Christian Standard Bible
Romans 9:18
18So then, he has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
Romans 9:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
- New International Version (NIV)Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
- English Standard Version (ESV)So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
Context of Romans 9:18
16So then, it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy. 17For the Scripture tells Pharaoh, I raised you up for this reason so that I may display my power in you and that my name may be proclaimed in the whole earth. So then, he has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy and he hardens whom he wants to harden. 19You will say to me, therefore, “Why then does he still find fault? For who resists his will?” 20On the contrary, who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”
Read all of Romans 9Romans 9:18 word by word
ἄρα οὖν ὃν θέλει ἐλεεῖ, ὃν δὲ θέλει σκληρύνει.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Romans 9:18
- Romans 9:15For he tells Moses, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
- Romans 5:20The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more
- Ephesians 1:6to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.
- Romans 1:24Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves.
- Romans 11:7What then? Israel did not find what it was looking for, but the elect did find it. The rest were hardened,
- Exodus 4:21The Lord instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, make sure you do before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he won’t let the people go.
- Exodus 7:13However, Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
- Deuteronomy 2:30But King Sihon of Heshbon would not let us travel through his land, for the Lord your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to hand him over to you, as has now taken place.
- Joshua 11:20For it was the Lord’s intention to harden their hearts, so that they would engage Israel in battle, be completely destroyed without mercy, and be annihilated, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
- Isaiah 63:17Why, Lord, do you make us stray from your ways? You harden our hearts so we do not fear you. Return, because of your servants, the tribes of your heritage.
- Matthew 13:14Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You will listen and listen, but never understand; you will look and look, but never perceive.
- Acts 28:26when he said, Go to these people and say: You will always be listening, but never understanding; and you will always be looking, but never perceiving.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:10and with every wicked deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth and so be saved.
Commentaries on Romans 9:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will - This is the apostle's conclusion from the facts already laid down: that God, according to his own will and wisdom, in perfect righteousness, bestows mercy; that is to say, his blessings upon one part of mankind, (the Jews of old, and the Gentiles of the present time), while he suffers another part (the Egyptians of old, and the Jews of the present day) to go on in the abuse of his goodness and forbearance…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-24Verses 14-24 Whatever God does, must be just. Wherein the holy, happy people of God differ from others, God's grace alone makes them differ. In this preventing, effectual, distinguishing grace, he acts as a benefactor, whose grace is his own. None have deserved it; so that those who are saved, must thank God only; and those who perish, must blame themselves only, Hos 13:9. God is bound no further than he has been pleased to bind himself by his own…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18He hardens whom He wants to harden: Pharaoh refused to let Israel leave because his heart became hard. A hard heart describes stubborn resistance to God. It means refusing to listen or change, even after seeing clear signs of God’s power. The book of Exodus says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Exodus 9:12). It also says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Exodus 8:15). Together, these statements show that Pharaoh was responsible for his actions, even…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. Therefore hath he--"So then he hath." The result then is that He hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth--by judicially abandoning them to the hardening influence of sin itself (Psa 81:11, 12; Ro 1:24, 26, 28; He 3:8, 13), and of the surrounding incentives to it (Mt 24:12; 1Co 15:38; 2Th 2:17). Second objection to the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty:Read the comment
- Calvin’s Commentaries · v. 1818. To whom he wills then he showeth mercy, etc. Here follows the conclusion of both parts; which can by no means be understood as being the language of any other but of the Apostle; for he immediately addresses an opponent, and adduces what might have been objected by an opposite party. There is therefore no doubt but that Paul, as we have already reminded you, speaks these things in his own person, namely, that God, according to his own will, favors…Read the comment
Topics related to Romans 9:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Romans 9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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