Romans 9:3

Romans 9:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
• New International Version (NIV)For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race,
• English Standard Version (ESV)For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh,

Context of Romans 9:3

1I speak the truth in Christ — I am not lying; my conscience testifies to me through the Holy Spirit — 2that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the benefit of my brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood. 4They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, and the promises. 5The ancestors are theirs, and from them, by physical descent, came the Christ, who is God over all, praised forever. Amen.

Romans 9:3 word by word

ηὐχόμην γὰρ ἀνάθεμα εἶναι αὐτὸς ἐγὼ ἀπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου τῶν συγγενῶν μου κατὰ σάρκα·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• could wish thatεὔχομαιeuchomai · to pray/wish forG2172
• myselfαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• wereεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• accursedἀνάθεμαanathema · devotedG331
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
• forὑπέρhuper · above/forG5228
• brethrenἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• kinsmenσυγγενήςsuggenēs · kindredG4773
• according toκατάkata · according toG2596
• the fleshσάρξsarx · fleshG4561

Cross-references for Romans 9:3

• Exodus 32:32Now if you would only forgive their sin. But if not, please erase me from the book you have written.”
• Deuteronomy 21:23you are not to leave his corpse on the tree overnight but are to bury him that day, for anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
• Joshua 6:17But the city and everything in it are set apart to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone with her in the house will live, because she hid the messengers we sent.
• 1 Samuel 14:24and the men of Israel were worn out that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath: “The man who eats food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies is cursed.” So none of the troops tasted any food.
• Galatians 1:8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!
• Galatians 3:10For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed.
• Romans 11:1I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
• Genesis 29:14Laban said to him, “Yes, you are my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month,
• Esther 8:6For how could I bear to see the disaster that would come on my people? How could I bear to see the destruction of my relatives?”
• Acts 7:23“When he was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites.
• Acts 13:26“Brothers and sisters, children of Abraham’s race, and those among you who fear God, it is to us that the word of this salvation has been sent.

Commentaries on Romans 9:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ - This and the two preceding verses are thus paraphrased by Dr. Taylor: I am so far from insisting on the doctrine (of the rejection of the Jews) out of any ill-will to my countrymen, that I solemnly declare, in the sincerity of my heart, without the least fiction or dissimulation - and herein I have the testimony of my own conscience, enlightened and directed by the Spirit of God - that I am so far…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3I could wish that I myself were cursed: The Greek word anathema is used in the Greek Old Testament to translate a Hebrew expression that means “set apart for God.” In most cases, it has a negative meaning. It refers to something that is devoted to destruction as an offering to God (see Leviticus 27:28–29; Joshua 6:17–18; 7:1, 11–13; 22:20; 1 Samuel 15:3; 1 Chronicles 2:7). Paul knows that he cannot actually be cut off from Christ. His words express deep…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for--"in behalf of" my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh--In proportion as he felt himself severed from his nation, he seems to have realized all the more vividly their natural relationship. To explain away the wish here expressed, as too strong for any Christian to utter or conceive, some have rendered the opening words, "I did wish," referring it to his former unenlightened state; a…Read the comment
• Calvin’s Commentaries · v. 33. For I could wish, etc. He could not have expressed a greater ardour of love than by what he testifies here; for that is surely perfect love which refuses not to die for the salvation of a friend. But there is another word added, anathema, which proves that he speaks not only of temporal but of eternal death; and he explains its meaning when he says, from Christ, for it signifies a separation. And what is to be separated from Christ, but to be excluded…Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 9:3

• Love
• Suffering
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• Christ, Messiah
• Absalom
• Anathema
• Continual
• Fault
• Resist
• Bible, the
• Countryman
• Election

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