Romans 9:7-13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
7 nor are they all children of Abraham because they are his descendants; but “It is through Isaac that descendants shall bear your name.”(A) 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants.(B) 9 For this is the wording of the promise, “About this time I shall return and Sarah will have a son.”(C) 10 And not only that,(D) but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one husband, our father Isaac[a]— 11 before they had yet been born or had done anything, good or bad, in order that God’s elective plan might continue, 12 not by works but by his call—she was told, “The older shall serve the younger.”(E) 13 As it is written:(F)
“I loved Jacob
but hated Esau.”[b]
Footnotes
- 9:10 Children by one husband, our father Isaac: Abraham had two children, Ishmael and Isaac, by two wives, Hagar and Sarah, respectively. In that instance Isaac, although born later than Ishmael, became the bearer of the messianic promise. In the case of twins born to Rebecca, God’s elective procedure is seen even more dramatically, and again the younger, contrary to Semitic custom, is given the preference.
- 9:13 The literal rendering, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated,” suggests an attitude of divine hostility that is not implied in Paul’s statement. In Semitic usage “hate” means to love less; cf. Lk 14:26 with Mt 10:37. Israel’s unbelief reflects the mystery of the divine election that is always operative within it. Mere natural descent from Abraham does not ensure the full possession of the divine gifts; it is God’s sovereign prerogative to bestow this fullness upon, or to withhold it from, whomsoever he wishes; cf. Mt 3:9; Jn 8:39. The choice of Jacob over Esau is a case in point.
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