1 Ma räägin tõtt Kristuses, mina ei valeta mitte; seda tunnistab mulle mu südametunnistus Pühas Vaimus,
2 et mul on suur kurbus ja lõpmatu valu mu südames.
3 Sest ma sooviksin ise saada äraneetavaks, Kristusest lahku oma vendade heaks, kes on mu sugulased liha poolest,
4 kes on iisraellased, kellele kuuluvad lapseõigus ja au, ja lepingud ja käsuandmine, ja jumalateenistus ja tõotused,
5 kelle omad on esiisad ja kellest Kristus on pärit liha poolest, Tema, Kes on Jumal üle kõige, kiidetud igavesti! Aamen.
6 Aga ei või olla nõnda, et Jumala sõna oleks läinud tühja; sest mitte kõik need, kes põlvnevad Iisraelist, ei ole Iisrael;
7 ka ei ole kõik lapsed selle tõttu, et nad on Aabrahami sugu, vaid on öeldud: „Iisakist loetakse sinu sugu!"
8 See on: lihased lapsed, mitte need ei ole Jumala lapsed, vaid tõotuse lapsed arvatakse sooks.
9 Sest tõotuse sõna on see: „Ma tulen jälle aasta pärast samal ajal, ja Saaral saab olema poeg!"
10 Aga mitte ainult temaga, vaid ka Rebekaga oli samane lugu, kui ta ühest, see on meie esiisast Iisakist, sai käima peale.
11 Sest enne kui kaksikud olid sündinud ega olnud teinud midagi head ega halba, siis - selleks, et valikule vastav Jumala otsustus jääks kindlaks mitte tegude pärast, vaid kutsuja tõttu -
12 öeldi temale: „Vanem orjab nooremat!",
13 nagu ju on kirjutatud: „Jaakobit Ma armastasin, aga Eesavit Ma vihkasin!"
14 Mida me nüüd ütleme? Kas Jumal teeb ülekohut? Mitte sugugi!
15 Sest Ta ütleb Moosesele: „Ma olen armuline, kellele Ma olen armuline, ja halastan, kelle peale Ma halastan!"
16 Nõnda siis ei olene see sellest, kes tahab, ega sellest, kes jookseb, vaid Jumalast, kes armu annab.
17 Sest Kiri ütleb vaaraole: „Just selleks Ma olen sind õhutanud, et sinus näidata Oma väge ja teha kuulsaks Oma nime kogu maailmas!"
18 Nõnda Ta siis annab armu, kellele tahab, ja paadutab, keda tahab.
19 Sa ehk ütled nüüd mulle: „Miks Ta siis veel sõitleb? Kes võib vastu panna Tema tahtele?"
20 Oh inimene, nii see on! Kes siis sina oled, et sa tahad vaielda Jumala vastu? Kas see, mis tehtud, ütleb oma tegijale: „Miks sa mu nõnda tegid?"
21 Või ei ole potissepal meelevalda savi ühest ja samast segust teha ühe astja õilsaks, teise halvaks otstarbeks?
22 Eks Jumal, tahtes osutada Oma viha ja teha teatavaks Oma väge, suure pikameelega sallinud vihaastjaid, mis olid valmistatud hukatuseks,
23 ja teinud seda selleks, et ilmutada Oma au rikkust armuastjate vastu, mis Ta ette oli valmistanud aulisteks,
24 nõnda nagu Tema on kutsunud ka meid, mitte ainult juutide, vaid ka paganate seast?
25 Nõnda nagu Ta ütleb ka Hoosea raamatus: „Ma tahan hüüda Omaks rahvaks neid, kes ei olnud Mu rahvas, ja Oma armsaks seda, kes ei olnud Mulle armas;
26 ja sünnib, et seal paigas, kus neile öeldi: teie ei ole Minu rahvas! hüütakse neid elava Jumala lasteks!"
27 Aga Jesaja hüüab Iisraeli kohta: „Kuigi Iisraeli laste arv oleks otsekui mereliiv, pääseb sellest ainult jääk;
28 sest lõplikult ja kiiresti teostab Issand Oma sõna maa peal!"
29 Ja nõnda nagu Jesaja on ette öelnud: „Kui mitte vägede Issand ei oleks meile jätnud seemet, oleksime olnud nagu Soodom ja saanud Gomorra sarnaseks!"
30 Mis me siis nüüd ütleme? Seda, et paganad, kes õigust ei taotlenud, on kätte saanud õiguse, ent õiguse, mis tuleb usust.
31 Aga Iisrael, kes taotles õiguse käsku, ei ole käsku kätte saanud!
32 Mispärast? Sellepärast et taotlus ei olnud usust, vaid otsekui tegudest; nad tõukasid endid vastu komistuskivi,
33 nõnda nagu on kirjutatud: „Vaata, Ma panen Siionisse komistuskivi ja pahanduskalju; ja kes usub Temasse, ei jää häbisse!"
1 I say what is true in Christ, and not what is false, my mind giving witness with me in the Holy Spirit,
2 That I am full of sorrow and pain without end.
3 For I have a desire to take on myself the curse for my brothers, my family in the flesh:
4 Who are Israelites: who have the place of sons, and the glory, and the agreements with God, and the giving of the law, and the worship, and the hope offered by God:
5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom came Christ in the flesh, who is over all, God, to whom be blessing for ever. So be it.
6 But it is not as if the word of God was without effect. For they are not all Israel, who are of Israel:
7 And they are not all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, In Isaac will your seed be named.
8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh, but the children of God's undertaking, who are named as the seed.
9 For this is the word of God's undertaking, At this time will I come, and Sarah will have a son.
10 And not only so, but Rebecca being about to have a child by our father Isaac--
11 Before the children had come into existence, or had done anything good or bad, in order that God's purpose and his selection might be effected, not by works, but by him whose purpose it is,
12 It was said to her, The older will be the servant of the younger.
13 Even as it is said, I had love for Jacob, but for Esau I had hate.
14 What may we say then? is God not upright? let it not be said.
15 For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and pity on whom I will have pity.
16 So then, it is not by the desire or by the attempt of man, but by the mercy of God.
17 For the holy Writings say to Pharaoh, For this same purpose did I put you on high, so that I might make my power seen in you, and that there might be knowledge of my name through all the earth.
18 So then, at his pleasure he has mercy on a man, and at his pleasure he makes the heart hard.
19 But you will say to me, Why does he still make us responsible? who is able to go against his purpose?
20 But, O man, who are you, to make answer against God? May the thing which is made say to him who made it, Why did you make me so?
21 Or has not the potter the right to make out of one part of his earth a vessel for honour, and out of another a vessel for shame?
22 What if God, desiring to let his wrath and his power be seen, for a long time put up with the vessels of wrath which were ready for destruction:
23 And to make clear the wealth of his glory to vessels of mercy, which he had before made ready for glory,
24 Even us, who were marked out by him, not only from the Jews, but from the Gentiles?
25 As he says in Hosea, They will be named my people who were not my people, and she will be loved who was not loved.
26 And in the place where it was said to them, You are not my people, there they will be named the sons of the living God.
27 And Isaiah says about Israel, Even if the number of the children of Israel is as the sand of the sea, only a small part will get salvation:
28 For the Lord will give effect to his word on the earth, putting an end to it and cutting it short.
29 And, as Isaiah had said before, If the Lord of armies had not given us a seed, we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.
30 What then may we say? That the nations who did not go after righteousness have got righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith:
31 But Israel, going after a law of righteousness, did not get it.
32 Why? Because they were not searching for it by faith, but by works. They came up against the stone which was in the way;
33 As it is said, See, I am putting in Zion a stone causing a fall, and a rock in the way: but he who has faith in him will not be put to shame.