Romans 9:11-15

9:11 even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election ¹  would stand, not by works but by ²  his calling) ³  – 9:12 ⁴  it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,” ⁵  9:13 just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” ⁶ 

9:14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! 9:15 For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ⁷ 

Romans 9:18

9:18 So then, ⁸  God ⁹  has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden. ¹⁰ 

Romans 9:21

9:21 Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay ¹¹  one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use? ¹² 

¹ tn Grk “God’s purpose according to election.”

² tn Or “not based on works but based on…”

³ tn Grk “by the one who calls.”

⁴ sn Many translations place this verse division before the phrase “not by works but by his calling” (NA²⁷/UBS⁴, NIV, NRSV, NLT, NAB). Other translations place this verse division in the same place that the translation above does (NASB, KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV). The translation has followed the latter to avoid breaking the parenthetical statement.

⁵ sn A quotation from Gen 25:23.

⁶ sn A quotation from Mal 1:2-3.

⁷ sn A quotation from Exod 33:19.

⁸ 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.

⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Grk “So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.”

¹¹ tn Grk “Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make from the same lump.”

¹² tn Grk “one vessel for honor and another for dishonor.”