the Week of Proper 20 / Ordinary 25
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New Living Translation
Romans 9:16
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It's God's mercy to give and he'll give it the way he chooses. We can't choose for him nor can we be good enough to get it.
So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
So then it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who has mercy.
So then, it is not by the desire or by the attempt of man, but by the mercy of God.
So then [it is] not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shews mercy.
So then it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy.
So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy.
It is not therefore of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
And from this we learn that everything is dependent not on man's will or endeavour, but upon God who has mercy. For the Scripture said to Pharaoh,
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
So, then, it is not of the one willing, nor of the one running, but of the One showing mercy, of God.
on who I haue compassion. So lyeth it not then in eny mans wyll or runnynge, but in the mercy of God.
so that this is a matter not dependent on him that wills or runs, but on God, who shews mercy.
So then God's choice is not dependent on human will, nor on human effort [the totality of human striving], but on God who shows mercy [to whomever He chooses—it is His sovereign gift].
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy.
So it depends not upon man's will or exertion, but upon God's mercy.
So lieth it not then in a mans will or cunnynge but in ye mercye of god.
So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that has mercy.
So then, [it is] not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
so, then -- not of him who is willing, nor of him who is running, but of God who is doing kindness:
So God will choose the one to whom he decides to show mercy; his choice does not depend on what people want or try to do.
So then, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.
So then, it does not depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.
Everything then depends on God's mercy and not on what people want or do.
Thus it doesn't depend on human desires or efforts, but on God, who has mercy.
So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
So then it is not in him that willeth, nor in him that runneth, but in God yt sheweth mercy.
Therefore, it is not within reach of him who wishes, nor within the reach of him who runs, but it is within the reach of the merciful God.
So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy.
Therefore, God's choiceit">[fn] does not depend on a person's will or effort, but on God himself, who shows mercy.
Therefore it is not by him who willeth, nor by him who runneth, but by Aloha the Merciful.
Therefore, it is not of him who is willing, nor of him who runneth, but of the merciful God.
So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
These good things from God are not given to someone because he wants them or works to get them. They are given because of His loving-kindness.
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy.
So it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.
Hence, then, it is nor of him that wisheth nor of him that runneth, but of the mercy-shewing God.
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Consequently therefore, it does not depend on the one who wills or on the one who runs, but on God who shows mercy.
So then it is not of the wyller, nor of the runner: but of the mercy of God.
So God will choose anyone he decides to show mercy to, and his choice does not depend on what people want or try to do.
So then, it does not depend on the person who wants it nor the one who runs, but on God who has mercy.
So then, everything depends, not on what we humans want or do, but only on God's mercy.
Therfor it is not nether of man willynge, nethir rennynge, but of God hauynge mercy.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Romans 9:11, Genesis 27:1-4, Genesis 27:9-14, Psalms 110:3, Isaiah 65:1, Matthew 11:25, Matthew 11:26, Luke 10:21, John 1:12, John 1:13, John 3:8, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Ephesians 2:4, Ephesians 2:5, Philippians 2:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:14, Titus 3:3-5, James 1:18, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 Peter 2:10
Reciprocal: Genesis 19:16 - the Lord Genesis 45:8 - it was not Exodus 11:9 - Pharaoh Acts 11:17 - as God Acts 16:14 - whose Romans 9:15 - I will have Romans 9:18 - hath 1 Corinthians 4:7 - who Ephesians 2:9 - General Titus 3:5 - by works
Cross-References
I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables.
But you must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it.
Then God told Noah and his sons,
"I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants,
and with all the animals that were on the boat with you—the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals—every living creature on earth.
Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth."
One day he drank some wine he had made, and he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent.
Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and went outside and told his brothers.
"I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
So then it is not of him that willeth,.... This is not a consequence drawn by an adversary, showing that if this be the case, it signifies nothing for men to will or do, they may even sit still and do nothing, but depend on the mercy of God; but this is a conclusion of the apostle's from the above cited testimony, inferring from thence, that election, which is what he is discoursing of, is "not of him that willeth",
nor of him that runneth: that is, is not owing to the will or works of men, to the desires, inclinations, and affections of their minds, or to the actions of their lives; these are not the motives, conditions, or causes of this act:
but of God that sheweth mercy; in a free sovereign way and manner, which he is not obliged to by anything the creature wills or works; he is at full liberty, notwithstanding whatever they will or do, to give his grace and mercy, when, where, and to whom he pleases; and therefore to give it to some, and deny it to others, can never be accounted an act of injustice, since he is not bound to give it to any. Some make the it to be the blessing of Isaac, which was not of the will of any of the parties concerned; not of Isaac who willed it to Esau; nor of Esau who willed it to himself, but had it not; nor of the will of the persons who had their desires, not of the will of Rebecca, who was desirous of it for her son Jacob, nor of the will of Jacob, who desired it for himself, though he had it; nor of either of them that ran, not of Esau, who made haste to hunt for, and prepare venison for his father, nor of Jacob, who ran to the flock, for two kids of the goats; but of God that showed mercy to him, who, according to his sovereign will and pleasure, had signified before to Rebecca, that "the elder should serve the younger", Genesis 25:23: as the apostle had mentioned this so lately, it might still be in his thoughts, and he may allude to it; but election being what he is discoursing of in the context, that is the "it" here designed; and what is true of that, is true of salvation in all its parts, and therefore some understand it in the large sense of salvation; though by others so qualified and limited, as to spoil the glory of the text: some saying that the sense is, it is not of him that willeth and runneth wrong, but of the grace and mercy of God; but as no man would ever assert, that salvation is of him that wills and runs wrong, so the apostle had no occasion to deny it: others say, that it is not only of him that wills, and only of him that runs, but also of God that shows mercy; making man's will and works joint causes with the mercy of God in man's salvation; and besides, as Austin k long ago observes, according to this sense, the words might as well be read, it is not only of God that shows mercy, but of him that willeth, and of him that runneth, which no Christian would dare to say: the true sense is, that as election, which is the leading step to salvation, is not owing at all to the will of men, but to the good pleasure and will of God; and not at all to the works of men, that being done before them, and they being the fruits and effects of that, but to the free love, grace, and good will of God; so salvation in all its parts and branches, as redemption, justification, regeneration, calling, and conversion, faith, repentance, hope, love, &c. and eternal life, is not to be ascribed at all to the will of men, nor at all to the works of men, but entirely and alone to the love, grace, and mercy of God through Christ.
k Enchiridion, c. 32.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
So then - It follows as a consequence from this statement of God to Moses. Or it is a doctrine established by that statement.
Not of him that willeth - This does not mean that he that becomes a Christian, and is saved, does not choose eternal life; or is not made willing; or that he is compelled to enter heaven against his own choice. It is true that people by nature have no desire of holiness, and do not choose eternal life. But the effect of the influences of Godâs Spirit on the heart is to make it âwilling in the day of his power;â Psalms 110:3. The meaning here is evidently, that eternal life is not bestowed because man had any original willingness or disposition to be saved; it is not because he commences the work, and is himself disposed to it; but it is because God inclines him to it, and disposes him to seek for mercy, and then confers it in his own way. The word âwillethâ here denotes wish or desire.
Nor of him that runneth - This denotes âstrenuous, intense effort,â as when a man is anxious to obtain an object, or hastens from danger. The meaning is not that the sinner does not make an effort to be saved; nor that all who become Christians do not âin factâ strive to enter into the kingdom, or earnestly desire salvation, for the Scriptures teach the contrary; Luke 16:16; Luke 13:24. There is no effort more intense and persevering, no struggle more arduous or agonizing, than when a sinner seeks eternal life. Nor does it mean that they who strive in a proper way, and with proper effort, shall not obtain eternal life; Matthew 7:7. But the sense is,
- That the sinner would not put forth any effort himself. If left to his own course, he would never seek to be saved.
(2)That he is pardoned, not âon accountâ of his effort; not because he makes an exertion; but because God chooses to pardon him.
There is no merit in his anxiety, and prayers, and agony, on account of which God would forgive him; but he is still dependent on the mere mercy of God to save or destroy him at his will. The sinner, however anxious he may be, and however much or long he may strive, does not bring God under an obligation to pardon him any more than the condemned criminal, trembling with the fear of execution, and the consciousness of crime, lays the judge or the jury under an obligation to acquit him. This fact, it is of great importance for an awakened sinner to know. Deeply anxious he should be, but there is no merit in his distress. Pray he should, but there is no merit in his prayers. Weep and strive he may, but in this there is no ground of claim on God for pardon; and, after all, he is dependent on his mere sovereign mercy, as a lost, ruined, and helpless sinner, to be saved or lost at his will.
But of God that showeth mercy - Salvation in its beginning, its progress, and its close, is of him. He has a right, therefore, to bestow it when and where he pleases. All our mercies flow from his mere love and compassion, and not from our deserts. The essential idea here is, that God is the original fountain of all the blessings of salvation.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Romans 9:16. So then it is not of him that willeth, c.] I conclude, therefore, from these several instances, that the making or continuing any body of men the peculiar people of God, is righteously determined not by the judgment, hopes, or wishes of men, but by the will and wisdom of God alone. For Abraham judged that the blessing ought, and he willed, desired, that it might be given to Ishmael; and Isaac also willed, designed, it for his first-born, Esau: and Esau, wishing and hoping that it might be his, readily went, ran a hunting for venison, that he might have the blessing regularly conveyed to him: but they were all disappointed-Abraham and Isaac, who willed, and Esau who ran: for God had originally intended that the blessing of being a great nation and distinguished people should, of his mere good pleasure, be given to Isaac and Jacob, and be confirmed in their posterity; and to them it was given. And when by their apostasy they had forfeited this privilege, it was not Moses' willing, nor any prior obligation God was under, but his own sovereign mercy, which continued it to them.
