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For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.”
Romans 9:28 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB for He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth.”
  • KJV For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
  • BSB For the Lord will carry out His sentence on the earth thoroughly and decisively.”
  • NASB for the Lord will execute His word on the earth, thoroughly and quickly.”
  • NLT For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth quickly and with finality.”

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

Isaiah says the Lord will carry out his sentence on the earth thoroughly and decisively. God's word of judgment will be fully and swiftly accomplished.

Overview

Completing the quotation from Isaiah 10:22-23, Paul stresses that God will execute his judgment completely and without delay. The remnant principle of v. 27 stands within a wider work of divine reckoning. The verse affirms that God's purposes, including both judgment and the preservation of a remnant, will be brought fully to pass, leaving no doubt of his sovereign control over history.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Isa 10:23For the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will make a full end, and that determined, throughout all the earth.
  • Rev 19:11I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes war.
  • Acts 17:31because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.”
  • Ps 9:8He will judge the world in righteousness. He will administer judgment to the peoples in uprightness.
  • Isa 30:12–14Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and rely on it;
  • Isa 5:16but Yahweh of Armies is exalted in justice, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.
  • Ps 65:5By awesome deeds of righteousness, you answer us, God of our salvation. You who are the hope of all the ends of the earth, of those who are far away on the sea;
  • Matt 24:21for then there will be great oppression, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.
  • Dan 9:26–27After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One shall be cut off, and shall have nothing: and the people of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and its end shall be with a flood, and even to the end shall be war; desolations are determined.
  • Isa 28:22Now therefore don’t be scoffers, lest your bonds be made strong; for I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, on the whole earth.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 9:28YouTube · 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 9:28 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.