Psalms 18:19

18:19 He brought me out into a wide open place;

he delivered me because he was pleased with me. ¹ 

Deuteronomy 7:7-8

The Basis of Israel’s Election

7:7 It is not because you were more numerous than all the other peoples that the Lord favored and chose you – for in fact you were the least numerous of all peoples. 7:8 Rather it is because of his ²  love ³  for you and his faithfulness to the promise ⁴  he solemnly vowed ⁵  to your ancestors ⁶  that the Lord brought you out with great power, ⁷  redeeming ⁸  you from the place of slavery, from the power ⁹  of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Romans 9:18

9:18 So then, ¹⁰  God ¹¹  has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden. ¹² 

Romans 9:23-24

9:23 And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects ¹³  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?

¹ tn Or “delighted in me.”

² tn Heb “the Lord’s.” See note on “He” in 7:6.

³ tn For the verb אָהַב (’ahav, “to love”) as a term of choice or election, see note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.

⁴ tn Heb “oath.” This is a reference to the promises of the so-called “Abrahamic Covenant” (cf. Gen 15:13-16).

⁵ tn Heb “swore on oath.”

⁶ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 12, 13).

⁷ tn Heb “by a strong hand” (NAB similar); NLT “with such amazing power.”

⁸ sn Redeeming you from the place of slavery. The Hebrew verb translated “redeeming” (from the root פָּדָה, padah) has the idea of redemption by the payment of a ransom. The initial symbol of this was the Passover lamb, offered by Israel to the Lord as ransom in exchange for deliverance from bondage and death (Exod 12:1-14). Later, the firstborn sons of Israel, represented by the Levites, became the ransom (Num 3:11-13). These were all types of the redemption effected by the death of Christ who described his atoning work as “a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28; cf. 1 Pet 1:18).

⁹ tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NRSV), a metaphor for power or domination.

¹⁰ sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² tn Grk “So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.”

¹³ tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.