Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Parallel translations
- WEB So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.
- BSB Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.
- NKJV Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
- NASB So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
- NLT So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.
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 shows mercy to whomever he wills and hardens whomever he wills. Both mercy and judgment lie within his sovereign freedom.
Overview
Paul summarizes vv. 15-17: God freely shows mercy (as to Israel) and hardens (as with Pharaoh) according to his will. Faithful Christians note that Scripture also speaks of Pharaoh hardening his own heart, so God's hardening is a just judicial response that does not excuse human sin. The verse upholds God's sovereignty over both salvation and judgment while leaving human responsibility intact, themes Paul develops further in the verses that follow.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Exod 4:21And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
- Josh 11:20For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
- Rom 9:15–16For 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.
- Rom 11:7–8What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
- 2 Th 2:10–12And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
- Deut 2:30But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.
- Rom 5:20–21Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
- Acts 28:26–28Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
- Exod 7:13And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
- Isa 63:17O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
- Rom 1:24–28Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
- Matt 13:14–15And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
- Eph 1:6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
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 9:18 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.