Romans 9:31

Romans 9:31 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
• New International Version (NIV)but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal.
• English Standard Version (ESV)but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.
• New King James Version (NKJV)but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.

Context of Romans 9:31

29Isaiah had already said this: ‘The Lord of great power has let some of our children live. If he had not done that, no descendants would remain. We would have become like the people in Sodom and Gomorrah.’ 30So, we must think about what all this means. The Gentiles were not trying to become right with God. But some of them have now become right with him. God has accepted them as right, because they have believed in Jesus Christ. But Israel's people tried to find a law that would make them right with God. But they failed to become right with God. 32They failed because they refused to believe in Christ. Instead, they were trying to do certain things so that God would accept them. Because of that they fell to the ground. Their feet hit the stone which causes people to fall. 33It says this in the Bible: ‘Look, I am putting a special stone in Zion. That stone will cause people to fall to the ground. It is a rock that will make them fall down. But anyone who believes in him will never be disappointed.’

Romans 9:31 word by word

Ἰσραὴλ δὲ διώκων νόμον δικαιοσύνης εἰς νόμον οὐκ ἔφθασεν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• IsraelἸσραήλIsraēl · IsraelG2474
• which followed afterδιώκωdiōkō · to pursueG1377
• the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
• of righteousnessδικαιοσύνηdikaiosunē · righteousnessG1343
• hathφθάνωphthanō · to precede/arriveG5348
• notοὐou · noG3756
• toεἰςeis · towardG1519

Cross-references for Romans 9:31

• Romans 9:30So, we must think about what all this means. The Gentiles were not trying to become right with God. But some of them have now become right with him. God has accepted them as right, because they have believed in Jesus Christ.
• Romans 10:2I can say this about them: They really want to serve God well. But they do not understand the right way to do this.
• Galatians 3:21So should we say that God's Law works against God's promises? No, certainly that is not true! It is not possible for the rules of any law to give us life with God. If that could happen, then God would have accepted us as right if we obeyed those rules.
• Philippians 3:6I tried very much to please God. So I caused a lot of trouble and pain for the Christians. I obeyed the rules of God's Law, and nobody could say that I did anything wrong.
• Romans 3:20God's Law shows people clearly that they have done wrong things. Nobody can become right with God because they obey that Law.
• Romans 4:14People cannot get what God promised because they obey rules. If they could get it like that, then faith in God would be worth nothing. And what God promised would be worth nothing.
• Romans 11:7So we can say this: Israel's people did not all find what they were looking for. Only those people that God had chosen received it. But the other people of Israel became unable to understand God's message.
• Galatians 3:10But some people try to obey all the rules of God's Law. They think that they will become right with God if they do this very well. But God will speak against people like that and he will punish them. It is written in the Bible: ‘God will punish everyone who does not always obey all the rules in his Law completely.’
• Galatians 5:3I will say it very clearly. Every man who lets someone circumcise him must then obey all the Jewish rules.
• James 2:10Even if you fail to obey only one rule in God's Law, it means that you are guilty. It is the same as if you fail to obey all God's Law.

Commentaries on Romans 9:31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31But Israel, which followed after - But the Jews, who have hitherto been the people of God, though they have been industrious in observing a rule by which they supposed they could secure the blessings of God's peculiar kingdom, yet have not come up to the true and only rule by which those blessings can be secured.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 30-33Verses 30-33 The Gentiles knew not their guilt and misery, therefore were not careful to procure a remedy. Yet they attained to righteousness by faith. Not by becoming proselytes to the Jewish religion, and submitting to the ceremonial law; but by embracing Christ, and believing in him, and submitting to the gospel. The Jews talked much of justification and holiness, and seemed very ambitious to be the favourites of God. They sought, but not in the right…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 31who pursued a law of righteousness: The phrase law of righteousness is an idiom. It means trying to become righteous by obeying the law. Paul is describing people who believed that careful law-keeping could put them in a right relationship with God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 30-3130-31. What shall we say then?--"What now is the result of the whole?" The result is this--very different from what one would have expected. That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained--"attained" to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith--As we have seen that "the righteousness of faith" is the righteousness which justifies (see on Ro 3:22, &c.), this verse must mean that "the Gentiles, who while strangers to Christ…Read the comment
• Calvin’s Commentaries · v. 3131. But Israel, by pursuing, etc. Paul openly states what seemed incredible, — that it was no wonder that the Jews gained nothing by sedulously following after righteousness; for by running out of the way, they wearied themselves in vain. But in the first place it seems to me that the law of righteousness is here an instance of transposition, and means the righteousness of the law; (There seems to be no necessity for this transposition. “A law (not the…Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 9:31

• Faith
• Jesus Continued
• Justification
• Predestination
• Salvation
• Unbelief
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Continual
• Fault
• Resist
• Arrive
• Attain
• Bible, the
• 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