Darby Bible
Romans 9:18
18So then, to whom he will he shews mercy, and whom he will he hardens.
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 is] not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shews mercy. 17For the scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very thing I have raised thee up from amongst [men], that I might thus shew in thee my power, and so that my name should be declared in all the earth. So then, to whom he will he shews mercy, and whom he will he hardens. 19Thou wilt say to me then, Why does he yet find fault? for who resists his purpose? 20Aye, but thou, O man, who art thou that answerest again to God? Shall the thing formed say to him that has formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Read all of Romans 9Romans 9:18 word by word
ἄρα οὖν ὃν θέλει ἐλεεῖ, ὃν δὲ θέλει σκληρύνει.¶Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Romans 9:18
- Romans 9:15For he says to Moses, I will shew mercy to whom I will shew mercy, and I will feel compassion for whom I will feel compassion.
- Romans 5:20But law came in, in order that the offence might abound; but where sin abounded grace has overabounded,
- Ephesians 1:6to [the] praise of [the] glory of his grace, wherein he has taken us into favour in the Beloved:
- Romans 1:24Wherefore God gave them up [also] in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, to dishonour their bodies between themselves:
- Romans 11:7What [is it] then? What Israel seeks for, that he has not obtained; but the election has obtained, and the rest have been blinded,
- Exodus 4:21And Jehovah said to Moses, When thou goest to return to Egypt, see that thou do all the wonders before Pharaoh that I have put in thy hand. And I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
- Exodus 7:13And Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, and he hearkened not to them, as Jehovah had said.
- Deuteronomy 2:30But Sihon the king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for Jehovah thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obdurate, that he might give him into thy hand, as it is this day.
- Joshua 11:20For it was of Jehovah that their heart was hardened, to meet Israel in battle, that they might be utterly destroyed, and that there might be no favour shewn to them, but that they might be destroyed, as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
- Isaiah 63:17Why, O Jehovah, hast thou made us to err from thy ways, hast hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
- Matthew 13:14and in them is filled up the prophecy of Esaias, which says, Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and beholding ye shall behold and not see;
- Acts 28:26saying, Go to this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear and not understand, and seeing ye shall see and not perceive.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:10and in all deceit of unrighteousness to them that perish, because they have not received the love of the truth that they might 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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