God and His People
1 I am speaking the truth; I belong to Christ and I do not lie. My conscience, ruled by the Holy Spirit, also assures me that I am not lying 2 when I say how great is my sorrow, how endless the pain in my heart 3 for my people, my own flesh and blood! For their sake I could wish that I myself were under God's curse and separated from Christ. 4 They are God's people; he made them his children and revealed his glory to them; he made his covenants with them and gave them the Law; they have the true worship; they have received God's promises; 5 they are descended from the famous Hebrew ancestors; and Christ, as a human being, belongs to their race. May God, who rules over all, be praised forever! Amen.
6 I am not saying that the promise of God has failed; for not all the people of Israel are the people of God. 7 Nor are all of Abraham's descendants the children of God. God said to Abraham, “It is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I promised you.” 8 This means that the children born in the usual way are not the children of God; instead, the children born as a result of God's promise are regarded as the true descendants. 9 For God's promise was made in these words: “At the right time I will come back, and Sarah will have a son.”
10 And this is not all. For Rebecca's two sons had the same father, our ancestor Isaac. 11-12 But in order that the choice of one son might be completely the result of God's own purpose, God said to her, “The older will serve the younger.” He said this before they were born, before they had done anything either good or bad; so God's choice was based on his call, and not on anything they had done. 13 As the scripture says, “I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau.”
14 Shall we say, then, that God is unjust? Not at all. 15 For he said to Moses, “I will have mercy on anyone I wish; I will take pity on anyone I wish.” 16 So then, everything depends, not on what we humans want or do, but only on God's mercy. 17 For the scripture says to the king of Egypt, “I made you king in order to use you to show my power and to spread my fame over the whole world.” 18 So then, God has mercy on anyone he wishes, and he makes stubborn anyone he wishes.
God's Anger and Mercy
19 But one of you will say to me, “If this is so, how can God find fault with anyone? Who can resist God's will?” 20 But who are you, my friend, to talk back to God? A clay pot does not ask the man who made it, “Why did you make me like this?” 21 After all, the man who makes the pots has the right to use the clay as he wishes, and to make two pots from the same lump of clay, one for special occasions and the other for ordinary use.
22 And the same is true of what God has done. He wanted to show his anger and to make his power known. But he was very patient in enduring those who were the objects of his anger, who were doomed to destruction. 23 And he also wanted to reveal his abundant glory, which was poured out on us who are the objects of his mercy, those of us whom he has prepared to receive his glory. 24 For we are the people he called, not only from among the Jews but also from among the Gentiles. 25 This is what he says in the book of Hosea:
“The people who were not mine
I will call ‘My People.’
The nation that I did not love
I will call ‘My Beloved.’
26 And in the very place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called the children of the living God.”
27 And Isaiah exclaims about Israel: “Even if the people of Israel are as many as the grains of sand by the sea, yet only a few of them will be saved; 28 for the Lord will quickly settle his full account with the world.” 29 It is as Isaiah had said before, “If the Lord Almighty had not left us some descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.”
Israel and the Gospel
30 So we say that the Gentiles, who were not trying to put themselves right with God, were put right with him through faith; 31 while God's people, who were seeking a law that would put them right with God, did not find it. 32 And why not? Because they did not depend on faith but on what they did. And so they stumbled over the “stumbling stone” 33 that the scripture speaks of:
“Look, I place in Zion a stone
that will make people stumble,
a rock that will make them fall.
But whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.”
Ndjambi notjiwaṋa tje Israel
1 Ami me hungire ouatjiri; owami owa Kristus, nu hi nokukora ovizeze. Nomeritjiviro wandje womomutima nge nanwa i Ombepo Ondjapuke, wina ma e hongonona puna ami kutja hi nokukora ovizeze, 2 tji me tja mbi noruhoze orunene, nokutja mbi nomuhihamwatima 3 kovakwetu, imba womuhoko wandje omuini. Ami etje zera kutja mbi sengwe i Ndjambi nokuporwa ku Kristus andakuzu ma rire ondjamo ku wo. 4 Owo Ovaisrael, otjiwaṋa otjitoororwa tja Ndjambi; we ve isa po ovanatje ne ve vandururire ounene we; eye wa tjita omerikutiropamwe omengi na wo, nu we ve pere Omatwako wa Moses; owo va perwe omerikotameneno watjiri nomakwizikiro wa Ndjambi; 5 owo va zire mozondekurona za Abraham na Isak na Jakob; nu wina Kristus, ongaro ye otja omundu, wa zire momuhoko wawo. Nu Ndjambi ngu honaparera avihe nga hivirikwe aruhe nga aruhe! Amen.
6 Ami hi nakutja omakwizikiro wa Ndjambi kaye toṋene, orondu kava Israel avehe mbe ri ovotjiwaṋa tja Ndjambi. 7 Nu wina kazondekurona azehe za Abraham nḓe ri ovanatje Ndjambi mba kwizikira Abraham. Ndjambi wa tjere ku Abraham: “Mu Isak ove mo munu mo ozondekurona nḓu mbe ku kwizikira.” 8 Ihi matji hee kutja ovanatje, mba kwatwa komuhingo wovandu owo kavanatje va Ndjambi; nungwari ovanatje mba mba kwatwa otja komakwizikiro wa Ndjambi owo ombe varwa otja ozondekurona za Abraham. 9 Orondu omakwizikiro wa Ndjambi ya yenenisiwa momambo nga: “Moruveze tjingero ndwi mombura ndji mai yende ami me kotoka, nu tjandje Sara u nomuatje omuzandu.”
10 Nu kapuwo! Ovanatje ovazandu vevari va Rebeka va ri ovaihe imwe, ingwi tate mukururume Isak. 11-12 Nungwari kokutja omatoororero womuzandu umwe ye yenenisiwe otja kombango ya Ndjambi omuini, Ndjambi otja tja ku Rebeka: “Omuatje ingwi erumbi ma karere ingwi omuangu.” Eye wa hungira omambo nga owo ngunda ave hiya kwatwa, nu ngunda ave hiya tjita ouwa poo ouvi; komuhingo mbwi omatoororero wa Ndjambi ya ri otja komaisaneno we, nu kaya ri otja ku imbi owo mbi va tjita. 13 Otja omatjangwa punga amaye hee: “Ami mba suvera Jakob, nungwari mba tonda Esau.”
14 Nu ngatu tje vi? Ndjambi omuhasemba? Kako ka tjiperi! 15 Orondu eye wa tjere ku Moses: “Ami me tjariparere ingwi ngu me vanga okutjariparera, nu me ṱire ondjenda ingwi ngu me vanga okuṱira ondjenda.” 16 Oviṋa avihe otji vi ha kara otja omundu punga ama vanga poo punga ama tjiti, nungwari vi kara otja kombango ya Ndjambi ngu notjari. 17 Momatjangwa Ndjambi ma tja kombara ya Engipte: “Ami mbe ku zika okurira ombara kokutja mbi raise omasa wandje move, nokutja ena randje ri zuvarisiwe mouye auhe.” 18 Ndjambi otje tjariparera ngamwa auhe eye ngu ma vanga, notje kukutisa omutima wangamwa auhe eye ngu ma vanga.
Ndjambi u toorora ngamwa ngu ma vanga
19 Nove motja nai ku ami: Nu tji pe ri nao, Ndjambi me ku pere tjike ondjo? Owaṋi ngu ma sora okupirukira ombango ye? 20 Nungwari, mundu, oovyaṋi ngu movanga okupatasana na Ndjambi? Otjiungurwa matji sora vi okutja nai komutjiungure: “Ove we ndji ungurira tjike nai?” 21 Nomuungure wozonyungu indu ke nouvara are okuungurisa omunoko otja puma vanga? Eye ke nokuyenena okuungura ozonyungu mbari pomunoko umwe are, imwe onanḓengu na imwe yakauriri?
22 Notjinga ape ri nao wina ku imbi Ndjambi mbya tjita. Ndjambi wa vanga okuraisa omazenge we nokutjiukisa omasa we. Nungwari eye wa ri nomuretima tjinene novandu mba mbaa ve mu pindikisa, imba ovandu mba pwira onyoneno. 23 Eye wina wa tjita nao kokutja a tjiukise ohivirikiro ye onenenene ku imba eye mba vanga okutjariparera, eṱe mba eye mba ṱunina okumuna ohivirikiro ye okuza ku rukuru. 24 Orondu oweṱe mbu tu ri otjiwaṋa eye tja isana, nu kakutja omokati kOvajuda aveyerike, nungwari wina omokati kaimba mbe he ri Ovajuda. 25 Nu imbi ombya hungira membo romuprofete Hosea:
“Kotjiwaṋa tji tji ha ri otjandje
me tja ‘Tjiwaṋa tjandje’.
Nu komuhoko mbu mbi ha ri amba suvera
me tja ‘Musuverwa wandje!’
26 Nu poṋa tjingepo mba owo pu va raerwa nai:
‘Eṋe kaweṋe otjiwaṋa tjandje’,
opu pe ri po mba pu mave
isanewa ovanatje va Ndjambi omunamuinyo.”
27 Nu Jesaja wa ravaera ohunga na Israel na tja: “Nandarire otjivarero tjOvaisrael tji tja ṱeki peheke romukuro wokuvare, ma rire ouṱiṱi uriri mokati kawo mbu mave hupisiwa komuinyo; 28 orondu Muhona tjimanga ma pangura ovandu avehe kombanda yehi.” 29 Nu Jesaja otjinga a tjere nao komeho rukuru: “Muhona, Omunamasaaehe, andakuzu ke tu esirire ozondekurona tjiva, itjatu sasanekwa na Sodom, nu itjatu kara otja Gomora.”
Paulus ma kumbire Israel
30 Nambano ngatu tje vi? Ovandu mba mbe he ri Ovajuda kave kondjere okuvarwa otja ovasemba komurungu wa Ndjambi, nungwari Ndjambi we ve vara otja ovasemba komurungu we mena rongamburiro. 31 Nungwari otjiwaṋa tja Israel tjaa tji teza etwako ndatjari ve varisa otja ovasemba komurungu wa Ndjambi kave ri vazere ko. 32 Nokutjavi tji ve ha varerwe otja ovasemba komurungu wa Ndjambi? Omena rokutja owo kave pahere ousemba wawo otja mbu za mongamburiro, nungwari ve u paha otja mbu za moviungura vyawo. Nowo otji va putara mewe romaputarero. 33 Nomatjangwa ya hungira ewe ndi aye tja:
“Tara, ami me ziki mOsion ewe
ndi mari putarisa ovandu,
noruuwa ndu maru ve wisa;
nungwari auhe ngu ma kambura mu ye,
ke nakuṱisiwa ohoṋi.”
