Elob di ǀkhomxaǂgaosib Israelǁaes ǂama
1 O ta ra dî: “Eloba ǁnâi ǁîb di ǁaesa ǂhāxū hâ?” Tātsē! Tita tsîn kom Israelǁîo, Abrahammi di surib tsî Benjaminni di ǃhaosa xu hâ ta. 2 Elob ge ǁîb di ǁaes tsoatsoasa xub ge ǁhûisa ǂhāxū tama ge i. ǂAn du a Eliab ge mâti Xoas ǃnâ Elob ǃoa Israelǁîn ǃoagu ǀkhoma hâ i ǃkhaisa? 3 “ǃKhūtse sa kēbo-aogan ge ge ǃgam tsî sa altarde ge hîkākā tsî ta ge ǀguri go ǃgau, on ge nēsi ti ûiba ra ôa-am.” 4 Xawe mâtis elosi ǃereamsa, ǁîb ǃoa ge hâ i? “Tita ge hûǀoadisi aogu hîa Baali aiǃâ ǃhonǁgoa tamaga ge ǃgaubasen.” 5 ǁNātis tsîna i ge nēsi ī, ǀoro khoen Elob di ǀkhommi xa ge ǁhûiǂuihen ge ge ǃgau. 6 Xawe ǁîn di sîsenga xu tama i tsî Elob di ǀkhomma xu. ǁÎn di sîsenga xu i ga hâ, ob ge Elob di ǀkhomma ǃaruǀî ǀkhom tama hâ.
7 Mâti ǁnâi? Israelǁîn ge ôan ra-e hō tama ge i, xawen ǁnān ǁhûiǂuihe gen ge ge hō tsî ǃgau gen ge ge karokaroǂgaohe, 8 Xoas ra mî khami: “Elob ge ǁîna ǃgam ǂoms di gaga-e ge mā; mûde, mûn tidega tsî ǂgaede, ǁnâun tidega nētsēs kōse.” 9 Tsîb ge Davida ra mî:
“Agu ǁîn di ǁâudīga ǁnoa-i ase tsî ǃnôa-i ase ī
ǃnôa-aiǃnao tsî ǀkhaob ase.
10 A di mûdi ana ǂgī kaihe, în mû ǁoa
tsî ǁîn ǁâga hoaǁae ǃgamǃgâ kai.”
11 O ta ra dîs ge Jodeǁîna ǃnôan geo, ǁîn di hîkākāhes ǃoan ge ǁnā? Tātsē! ǁÎn di ǁoren ǃnâ-us ge Jodeǁî taman* ge ǃgâiǃōsiba hōsa, Jodeǁîna tauxa kais ǃaroma. 12 Jodeǁîn di ǁoreb ga ǃhūbaib di ǃkhūsib ase ī tsî ǁîn di ǁnāsa Jodeǁî taman di ǃkhūsib ase ī, o mâtikō ǃnāsaseb ǁîn di ǀoasa ǃgôaba nî ǂâibasen.
Jodeǁî taman di ǃgâiǃōsib
13 Tita ge nēsi sadu Jodeǁî tamadu ǃoa ra ǃhoa. Jodeǁîn di apostelta* as kōse ta ge ti ǃoabas ai a ǂnīsa. 14 ǀNîsi ta ge ti ǂhunuma ǁaes di khoena tauxasib ǃoa khâikhâiǃnâ tsî ǁnāti ǀnîn âna ore ǁkhā. 15 Tsî ǁîn di ǂharahes ga hoaraga ǃhūbaib di ǂkhîbagusa hā-ū, o ǁîn di ǃkhōǃoahesa tare-es nî ǂâibasen, ǁōba xu hâ ûi tamab ka io.
16 Tsî ǂguro ǃâ-i pereb di-i ga Eloba ǁguibaheo, ob ge hoaraga pereba a ǃanu. Tsî hais di ǃnomab ga ǃanu, o gu ge ǂgonagu tsîna a ǃanu. 17 Xawe ǀnî ǁnâugu ǃaub di ǀkherahais digu ga khôaǁnâhe tsî satsa ǃaub di ǀkherahais di ǁnâuba ǁaegub ǃnâ ǃgaeǁae hâ, o ra ge ǁnā ǃkhūsiba ra ǀgoragu. Sadu Jodeǁî tamadu ge ǁnā ǃaub di ǀkherahaidi khami ī tsî du ge nēsi ǀgaisa gagasi ûib Jodeǁîn diba ra ǀgoragu. 18 ǁNā-amaga tā ǂgonagu ǃgâ-ai koasen. Koasen ǂgaots kao ǃnomab ra ûiba mā tsi ǃkhaisa ǂâihō, xawe sats ra ǃnomaba ûiba mās ose.
19 Ots ge nî mî: “ǂGonagu ge ge khôaǁnâhe tita ǁî-i ǃnâ nî ǂgāhese.” 20 ǂHanu a, ǂgomoǃnâsib ǃaroma gu ge ge khôaǁnâhe, xawe sats ge ǂgoms ǃnâ ge mâǀgai. Tā ǀgapi xūn xa ǂâiǂâisen xawe ǃaoǃgâxa. 21 Elob ga ǂgonaga sâu tama io, o satsa sâub nî? 22 ǁNā-amaga da ge nēpa ra mû mâtikōseb Eloba ǃgâi tsî ǁkhōǁkhōsa ǃkhaisa. ǁÎb ge ǁnān, ǁnāgen ǃoagu ǁkhōǁkhōsa, xawe sadu ǃoagu a ǃgâi, ǁîb ǃgâisib ǃnâts ga sao-o. Xawe ǁnāsats ga dī tama i, ots ge ǁkhāti nî ǃgaoǁnâhe. 23 Jodeǁîn tsîn ge ǂgomoǃnâsib ǀkhan ga aiǃgû, o hân ge i ǃkhaib ǃnâ nî ǂgāhe, Elob ǁnāsa dīsa a ǁkhā amaga. 24 Sadu Jodeǁî tamadu ge ǃaub di ǀkherahaisa xu ǁhāǁnâhe hâ ǁnâub khami ī tsî du ge ǁnā ǂūsib ǃoa ǃgâi ǀkherahais ǃnâ ge ǂgāhe. Jodeǁîn ge nē ǂgāhe hâ ǀkherahais khami ī tsî i ge Elob ǃaroma nî supu nē ǁhāǁnâhe hâ ǂgonaga ǁîgu di ǂhunuma hais tawa ǁkhawa ǀhaoǀhaosa.
ǃKhūb di ǀkhomxaǂgaosib hoan ǂama
25 ǃGâsado, ǁnāpab ge ǂganǃgâsa amab hîa ta sadu ra ǂan kai ǂgaoba hâ, sadu ǁî-aitsama gā-aise ūhâsen tidega. Israelǁîn di ǃnâudanaxasib ge hâhâ tide, xawe Jodeǁî taman di ǀoasa ǃgôab Elob ǃoa nî hās kōse ǀgui nî hâ. 26 Tsî nēb ge ǀgaub hoaraga Israeli nî oreheba, Xoas ra mî khami:
“Sionsa xub ge ǃGâiǃōdī-aoba nî hā
tsî eloxoresasiga Jakob suriba xu nî ūbē.
27 Nēs ge ti ǃgaeǀhaos ǁîn ǀkha ta nî dīsa,
ǁîn ǁorena ta ga ūbēo.”
28 ǃGâiǂhôas ǃaroman ge ge Elob di khākhoe kai; xaweb ge ǁîn di aboxagu ǃaroma ǁhûiǂuib ge khoena ge ǀnam. 29 Elob ga ǁîb di ǀkhaega ǀgui ǃnāsa khoe-e mā, ob ge ǁîga ǁkhawa ǂgae-oa tama hâ. 30 Sadu Jodeǁî tamadu tsîn ge aibe Eloba ge ǁnâuǀnam tama hâ i, xawe du ge nēsi Jodeǁîn a ǁnâuǀnamoǃnâ xui-ao, Elob di ǀkhomxasiba ge ǃkhōǃoa. 31 ǁKhā ǀgaub ain ge Jodeǁîna sadu ge ǃkhōǃoa ǀkhomxaǂgaosib ǃaroma Eloba ge ǁnâuǀnamoǃnâ, xawen ge ǁîn tsîna nēsi ǁîb di ǀkhomxaǂgaosiba a ǃkhōǃoa ǁkhā. 32 ǁNā-amagab ge Eloba hoa khoena ǁnâuǀnamoǃnâsib ǃnâ ge māǁnâ, ǁîb di ǀkhomxaǂgaosibab nî hoan ǃoa ǁgauǂuise.
Elob ǃoa hâ koatsanas
33 Mâtikōsen Elob di ǃkhūsib, gā-aisib tsî ǂans tsîna a ǃgam. ǁÎb ga ǀgoraǃgâ, xawe tari-e ǁnāsa a ôaǃnâ ǁkhā? Tamas ka io tari-e ǁîb daoga ǂanǂui ǁkhā? 34 Xoas ra mî khami:
“Tari-e kha ǃKhūb di ǂâisa a ǂan?
Tari-e a ǁîb di ǀapemā-ao?
35 Tari-e ǁîba xū-e ge mā,
ǁkhawab nî mādawaga?”
36 ǁÎb ǃnâ-un ge hoa xūna kuruhe tsî ǂnubihe hâ. ǁÎb dib a ǂkhaisiba ǀamos kōse! Amen.*
God Has Not Rejected His People
1 Am I saying that God has turned his back on his people? Certainly not! I am one of the people of Israel, and I myself am a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not turn his back on his chosen people. Don't you remember reading in the Scriptures how Elijah complained to God about the people of Israel? 3 He said, “Lord, they killed your prophets and destroyed your altars. I am the only one left, and now they want to kill me.”
4 But the Lord told Elijah, “I still have 7,000 followers who have not worshiped Baal.” 5 It is the same way now. God treated the people of Israel with undeserved grace, and so a few of them are still his followers. 6 This happened because of God's undeserved kindness and not because of anything they have done. It could not have happened except for God's gift of undeserved grace.
7 This means that only a chosen few of the people of Israel found what all of them were searching for. And the rest of them were stubborn, 8 just as the Scriptures say,
“God made them so stupid
that their eyes are blind,
and their ears
are still deaf.”
9 Then David said,
“Turn their meals
into bait for a trap,
so that they will stumble
and be given
what they deserve.
10 Blindfold their eyes!
Don't let them see.
Bend their backs
beneath a burden
that will never be lifted.”
Gentiles Will Be Saved
11 Do I mean that the people of Israel fell, never to get up again? Certainly not! Their failure made it possible for the Gentiles to be saved, and this will make the people of Israel jealous. 12 But if the rest of the world's people were helped so much by their sin and loss, they will be helped even more by their full return.
13 I am now speaking to you Gentiles, and as long as I am an apostle to you, I will take pride in my work. 14 I hope in this way to make some of my own people jealous enough to be saved. 15 When Israel rejected God, the rest of the people in the world were able to turn to him. So when God makes friends with Israel, it will be like bringing the dead back to life. 16 If part of a batch of dough is made holy by being offered to God, then all of the dough is holy. If the roots of a tree are holy, the rest of the tree is holy too.
17 You Gentiles are like branches of a wild olive tree made to be part of a cultivated olive tree. You have taken the place of some branches that were cut away from it. And because of this, you enjoy the blessings that come from being part of that cultivated tree. 18 But don't think you are better than the branches that were cut away. Just remember you are not supporting the roots of this tree. Its roots are supporting you.
19 Maybe you think those branches were cut away, so you could be put in their place. 20 That's true enough. But they were cut away because they did not have faith, and you are where you are because you do have faith. So don't be proud, but be afraid. 21 If God cut away those natural branches, couldn't he do the same to you?
22 Now you see both how kind and how hard God can be. He was hard on those who fell, but he was kind to you. And he will keep on being kind to you, if you keep on trusting in his kindness. Otherwise, you will be cut away too.
23 If those other branches will start having faith, they will be made a part of that tree again. God has the power to put them back. 24 After all, it wasn't natural for branches to be cut from a wild olive tree and to be made part of a cultivated olive tree. So it is much more likely that God will join the natural branches back to the cultivated olive tree.
The People of Israel Will Be Brought Back
25 My friends, I don't want you Gentiles to be too proud of yourselves. So I will explain the mystery of what has happened to the people of Israel. Some of them have become stubborn, and they will stay like that until the complete number of you Gentiles has come in. 26 In this way all of Israel will be saved, as the Scriptures say,
“From Zion someone will come
to rescue us.
Then Jacob's descendants
will stop being evil.
27 This is what the Lord
has promised to do
when he forgives their sins.”
28 The people of Israel are treated as God's enemies, so the good news can come to you Gentiles. But they are still the chosen ones, and God loves them because of their famous ancestors. 29 God doesn't take back the gifts he has given or disown the people he has chosen.
30 At one time you Gentiles rejected God. But now Israel has rejected God, and you have been shown mercy. 31 And because of the mercy shown to you, they will also be shown mercy. 32 All people have disobeyed God, and that's why he treats them as prisoners. But he does this, so that he can have mercy on all of them.
33 Who can measure the wealth and wisdom and knowledge of God? Who can understand his decisions or explain what he does?
34 “Has anyone known
the thoughts of the Lord
or given him advice?
35 Has anyone loaned
something to the Lord
that must be repaid?”
36 Everything comes from the Lord. All things were made because of him and will return to him. Praise the Lord forever! Amen.
