For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will show compassion to whomever I show compassion.”
Parallel translations
- WEB For he said to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
- KJV For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
- BSB For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
- NKJV For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”
- NLT For God said to Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God told Moses that he will have mercy and compassion on whomever he chooses. Mercy is God's free gift, given according to his own sovereign will.
Overview
Paul answers the charge of injustice (v. 14) by quoting God's words to Moses in Exodus 33:19. The point is that mercy, by its very nature, is undeserved and therefore rests on God's free decision. Since no one has a claim on mercy, God commits no wrong in bestowing it as he pleases. This grounds the doctrine of election in God's gracious character revealed in Scripture.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Exod 33:19He said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim Yahweh’s name before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”
- Rom 9:16So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy.
- Mic 7:18Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage? He doesn’t retain his anger forever, because he delights in loving kindness.
- Rom 9:18–19So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.
- Exod 34:6–7Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth,
- Isa 27:11When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off. The women will come and set them on fire, for they are a people of no understanding. Therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them, and he who formed them will show them no favor.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 9:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.