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Onyankopɔn ne ne manfo

Mereka nokware sɛ Kristoni, na m’ahonim a Honhom Kronkron di no adanse kyerɛ me sɛ minni atoro. Midi awerɛhow na mete daa yaw wɔ me koma mu ma me nkurɔfo.

Wɔn nti anka mepɛ sɛ Onyankopɔn nnome ba me so na ɔtew me fi Kristo ho. Wɔyɛ Onyankopɔn manfo a wɔayi wɔn de wɔn ayɛ ne mma de wɔn asan atena n’anuonyam mu. Ɔne wɔn hyɛɛ apam no na ɔde mmara no maa wɔn; ɔkyerɛɛ ɔkwan pa a wɔfa so som maa wɔn nsa kaa bɔhyɛ no. Wɔyɛ tete agyanom asefo na esiane sɛ Kristo bae onipasu so nti, ɔyɛ wɔn aseni. Ayeyi nka Onyankopɔn a ɔyɛ ade nyinaa so tumfo no daadaa. Amen.

Menka se Onyankopɔn bɔhyɛ no amma mu, efisɛ, ɛnyɛ Israelfo nyinaa na Onyankopɔn ayi wɔn sɛ ne manfo. Saa ara nso na ɛnyɛ Abraham asefo nyinaa na wɔyɛ Onyankopɔn mma. Onyankopɔn ka kyerɛɛ Abraham se, “Wo manfo befi Isak ase.” Eyi kyerɛ sɛ ɛnyɛ wɔn a wɔyɛ Abraham mma na mmom wɔn a wɔnam Onyankopɔn bɔhyɛ so woo wɔn no na wɔyɛ Abraham asefo turodoo.

Onyankopɔn nam saa bɔhyɛ nsɛm a ɛka se, “Ampa ara, mɛsan aba wo nkyɛn bio bere a ɛsɛ mu no, na wo yere Sara awo ɔba” no so na ɛhyɛɛ saa bɔ no.

10 Ɛnyɛ eyi nko. Rebeka mma baanu no nyinaa fi agya koro a ɔne yɛn agya Isak. 11 Na sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a Onyankopɔn nam ɔba baako so bɛma ne pɛ ada adi no nti, 12 ɔka kyerɛɛ Rebeka se, “Ɔpanyin no bɛsom akumaa no.” Ɔkaa eyi ansa na ɔrewo wɔn ama wɔayɛ papa anaa bɔne. Enti na Onyankopɔn pɛ no gyina ne frɛ a ɔfrɛɛ wɔn no so, na ɛnyɛ wɔn nneyɛe so, 13 sɛnea Kyerɛwsɛm no ka se, “Medɔɔ Yakob na metan Esau” no.

14 Afei asɛm bɛn na yɛbɛka? Sɛ Onyankopɔn nyɛ ɔnokwafo anaa? Dabida! 15 Efisɛ, ɔka kyerɛɛ Mose se, “Nea mepɛ no no na m’ahummɔbɔ bɛkɔ ne so.” 16 Eyi kyerɛ sɛ Onyankopɔn ahummɔbɔ no nnyina ɔpɛ a obi pɛ sɛ onya anaa ne nnwuma so, na mmom egyina Onyankopɔn ahummɔbɔ so.

17 Kyerɛwsɛm no mu, Onyankopɔn ka kyerɛɛ Farao se, “Eyi ara nti na misii wo hene nam so daa me tumi adi sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a, me tumi bɛda adi wɔ mmaa nyinaa.” 18 Eyi kyerɛ sɛ, Onyankopɔn hu nea ɔpɛ sɛ ohu no mmɔbɔ biara no mmɔbɔ, na nea ɔpɛ sɛ ɔyɛ den wɔ ne so no nso, ɔyɛ saa. 19 Afei, mo mu baako bebisa me se, “Sɛ saa na ɛte de a, ɛbɛyɛ dɛn na Onyankopɔn benya nnipa ho mfomso? Hena na obetumi asiw Onyankopɔn kwan n’apɛde ho?”

20 Onua, wone hena a wubetumi akasa akyerɛ Onyankopɔn? Kuku mmisa ne nwemfo se, “Adɛn nti na wonwenee me sɛɛ?” 21 Ɔnwemfo no wɔ ho kwan sɛ ɔde ɔbo no nwene nea ɔpɛ biara. Otumi nwene nkuku abien fi ɔbo tɔw mu, na ɔde mu baaka adi dwuma titiriw bi, na ɔde baako no nso ayɛ nea ɔpɛ biara. 22 Saa ara na ade biara a Onyankopɔn ayɛ no te. Ɔpɛ sɛ ɔda n’abufuw ne ne tumi adi. Enti ɔtɔɔ ne bo ase maa wɔn a anka ɔrebɛsɛe wɔn wɔ n’abufuw mu no. 23 Na ɔnam n’ahummɔbɔ so pɛe sɛ yenya n’anuonyam kɛse a wɔasiesie ama wɔn a wɔyɛ ne de no. 24 Ɛnyɛ wɔn a wɔfrɛɛ wɔn fii Yudafo mu nko na mmom, Amanamanmufo nso.

25 Wɔka wɔ Hosea nwoma mu se, “Mɛfrɛ wɔn a wɔnyɛ me man no me man, ne ɔman a mannɔ no no me dɔfo. 26 Na beae koro no ara a ɔkae se, ‘Monyɛ me man’ no, ɛhɔ ara na ɔbɛfrɛ wɔn se Onyankopɔn teasefo no mma.”

27 Na Yesaia dii Israelfo ho yaw se, “Sɛ Israelfo dɔɔso sɛ mpoano nhwea mpo a, wɔn mu kakraa bi na wɔbegye wɔn nkwa. 28 Efisɛ, Awurade bebu ntɛn asase so de awie biribiara.”

29 Sɛnea Yesaia kae se, “Sɛ Awurade tumfoɔ no annyaw yɛn akyifo bi a, anka yɛayɛ sɛ Sodom na yɛadan sɛ Gomora”.

30 Afei asɛm bɛn na yɛbɛka bio? Yɛbɛka se Amanamanmufo a wɔampɛ sɛ wɔde wɔn ho bɛta Onyankopɔn no nam gyidi so ma wɔfataa Onyankopɔn anim, 31 wɔ bere a wɔn a wɔayi wɔn no pɛe sɛ wɔnam mmara bi so fata Onyankopɔn anim no, wɔantumi. 32 Adɛn nti na ɛbaa saa? Efisɛ nea wɔyɛe no mfi gyidi mu na mmom efi nnwuma mu. Wohintiwii “hintibo” 33 a Kyerɛwsɛm no ka fa ho se, “Mede hintibo ne amanehunubo a ɛbɛma nnipa ahwe ase reto Sion na obiara a obegye no adi no, anim rengu ase da.”

Paul’s Anguish Over Israel

I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying,(A) my conscience confirms(B) it through the Holy Spirit— I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself(C) were cursed(D) and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people,(E) those of my own race,(F) the people of Israel.(G) Theirs is the adoption to sonship;(H) theirs the divine glory,(I) the covenants,(J) the receiving of the law,(K) the temple worship(L) and the promises.(M) Theirs are the patriarchs,(N) and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah,(O) who is God over all,(P) forever praised![a](Q) Amen.

God’s Sovereign Choice

It is not as though God’s word(R) had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.(S) Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”[b](T) In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children,(U) but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.(V) For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”[c](W)

10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac.(X) 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad(Y)—in order that God’s purpose(Z) in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”[d](AA) 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[e](AB)

14 What then shall we say?(AC) Is God unjust? Not at all!(AD) 15 For he says to Moses,

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
    and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”[f](AE)

16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.(AF) 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”[g](AG) 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.(AH)

19 One of you will say to me:(AI) “Then why does God still blame us?(AJ) For who is able to resist his will?”(AK) 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?(AL) “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,(AM) ‘Why did you make me like this?’”[h](AN) 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?(AO)

22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience(AP) the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?(AQ) 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory(AR) known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory(AS) 24 even us, whom he also called,(AT) not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?(AU) 25 As he says in Hosea:

“I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;
    and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”[i](AV)

26 and,

“In the very place where it was said to them,
    ‘You are not my people,’
    there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”[j](AW)

27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,(AX)
    only the remnant will be saved.(AY)
28 For the Lord will carry out
    his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”[k](AZ)

29 It is just as Isaiah said previously:

“Unless the Lord Almighty(BA)
    had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
    we would have been like Gomorrah.”[l](BB)

Israel’s Unbelief

30 What then shall we say?(BC) That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;(BD) 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness,(BE) have not attained their goal.(BF) 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.(BG) 33 As it is written:

“See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall,
    and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[m](BH)

Footnotes

  1. Romans 9:5 Or Messiah, who is over all. God be forever praised! Or Messiah. God who is over all be forever praised!
  2. Romans 9:7 Gen. 21:12
  3. Romans 9:9 Gen. 18:10,14
  4. Romans 9:12 Gen. 25:23
  5. Romans 9:13 Mal. 1:2,3
  6. Romans 9:15 Exodus 33:19
  7. Romans 9:17 Exodus 9:16
  8. Romans 9:20 Isaiah 29:16; 45:9
  9. Romans 9:25 Hosea 2:23
  10. Romans 9:26 Hosea 1:10
  11. Romans 9:28 Isaiah 10:22,23 (see Septuagint)
  12. Romans 9:29 Isaiah 1:9
  13. Romans 9:33 Isaiah 8:14; 28:16