved.’”

⁶sn A quotation from Hos 2:23.

⁷tn Grk “And it will be in the very place.”

⁸sn A quotation from Hos 1:10.

⁹tn Grk “sons.”

¹⁰tc In light of the interpretive difficulty of this verse, a longer reading seems to have been added to clarify the meaning. The addition, in the middle of the sentence, makes the whole verse read as follows: “For he will execute his sentence completely and quickly in righteousness, because the Lord will do it quickly on the earth.” The shorter reading is found largely in Alexandrian mss (Ì⁴⁶ א* A B 6 1506 1739 1881 pc co), while the longer reading is found principally in Western and Byzantine mss (א² D F G Ψ 33 Ï lat). The longer reading follows Isa 10:22-23 (LXX) verbatim, while Paul in the previous verse quoted the LXX loosely. This suggests the addition was made by a copyist trying to make sense out of a difficult passage rather than by the author himself.

tn There is a wordplay in Greek (in both the LXX and here) on the phrase translated “completely and quickly” (συντελῶν καὶ συντέμνων, suntelwn kai suntemnwn). These participles are translated as adverbs for smoothness; a more literal (and more cumbersome) rendering would be: “The Lord will act by closing the account [or completing the sentence], and by cutting short the time.” The interpretation of this text is notoriously difficult. Cf. BDAG 975 s.v. συντέμνω.

sn A modified quotation from Isa 10:22-23. Since it is not exact, it has been printed as italics only.

¹¹tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹²tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts”; Grk “Lord Sabaoth,” which means “Lord of the [heavenly] armies,” sometimes translated more generally as “Lord Almighty.”

¹³sn A quotation from Isa 1:9.