Study Desk

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for ^(bb)we do not know how to pray as we should, but ^(bc)the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

and ^(bd)He who searches the hearts knows what ^(be)the mind of the Spirit is, because He ^(bf)intercedes for the ^[j]saints according to the will of God.

And we know that ^[k]God causes ^(bg)all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are ^(bh)called according to His purpose.

For those whom He ^(bi)foreknew, He also ^(bj)predestined to become ^(bk)conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the ^(bl)firstborn among many brethren;

and these whom He ^(bm)predestined, He also ^(bn)called; and these whom He called, He also ^(bo)justified; and these whom He justified, He also ^(bp)glorified.

^(bq)What then shall we say to these things? ^(br)If God is for us, who is against us?

He who ^(bs)did not spare His own Son, but ^(bt)delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

Who will bring a charge against ^(bu)God's elect? ^(bv)God is the one who justifies;

who is the one who ^(bw)condemns? Christ Jesus is He who ^(bx)died, yes, rather who was ^[l](by)raised, who is ^(bz)at the right hand of God, who also ^(ca)intercedes for us.

Who will separate us from ^(cb)the love of ^[m]Christ? Will ^(cc)tribulation, or distress, or ^(cd)persecution, or ^(ce)famine, or ^(cf)nakedness, or ^(cg)peril, or sword?

Just as it is written, "^(ch) For Your sake we are being put to death all day long ; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered ."

But in all these things we overwhelmingly ^(ci)conquer through ^(cj)Him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither ^(ck)death, nor life, nor ^(cl)angels, nor principalities, nor ^(cm)things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from ^(cn)the love of God, which is ^(co)in Christ Jesus our Lord.

^(a)I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit,

that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.

For ^(b)I could ^[a]wish that I myself were ^(c)accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen ^(d)according to the flesh,

who are ^(e)Israelites, to whom belongs ^(f)the adoption as sons, and ^(g)the glory and ^(h)the covenants and ⁽ⁱ⁾the giving of the Law and ^(j)the temple service and ^(k)the promises,

whose are ^(l)the fathers, and ^(m)from whom is ^[b]the Christ according to the flesh, ⁽ⁿ⁾who is over all, ^(o)God ^(p)blessed ^[c]forever. Amen.

But it is not as though ^(q)the word of God has failed. ^(r)For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel;

nor are they all children ^(s)because they are Abraham's ^[d]descendants, but: "^[e](t) through Isaac your ^[f] descendants will be named ."

That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are ^(u)children of God, but the ^(v)children of the promise are regarded as ^[g]descendants.

For this is the word of promise: "^(w) At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son ."

^(x)And not only this, but there was ^(y)Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac;

for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that ^(z)God's purpose according to His choice would ^[h]stand, not ^[i]because of works but ^[j]because of Him who calls,

it was said to her, "^(aa) The older will serve the younger ."

Just as it is written, "^(ab) Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated ."

^(ac)What shall we say then? ^(ad)There is no injustice with God, is there? ^(ae)May it never be!

For He says to Moses, "^(af)I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion ."

So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who ^(ag)runs, but on ^(ah)God who has mercy.

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "^(ai) For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed ^[k] throughout the whole earth ."

So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He ^(aj)hardens whom He desires.

^(ak)You will say to me then, "^(al)Why does He still find fault? For ^(am)who resists His will?"

On the contrary, who are you, ^(an)O man, who ^(ao)answers back to God? ^(ap)The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it?

Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel ^[l]for honorable use and another ^[m]for common use?

^[n]What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much ^(aq)patience vessels of wrath ^(ar)prepared for destruction?

And He did so to make known ^(as)the riches of His glory upon ^(at)vessels of mercy, which He ^(au)prepared beforehand for glory,

even us, whom He also ^(av)called, ^(aw)not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.

As He says also in Hosea, "^(ax)I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people ,' And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved .'"

"^(ay) And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people ,' There they shall be called sons of ^(az) the living God ."

Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, "^(ba) Though the number of the sons of Israel be ^(bb) like the sand of the sea, it is ^(bc) the remnant that will be saved ;

^(bd) for the Lord will execute His word on the earth , ^[o] thoroughly and ^[p] quickly ."

And just as Isaiah foretold, "^(be) Unless ^(bf) the Lord of ^[q] Sabaoth had left to us a ^[r] posterity , ^(bg) We would have become like Sodom, and would have ^[s] resembled Gomorrah ."

^(bh)What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even ^(bi)the righteousness which is ^[t]by faith;

but Israel, ^(bj)pursuing a law of righteousness, did not ^(bk)arrive at that law.

Why? Because they did not pursue it ^[u]by faith, but as though it were ^[v]by works. They stumbled over ^(bl)the stumbling stone,

just as it is written, "^(bm) Behold , I lay in Zion ^(bn) a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense , ^(bo) And he who believes in Him ^(bp) will not be ^[w] disappointed ."

Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.

For I testify about them that they have ^(a)a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.

For not knowing about ^(b)God's righteousness and ^(c)seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.

For ^(d)Christ is the ^[a]end of the law for righteousness to ^(e)everyone who believes.

For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is ^[b]based on law ^(f)shall live ^[c]by that righteousness.

But ^(g)the righteousness ^[d]based on faith speaks as follows: "^(h) Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven ?' (that is, to bring Christ down),

or ‘ Who will descend into the ⁽ⁱ⁾ abyss ?' (that is, to ^(j)bring Christ up from the dead)."

But what does it say? "^(k) The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart "—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,

^[e]that ^(l)if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and ^(m)believe in your heart that ⁽ⁿ⁾God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

for with the heart a person believes, ^[f]resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, ^[g]resulting in salvation.

For the Scripture says, "^(o) Whoever believes in Him will not be ^[h] disappointed ."

For ^(p)there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is ^(q)Lord of ^(r)all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;

for "^(s) Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved ."

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him ^(t)whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without ^(u)a preacher?

How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "^(v) How beautiful are the feet of those who ^[i](w) bring good news of good things !"

However, they ^(x)did not all heed the ^[j]good news; for Isaiah says, "^(y) Lord, who has believed our report ?"

So faith comes from ^(z)hearing, and hearing by ^(aa)the word ^[k]of Christ.

But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have; "^(ab) Their voice has gone out into all the earth , And their words to the ends of the ^[l] world ."

But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says, "^(ac)I will ^(ad) make you jealous by that which is not a nation , By a nation without understanding will I anger you ."

And Isaiah is very bold and says, "^(ae)I was found by those who did not seek Me , I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me ."

But as for Israel He says, "^(af) All the day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people ."

I say then, God has not ^(a)rejected His people, has He? ^(b)May it never be! For ^(c)I too am an Israelite, ^[a]a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

God ^(d)has not rejected His people whom He ^(e)foreknew. ^(f)Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?

"Lord, ^(g) they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life ."

But what ^[b]is the divine response to him? "^(h)I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal ."

In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time ⁽ⁱ⁾a remnant according to God's ^[c]gracious choice.

But ^(j)if it is by grace, it is no longer ^[d]on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

What then? What ^(k)Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but ^[e]those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were ^(l)hardened;

just as it is written, "^(m) God gave them a spirit of stupor , Eyes to see not and ears to hear not , Down to this very day ."

And David says, "⁽ⁿ⁾ Let their table become a snare and a trap , And a stumbling block and a retribution to them .

"^(o) Let their eyes be darkened to see not , And bend their backs forever ."

^(p)I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? ^(q)May it never be! But by their transgression ^(r)salvation has come to the Gentiles, to ^(s)make them jealous.

Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their ^[f](t)fulfillment be!

But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as ^(u)I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,

if somehow I might ^(v)move to jealousy ^(w)my ^[g]fellow countrymen and ^(x)save some of them.

For if their rejection is the ^(y)reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but ^(z)life from the dead?

If the ^(aa)first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.

But if some of the ^(ab)branches were broken off, and ^(ac)you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the ^[h]rich root of the olive tree,

do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that ^(ad)it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.

^(ae)You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."

Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you ^(af)stand by your faith. ^(ag)Do not be conceited, but fear;

for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.

Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's ^(ah)kindness, ^(ai)if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also ^(aj)will be cut off.

And they also, ^(ak)if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?