Romans 9

¹I seie treuthe in Crist Jhesu, Y lye not, for my conscience berith witnessyng to me in the Hooli Goost,

²for greet heuynesse is to me, and contynuel sorewe to my herte.

³For Y my silf desiride to be departid fro Crist for my britheren, that ben my cosyns aftir the fleisch, that ben men of Israel;

⁴whos is adopcioun of sones, and glorie, and testament, and yyuyng of the lawe, and seruyce, and biheestis;

⁵whos ben the fadris, and of which is Crist after the fleisch, that is God aboue alle thingis, blessid in to worldis.

⁶Amen. But not that the word of God hath falle doun. For not alle that ben of Israel, these ben Israelitis.

⁷Nethir thei that ben seed of Abraham, `alle ben sonys; but in Ysaac the seed schal be clepid to thee;

⁸that is to seie, not thei that ben sones of the fleisch, ben sones of God, but thei that ben sones of biheeste ben demed in the seed.

⁹For whi this is the word of biheest, Aftir this tyme Y schal come, and a sone schal be to Sare.

¹⁰And not oneli sche, but also Rebecca hadde twey sones of o liggyng bi of Ysaac, oure fadir.

¹¹And whanne thei weren not yit borun, nether hadden don ony thing of good ether of yuel, that the purpos of God schulde dwelle bi eleccioun,

¹²not of werkis, but of God clepynge, it was seid to hym,

¹³that the more schulde serue the lesse, as it is writun, Y louede Jacob, but Y hatide Esau.

¹⁴What therfor schulen we seie? Whether wickidnesse be anentis God?

¹⁵God forbede. For he seith to Moyses, Y schal haue merci on whom Y haue merci; and Y schal yyue merci on whom Y schal haue merci.

¹⁶Therfor it is not nether of man willynge, nethir rennynge, but of God hauynge mercy.

¹⁷And the scripture seith to Farao, For to this thing Y haue stirid thee, that Y schewe in thee my vertu, and that my name be teld in al erthe.

¹⁸Therfor of whom God wole, he hath merci; and whom he wole, he endurith.

¹⁹Thanne seist thou to me, What is souyt yit? for who withstondith his wille?

²⁰O! man, who art thou, that answerist to God? Whether a maad thing seith to hym that made it, What hast thou maad me so?

²¹Whether a potter of cley hath not power to make of the same gobet o vessel in to honour, an othere in to dispit?

²²That if God willynge to schewe his wraththe, and to make his power knowun, hath suffrid in greet pacience vessels of wraththe able in to deth,

²³to schewe the riytchessis of his glorie in to vessels of merci, whiche he made redi in to glorie.

²⁴Whiche also he clepide not oneli of Jewis, but also of hethene men, as he seith in Osee,

²⁵Y schal clepe not my puple my puple, and not my loued my louyd, and not getynge mercy getynge merci;

²⁶and it schal be in the place, where it is seid to hem, Not ye my puple, there thei schulen be clepid the sones of `God lyuynge.

²⁷But Isaye crieth for Israel, If the noumbre of Israel schal be as grauel of the see, the relifs schulen be maad saaf.

²⁸Forsothe a word makynge an ende, and abreggynge in equyte, for the Lord schal make a word breggid on al the erthe.

²⁹And as Ysaye bifor seide, But God of oostis hadde left to vs seed, we hadden be maad as Sodom, and we hadden be lijk as Gommor.

³⁰Therfor what schulen we seie? That hethene men that sueden not riytwisnesse, han gete riytwisnesse, yhe, the riytwisnesse that is of feith.

³¹But Israel suynge the lawe of riytwisnesse, cam not parfitli in to the lawe of riytwisnesse.

³²Whi? For not of feith, but as of werkys. And thei spurneden ayens the stoon of offencioun,

³³as it is writun, Lo! Y putte a stoon of offensioun in Syon, and a stoon of sclaundre; and ech that schal bileue `in it, schal not be confoundid.

Romans 9

¹I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,

²That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.

³For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

⁴Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;

⁵Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

⁶Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:

⁷Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.

⁸That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

⁹For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.

¹⁰And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;

¹¹(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

¹²It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

¹³As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

¹⁴What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

¹⁵For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

¹⁶So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

¹⁷For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

¹⁸Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

¹⁹Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

²⁰Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

²¹Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

²²What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:

²³And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

²⁴Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

²⁵As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.

²⁶And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.

²⁷Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:

²⁸For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

²⁹And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.

³⁰What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.

³¹But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

³²Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

³³As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.