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“It will be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ There they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”
Romans 9:26 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
  • BSB and, “It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
  • NKJV “Andit shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
  • NASB “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
  • NLT And, “Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”

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

Citing Hosea further, Paul says that in the very place where they were called not my people, they will be called children of the living God. God transforms outsiders into his own beloved children.

Overview

Paul continues quoting Hosea (1:10) to underline the dramatic reversal God works. Those once declared not my people are now named children of the living God. This highlights the transforming power of God's grace, which adopts former outsiders into his family. For Paul it confirms that the inclusion of Gentile believers is no afterthought but the fulfillment of God's revealed purpose.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Hos 1:9–10He said, “Call his name Lo-Ammi; for you are not my people, and I will not be yours.
  • 1 Jn 3:1–3See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him.
  • Rom 8:16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God;
  • Gal 3:26For you are all children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.
  • Isa 43:6I will tell the north, ‘Give them up!’ and tell the south, ‘Don’t hold them back! Bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth —
  • 2 Cor 6:18I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
  • John 11:52and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
  • Matt 16:16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Romans videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Romans 9:26YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on RomansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 9:26 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.