God's Choice of Israel
1 I am a follower of Christ, and the Holy Spirit is a witness to my conscience. So I tell the truth and I am not lying when I say 2 my heart is broken and I am in great sorrow. 3 I would gladly be placed under God's curse and be separated from Christ for the good of my own people. 4 They are the descendants of Israel, and they are also God's chosen people. God showed them his glory. He made agreements with them and gave them his Law. The temple is theirs and so are the promises that God made to them. 5 They have those famous ancestors, who were also the ancestors of the Christ. I pray that God, who rules over all, will be praised forever! Amen.
6 It cannot be said that God broke his promise. After all, not all of the people of Israel are the true people of God. 7-8 In fact, when God made the promise to Abraham, he meant only Abraham's descendants by his son Isaac. God was talking only about Isaac when he promised 9 Sarah, “At this time next year I will return, and you will already have a son.”
10 Don't forget what happened to the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. 11-12 Even before they were born or had done anything good or bad, the Lord told Rebekah that her older son would serve the younger one. The Lord said this to show he makes his own choices and it wasn't because of anything either of them had done. 13 That's why the Scriptures say that the Lord liked Jacob more than Esau.
14 Are we saying God is unfair? Certainly not! 15 The Lord told Moses that he has pity and mercy on anyone he wants to. 16 Everything then depends on God's mercy and not on what people want or do. 17 In the Scriptures the Lord says to the king of Egypt, “I let you become king, so that I could show you my power and be praised by all people on earth.” 18 Everything depends on what God decides to do, and he can either have pity on people or make them stubborn.
God's Anger and Mercy
19 Someone may ask, “How can God blame us, if he makes us behave in the way he wants us to?” 20 But, my friend, I ask, “Who do you think you are to question God? Does the clay have the right to ask the potter why he shaped it the way he did? 21 Doesn't a potter have the right to make a fancy bowl and a plain bowl out of the same lump of clay?”
22 God wanted to show his anger and reveal his power against everyone who deserved to be destroyed. But instead, he patiently put up with them. 23 He did this by showing how glorious he is when he has pity on the people he has chosen to share in his glory. 24 Whether Jews or Gentiles, we are those chosen ones, 25 just as the Lord says in the book of Hosea,
“Although they are not
my people,
I will make them my people.
I will treat with love
those nations
that have never been loved.
26 “Once they were told,
‘You are not my people.’
But in that very place
they will be called
children of the living God.”
27 And this is what the prophet Isaiah said about the people of Israel,
“The people of Israel
are as many
as the grains of sand
along the beach.
But only a few who are left
will be saved.
28 The Lord will be quick
and sure to do on earth
what he has warned
he will do.”
29 Isaiah also said,
“If the Lord All-Powerful
had not spared some
of our descendants,
we would have been destroyed
like the cities of Sodom
and Gomorrah.”
Israel and the Good News
30 What does all of this mean? It means that the Gentiles were not trying to be acceptable to God, but they found that he would accept them if they had faith. 31-32 It also means that the people of Israel were not acceptable to God. And why not? It was because they were trying to be acceptable by obeying the Law instead of by having faith in God. The people of Israel fell over the stone that makes people stumble, 33 just as God says in the Scriptures,
“Look! I am placing in Zion
a stone to make people
stumble and fall.
But those who have faith
in that one will never
be disappointed.”
Elob tsî ǁîb di ǁhûiǂuisa ǁaes
1 Xristub* ǃnâ ta ra amaba ǃhoa, ǂhumi tama ta hâ. ǃAnu Gagab ge ti ǃnâ hâ ǂgaoǂans ǀkha ra ǀhûǃkhō-am, 2 kai ǃoab tsî toa tama tsûaǂgaob tita ǀkha hâsa. 3 Tita ǂûta ǀâxarexūhe tsî ta ga Xristuba xu ti ǀaokhoen di ǃgâib ǃaroma ǀgorahesa gere ǁkhore xui-ao. 4 ǁÎn ge Israelǁîna, ǁîb ge ǁîna ǁîb ôase ǃkhōǃoa tsî ǁîb ǂkhaisiba ǂhaiǂhaiba, ǃgaeǀhaode ǁîn ǀkha dī tsî Moseb ǂhanuba* ǁîna mā, ǁîn ge ama ǀgoreǀîsa ūhâ, Elob mîmâiden ge ǃkhōǃoa, 5 kai aboxagu di suriba xun ge hā, tsîb ge Xristuba khoeb ase ǁîna xu ge ǃnae. Ab ǁîb, hoan ǂama a Eloba, ǀamose karehe! Amen.*
6 Elob ge ǁîb di mîmâis ǃnâ ǃgâiǃgâ tama i ti ī ǃkhais ose, hoa khoen Israela xu ra hān ama Israelǁî tama xui-ao. 7 Tsîn ge ǁkhāti Abrahammi suriba xu hân hoana Elob ôa tama hâ. Elob ge Abrahammi ǃoa “Isaki ǃnâ-ub ge sa suriba nî ǂgaihe” ti mî xui-ao. 8 ǁNās ge ǀgôan ǁnaetisa ǀgaub ai ra ǃnaen Elob di ôa tama; xawe Elob mîmâis ǃnâ-u ra ǃnaen ama surib Abrahammi dib ase ra ǃgôahe ti ra ǂâibasen. 9 Mîmâis Elob dis ge nēti ge hâ i: “Nē ǁaeb ǁkhāb ai ta ge ǁkhawa nî hā, os ge Sarasa ǀgôaba nî ūhâ.”
10 Tsî nēs ǀgui tamas. Rebekas ôakha, ǀgui ǁgûb, sada îb Isaki dikha, 11-12 noxopa ǃnae tsî ǃgâi-i tamas ka io ǂkhaba-i xare-e dī tama hîas ge ǁîsa ǀnai Elob xa “Kaib ge ǂkhamma nî ǃoaba” ti ge mîbahe. Elob di ǁhûis ge ǁîn di sîsengu ais ose ǁîb ǂgais ai ge ǃgaoǃgaosa i. 13 Xoamâihe hâ khami: “Jakoba ta ge a ǀnam xawe ta ge Esauba ǁkhan hâ.”
14 O da kha ǁnâi Elob a ǂhanuoǃnâ ti nî mî? Tātsē! 15 ǁÎb kom Moseb ǃoa ge mîo: “ǀKhomxa ta nî ǀkhomxaǂgao ta hâ-i hoa-e tsî tsâbaǁhao ta nî tsâbaǁhao ǂgao ta hâ-i hoa-e.” 16 ǁNā-amaga i ge khoe-i di ǂâis tamas ka io ǀhupuba xu hâ tama hâ, xawe Elob di ǀkhomxasiba xu. 17 Xoas ra Faraob ǃoa mî xui-ao: “Nēs ǃaroma ta ge sa ǃnâ ta nî ǀgaiba ǁgauga ra ǂkhaiǂkhai tsi, îs ti ǀonsa hoaraga ǃhūbaib ǃnâ aoǁnâhe.” 18 ǁNā-amagab ge Eloba ǂgaob ra khami, khoe-e ǀkhomxaǂgao tamas ka io a ǃnâudanaxa kai ǁkhā.
ǃKhūb di ǁaib tsî ǀkhomxaǂgaosib
19 Xawe i ge khoe-e nî mî: “Tare-i ǃaromab ganupe ra ǀau da? Tari-e kha Elob di ǂâis ǃoagu a mâ ǁkhā?” 20 Khoetse, taritsa sats Eloba ra ǃhoaǃoatsa? “Mâti i kuruhe hâ xū-e kuru-ao-i ǃoa nî mî: ‘Tare-i ǃaromats ge nēti kuru te?’ ” 21 Sūǂnubi-aoba kha ǂâib ra khami ǂgoab ǀkha a dī ǁoa tsî ǀgam xapara ǁkhā ǂgoaba xu kurusa, ǀguisa ǀō-aisa ǁāxasigu ǃaroma tsî nausa hoaǁae sîsenūs ǃaroma.
22 ǁNās ǁkhāsab kha Eloba dī tama hâ? ǁÎb di ǁaib tsî ǀgaibab gere ǁgauǂui ǂgao, xaweb ge kai ǃnūǃnâxasib ǀkha ǁîb di ǁaib di xūn hîkākās ǃaroma ge ǂhomihe hâ ina ge ǃkhō-oa. 23 Nēsab ge ǁîb ǂkhaisib di ǃkhūsibab nî ǂan kaise ge dī, ǁîb ǀkhomxasib di xūn ǀnai ge ǂkhaisib ǃaroma ǂhomihe hâ in ǃoa. 24 ǁÎna xu da ge sada tsîna ǂgaihe hâ, Jodeǁîn ǀguina xus ose xawe Jodeǁî taman tsîna xu. 25 Hoseab ǂkhanis ǃnâb ra ǁkhāti mî khami:
“ǁNās ti ǁae tama ge isa
ta ge ‘ti ǁae’ ti nî ǂgai,
tsî ǀnamhe tama ge hâ isa
ta ge ‘ti ǀnamsabe’ ti nî ǂgai.
26 Tsî ǁnā ǃkhaib
‘Ti ǁae tama du’ tin ra mîǀîheb,
tawan ge ‘ûitsama Elob ôan’ ti nî ǂgaihe.”
27 Tsî Jesajab ge Israeli ǂama ra ǂgaiǂui. “Tsî Israeli ôan ga hurib ammi di ǃhūb khami ī, xawen ge ǀoron ǁîn din ǀguina nî sâuhe. 28 ǃKhūb nî ǁîb di ǀgoraǃgâsa ǂanǂansase tsî ǃhaese dītoa ǃhūbaib ai amaga.” 29 Tsî Jesajab ra ǀnai mî khami: “ǃKhūb Hoaǀgaixab ga sada suri-e ǃgauba tama i hâo, o da ga Sodoms tsî Gomoras ǀkha ǀguiti-ī hâ.”
ǃGâiǂhôas Israelǁîn tsîn ǃaroma
30 Tare-e da ǁnâi nēs xa nî mî? Jodeǁî taman hîa Elob ǀkha ǂhanu-ai kaisen taman ge ǂgoms ǃnâ-u ǁîb ǀkha ge ǂhanu-ai kaihe. 31 Xawe Israelǁîn, ǂhanub ǃnâ-u Elob ǀkha ǂhanu-ai kaisensa gere ôan ge ǁnāsa hō tama ge i. 32 Tare-i ǃaroma? ǁÎn ge ǂgoms ǃnâ-us ose xawe ǁîn di sîsengu ǀkha gere ǂhanu-ai kaisen amaga. ǁÎn ge ǃnôa-aiǀuis ai ge ǃnôa, 33 xoahe hâ khami:
“Mû, Sions ǃnâ ta ge ǀuib khoena nî ǃnôa kaib
tsî ǃhaob ǁîna nî ǁnā kaiba ra ǁgui
tsî ǁîb ǃnâ ra ǂgom-i hoa-i ge taotaohe tide-e.”
