Romans 9:15

Romans 9:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For 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.
• New International Version (NIV)For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
• New King James Version (NKJV)For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)For God said to Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.”

Context of Romans 9:15

13As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." 14What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

Romans 9:15 word by word

τῷ Μωϋσεῖ γὰρ λέγει· ἐλεήσω ὃν ἂν ἐλεῶ καὶ οἰκτιρήσω ὃν ἂν οἰκτίρω.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ἄνan · ifG302
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• he saithλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• to MosesΜωϋσῆς, ΜωσῆςMōseus Mōsēs Mōusēs · MosesG3475
• I will have mercy onἐλεέωeleeō · to have mercyG1653
• whomὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• I will have compassion onοἰκτείρωoikteirō · to have compassionG3627

Cross-references for Romans 9:15

• Romans 9:16So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
• Exodus 33:19And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The Lord.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
• Exodus 34:6The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
• Isaiah 27:11When its boughs are dry, they are broken; women come and make a fire of them. For this is a people without discernment; therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them; he who formed them will show them no favor.
• Micah 7:18Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.

Commentaries on Romans 9:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy, etc. - The words of God to Moses, Exodus 33:19, show that God has a right to dispense his blessings as he pleases; for, after he had declared that he would spare the Jews of old, and continue them in the relation of his peculiar people, when they had deserved to have been cut off for their idolatry, he said: I will make all my goodness pass before thee; and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and I…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. 15This quotation from Exodus 33:19 emphasizes God's nature. God is not obligated or forced to show mercy to anyone. When God shows mercy, he does so freely, according to his own will.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. For he saith to Moses--(Ex 33:19). I will have mercy on whom I will have--"on whom I have" mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have--"on whom I have" compassion--"There can be no unrighteousness in God's choosing whom He will, for to Moses He expressly claims the right to do so." Yet it is worthy of notice that this is expressed in the positive rather than the negative form: not, "I will have mercy on none but whom I will"; but, "I will…Read the comment
• Calvin’s Commentaries · v. 1515. For he saith to Moses, etc. (The quotation is from Exodus 33:19, and literally from the Septuagint. The verb ἐλεέω is to be taken here in the sense of showing favour rather than mercy, according to the meaning of the Hebrew word; for the idea of mercy is what the other verb, οἰκτείρω, conveys. Schleusner renders it here and in some other passages in this sense. The rendering then would be — “I will favour whom I favour,” that is, whom I choose to…Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 9:15

• God Continued...
• Grace of God
• Predestination
• Quotations and Allusions

In the dictionaries

• Moses
• Continual
• Fault
• Resist
• Sovereignty
• Bible, the
• Compassion
• Election
• Paul, the Apostle
• Predestination

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