Romans 9:4

Romans 9:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
• New International Version (NIV)the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.
• New King James Version (NKJV)who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises;

Context of Romans 9:4

2My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief 3for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them. They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. 5Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 6Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people!

Romans 9:4 word by word

οἵτινές εἰσιν Ἰσραηλῖται, ὧν ἡ υἱοθεσία καὶ ἡ δόξα καὶ αἱ διαθῆκαι καὶ ἡ νομοθεσία καὶ ἡ λατρεία καὶ αἱ ἐπαγγελίαι,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whoὅστιςhostis hētis ho6ti · who/whichG3748
• areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• IsraelitesἸσραηλίτηςIsraēlitēs · IsraeliteG2475
• to whomὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• the adoptionὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the adoptionυἱοθεσίαuihothesia · adoption (as son)G5206
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• the gloryδόξαdoxa · gloryG1391
• the covenantsδιαθήκηdiathēkē · covenantG1242
• the giving of the lawνομοθεσίαnomothesia · lawG3548
• the serviceλατρείαlatreia · ministryG2999
• the promisesἐπαγγελίαepaggelia · promiseG1860

Cross-references for Romans 9:4

• Romans 9:6Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people!
• Genesis 32:28“Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.”
• Exodus 19:3Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel:
• Deuteronomy 7:6For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.
• Psalms 73:1Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure.
• Isaiah 41:8“But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from Abraham my friend,
• Isaiah 46:3“Listen to me, descendants of Jacob, all you who remain in Israel. I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born.
• John 1:47As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”
• Exodus 4:22Then you will tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son.
• Deuteronomy 14:1“Since you are the people of the Lord your God, never cut yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead.
• Jeremiah 31:9Tears of joy will stream down their faces, and I will lead them home with great care. They will walk beside quiet streams and on smooth paths where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my oldest child.
• Hosea 11:1“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt.
• Numbers 7:89Whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. The Lord spoke to him from there.
• 1 Samuel 4:21She named the child Ichabod (which means “Where is the glory?”), for she said, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and husband were dead.
• 1 Kings 8:11The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord.
• Psalms 63:2I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory.

Commentaries on Romans 9:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Who are Israelites - Descendants of Jacob, a man so highly favored of God, and from whom he received his name Israel - a prince of God, Genesis 32:28; from which name his descendants were called Israelites, and separated unto God for his glory and praise. Their very name of Israelites implied their very high dignity; they were a royal nation; princes of the most high God. The adoption - The Israelites were all taken into the family of God, and were called…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Up to this point in Romans, Paul has called the Jewish people Jews. Here, and throughout most of 9–11, he shifts to the phrase the people of Israel. This change is important. Jew mainly points to national or ethnic identity. Israel emphasizes the special covenant relationship between the people and God. the adoption as sons: The Old Testament often calls Israel God’s son or child. This language shows that God chose Israel to belong to him (for example…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Who are Israelites--See Ro 11:1; 2Co 11:22; Php 3:5. to whom pertaineth--"whose is" the adoption--It is true that, compared with the new economy, the old was a state of minority and pupilage, and so far that of a bond-servant (Ga 4:1-3); yet, compared with the state of the surrounding heathen, the choice of Abraham and his seed was a real separation of them to be a Family of God (Ex 4:22; De 32:6; Is 1:2; Jr 31:9; Ho 11:1; Mal 1:6). and the glory--that…Read the comment
• Calvin’s Commentaries · v. 44. Who are Israelites, etc. Here the reason is now more plainly given, why the destruction of that people caused him so much anguish, that he was prepared to redeem them by his own death, namely because they were Israelites; for the relative pronoun is put here instead of a causative adverb. In like manner this anxiety took hold on Moses, when he desired that he should be blotted out of the book of life, rather than that the holy and chosen race of…Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 9:4

• Church
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Adoption
• Baptism, Christian
• Continual
• Election of Grace
• Fault
• Resist
• Bible, the
• Children of God

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