Romans 9:29-33 Commentary

Updated: Wed, 11/23/2022 - 16:32 By admin

CLICK VERSE
To go directly to that verse

Romans 9:29 And just as Isaiah foretold , "UNLESS THE LORD OF SABAOTH HAD LEFT TO US A POSTERITY, WE WOULD HAVE BECOME LIKE SODOM, AND WOULD HAVE RESEMBLED GOMORRAH." (NASB: Lockman)

Greek: kai kathos proeireken (3SRAI) Esaias, Ei m e kurio s Saba oth egkatelipen (3SAAI) hemin sperma, os Sodoma an egenethemen (1PAPI) kai os Gomorrha an ho moiothemen. (1PAPI)

Amplified: It is as Isaiah predicted, If the Lord of hosts had not left us a seed [from which to propagate descendants], we [Israel] would have fared like Sodom and have been made like Gomorrah. [Isa. 1:9.] (Amplified Bible - Lockman)

Barclay: And even as Isaiah foretold: “Unless the Lord of Hosts had left us some descendants, we would have become as Sodom, and we would have been like Gomorrah.” (Westminster Press)

ESV: And as Isaiah predicted, "If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah." (ESV)

ICB: It is as Isaiah said: "The Lord of heaven's armies allowed a few of our descendants to live. Otherwise we would have been completely destroyed like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah." Isaiah 1:9

NIV: It is just as Isaiah said previously: "Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah." (NIV - IBS)

NKJV: And as Isaiah said before: "Unless the LORD of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah."

NLT: And Isaiah said in another place, "If the Lord Almighty had not spared a few of us, we would have been wiped out as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah." (NLT - Tyndale House)

Phillips: And previously, Isaiah said: 'Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom and we would have been made like Gomorrah'. At present the gentiles have gone further than the Jews (Phillips: Touchstone)

Wuest: And even as Isaiah said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us offspring, we would in that case have become even as Sodom and been made like Gomorrah.

Young's Literal: and according as Isaiah saith before, 'Except the Lord of Sabaoth did leave to us a seed, as Sodom we had become, and as Gomorrah we had been made like.'

Septuagint (Lxx) of Isa1:9: kai ei me kurios sabaoth egkatelipen (3SAAI) hemin sperma os Sodoma an egenethemen (1PAPI) kai os Gomorrha an homoiothemen (1PAPI)

ROMANS ROAD to RIGHTEOUSNESS
Romans 1:18-3:20	Romans 3:21-5:21	Romans 6:1-8:39	Romans 9:1-11:36	Romans 12:1-16:27
SIN	SALVATION	SANCTIFICATION	SOVEREIGNTY	SERVICE
NEED FOR SALVATION	WAY OF SALVATION	LIFE OF SALVATION	SCOPE OF SALVATION	WORK OF SALVATION

Summary of Romans 9-11
Romans 9	Romans 10	Romans 11
Past Election	Present Rejection	Future Reception
God's Sovereignty Israel's Election by God	Man's responsibility Israel's Rejection of God	God's Ways Higher God Not Rejecting Israel

Related resources…

Summary on the Attributes of God
Spurgeon on the Attributes of God
Israel of God - Is God "Finished" with Israel in His prophetic plan?
Off Site - Table Comparing/contrasting Israel & Church
Off Site - Does the Church Fulfill Israel's Program? - John Walvoord
The Jewish People, Jesus Christ and World History - S Lewis Johnson

Are you confused about God's plan for Israel? Then I highly recommend Tony Garland's 12 Hour Course on Romans 9-11 in which he addresses in depth the question of What Will Happen to Israel? (click) or see the individual lectures below)

Note that when you click the preceding links, each link will in turn give you several choices including an Mp3 message and brief transcript notes. The Mp3's are long (avg 70+ min) but are in depth and thoroughly Scriptural with many quotations from the Old Testament, which is often much less well understood than the NT by many in the church today. Tony Garland takes a literal approach to Scripture, and his love for the Jews and passion to see them saved comes through very clearly in these 12 hours of teaching! Take your home Bible Study group through this series if you dare! Take notes on the tapes as the transcripts are a very abbreviated version of the audio messages. This course is highly recommended for all who love Israel! I think you will agree that Tony Garland, despite coming to faith after age 30 as an engineer, clearly has been given a special anointing by God to proclaim the truth concerning Israel and God's glorious future plan for the Jews. Garland has also produced more than 20 hours of superb audio teaching in his verse by verse commentary on the Revelation (in depth transcripts also available) which will unravel (in a way you did not think was possible considering the plethora of divergent interpretations) God's final message of the triumph and return of the our Lord Jesus Christ as the King of kings and Lord of lords! Maranatha!

AND JUST AS ISAIAH FORETOLD EXCEPT THE LORD OF SABAOTH (1Sa1:3) HAD LEFT TO US A POSTERITY: kai kathos proeireken (3SRAI) Esaias ei me kurios sabaoth egkatelipen (3SAAI) hemin sperma:

Isaiah 1:9; 6:13; Lam 3:22
Jas 5:4
Romans 9 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

See related topics:

Isaiah's prophecies…

Unless the LORD of hosts had left us a few survivors (This truth should break all human pride, for even the survivors deserved death, even eternal death, but were graciously [not merited] given life, even eternal life!), we would be like Sodom, we would be like Gomorrah (How? Pictures the Jews as utterly obliterated as a people group!). (Isa 1:9-note)

Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or an oak Whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy (set apart by God and for God) seed is its stump (Stump is connected to the underlying root and the implication is that there is life that will come forth in this "stump" which represents the remnant of believing Jews, including a remnant from the tribe of Judah and the lineage of Jesse and David, from which the Messiah would come into the world as a Man Who was still fully God). (Isa 6:13-note)

Foretold (4280) (proereo from pró = before + eréo = to say, declare) means literally to say before and so to foretell or to speak of in advance. The perfect tense speaks of the permanence of God's prophetic word, none of which have ever failed or will ever fail. You can't say that about anyone else's word! (See Josh 23:14, 15) Isaiah spoke it at a point of time in the past and the words are still true and efficacious or "energetic". Joshua spoke of promises such as that in Isaiah when he said to Israel that…

Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass. (Josh 21:45)

Had left (1459)(egkataleipo from en = in + kataleipo = forsake, desert) means literally to leave down in. It conveys the sense of deserting someone in a set of circumstances that are against him. Here in Ro 9:29 the verb means to cause to remain or to exist after a point in time.

Posterity (4690) (sperma from speíro = to sow) refers to seed sown as containing the germ of new fruit and here clearly represents the offspring of Abraham and the context would appear to include both believing and non-believing Jews.

Sperma - 43x in 40v - - children(7), conceive*(1), descendant(4), descendants(16), posterity(1), seed(10), seeds(4).

Mt 13:24, 27, 32, 37 38; 22:24f; Mk 4:31; 12:19, 20, 21; Lk 1:55; 20:28; Jn 7:42; 8:33, 37; Acts 3:25; 7:5f; 13:23; Ro 1:3; 4:13, 16, 18; 9:7f, 29; 11:1; 1Co 15:38; 2Co 11:22; Gal 3:16, 19, 29; 2Ti 2:8; Heb 2:16; 11:11, 18; 1Jn 3:9; Rev 12:17.

If God had judged Israel the way their sins warranted their would have been no seed left. They would have been destroyed. In fact they should have been for in some ways Israel's sins against God were even greater than those of Sodom and Gomorrah (cp Mt 10:15, 11:20, 21, 22, 23, 24) because Israel's sins were against of a flood of light and evidence regarding the holiness of God and His desire to have a holy people (Lev 11:43, 44, 45). Now Paul will turn from God's sovereignty to man's responsibility. So in (Ro 9:6-29) Paul deals primarily with the sovereignty of God in salvation. In (Ro 9:30-10:21) he deals with man's responsibility in salvation and the two cannot be harmonized (at least in the sense that human "logic" can never explain how they interact). God's sovereignty and man's responsibility are two truths that are like parallel lines that will never intersect. If you try to harmonize them you will distort one truth at the expense of the other.

Matthew Henry notes that…

"The rejecting of the Jews, and the taking in the Gentiles, were foretold in the OT (Ro 9:26, Hosea 1:6). It tends very much to the clearing of a truth, to observe how the Scripture is fulfilled in it. It is a wonder of Divine power and mercy that there are any saved: for even those left to be a seed, if God had dealt with them according to their sins, had perished with the rest. This great truth this Scripture teaches us. Even among the vast number of professing Christians it is to be feared that only a remnant will be saved." (Heb 4:1, 2-note)

WE WOULD HAVE BECOME AS SODOM AND WOULD HAVE RESEMBLED GOMORRAH: os Sodoma an egenethemen (1PAPI) kai os Gomorrha an homoiothemen (1PAPI):

Romans 9 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

Become (1096) (ginomai) means to cause to be ("gen"-erate), to become, to come into existence, to be formed. Paul is being hypothetical, but this could just as well have been reality were it not for the longsuffering and lovingkindness of God to give Israel what they did not deserve (a posterity).

Sodom (note) and Gomorrah (note)

Resembled (3666) (homoioo from hómoios = similar) means to make like (or in the passive voice as here to be made like) thus speaking of complete identification.

Homoioo - 15x in 15v - Mt 6:8; 7:24, 26; 11:16; 13:24; 18:23; 22:2; 25:1; Mk 4:30; Lk 7:31; 13:18, 20; Acts 14:11; Ro 9:29; Heb 2:17. NAS - become like(1), comparable(1), compare(4), compared(4), like(2), made like(1), picture(1), resembled(1).

Paul's point uses the historical analogy of the complete and utter annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah is that there would have been not one believer in Israel had not God Himself intervened.

At the Exodus, God rejected the Gentiles and chose the Jews, so that, through the Jews, He might save the Gentiles. The nation of Israel rejected His will, but this did not defeat His purposes. A remnant of Jews does believe and God’s Word has been fulfilled. Paul had defended the character of God by showing His faithfulness, His righteousness, and His justice. Israel’s rejection had not canceled God’s election; it had only proved that He was true to His character and His purposes.

Romans 9:30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; (NASB: Lockman)

Greek: Ti oun eroumen? (1PFAI ) ho ti ethne ta m e diokonta (PAPNPN) dikaiosunen katelaben (3SAAI) dikaiosunen, dikaiosunen de ten ek pisteos;

Amplified: What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not follow after righteousness [who did not seek salvation by right relationship to God] have attained it by faith [a righteousness imputed by God, based on and produced by faith], (Amplified Bible - Lockman)

Barclay: What shall we then say? The Gentiles who were not looking for a right relationship with God received such a relationship, but it was a relationship which was the result of faith, (Westminster Press)

ESV: What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; (ESV)

ICB: So what does all this mean? It means this: the non-Jews were not trying to make themselves right with God. But they were made right with God because of their faith. (ICB: Nelson)

NIV: What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; (NIV - IBS)

NKJV: What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith;

NLT: Well then, what shall we say about these things? Just this: The Gentiles have been made right with God by faith, even though they were not seeking him. (NLT - Tyndale House)

Phillips: Now, how far have we got? That the Gentiles who never had the Law's standard of righteousness to guide them, have attained righteousness, righteousness-by-faith. (Phillips: Touchstone)

Wuest: What then shall we say? That Gentiles, the ones who do not earnestly endeavor to acquire righteousness, appropriated righteousness, in fact, a righteousness which is out of a source of faith.

Young's Literal: What, then, shall we say? that nations who are not pursuing righteousness did attain to righteousness, and righteousness that is of faith,

WHAT SHALL WE SAY THEN: Ti oun eroumen (1PFAI):

Ro 9:14; 3:5
Romans 9 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

At this point Paul makes a shift in emphasis from God's sovereignty to man's responsibility.

Ro 9:30-10:5	Man is responsible to pursue righteousness by faith
Ro 10:6-13	Man is responsible to confess what God has already done
Ro 10:14-15	Man is responsible to carry the gospel to others
Ro 10:16-31	Man is responsible (accountable) to God because he has heard

Once again Paul asked his familiar rhetorical question (What shall we say then?) preparatory to his summation of this situation. Having accounted for Jewish unbelief in terms of divine sovereignty, Paul now diagnoses it as due to a fatal prior commitment to a false way of righteousness. Divine sovereignty and the guilt of human willfulness (man's responsibility) are for Paul two aspects of reality. The conclusion is that Gentiles, who characteristically did not pursue righteousness but rather wickedness, and who certainly didn’t pursue a righteousness of their own making, have found righteousness through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not all Gentiles, of course, but only those who believed in Christ were justified.

William Newell (Romans 9) summarizes God's sovereignty in election:

1. Man was lost-he could not save himself.

2. He was guilty-none could pardon him but the God he had sinned against.

3 He was by nature "a child of wrath" not deserving good; nor being able to change his nature. He was allied with God's Enemy; and had a mind at enmity against God: a mind not subject, nor able to be subject to God's law or will.

5. He knew he was doing things "worthy of death"; but not only persisted in them, but was in league-approval with those of like practice; he was "of the world, " not of God.

6. Therefore, if any move be made toward man's salvation, it must come from God, not man.

7. God, being God, knew beforehand that the attitude of every man by nature toward his overtures would be to oppose them.

8. Since any real response to these overtures, therefore, must come from God's grace, He must elect to overcome effectually man's resistance, either: (a) In no case, (b) Or, in every case, (c) Or, in certain cases.

9. To hold God unable to overcome man's resistance in any case is to limit His power.

10. But to hold that God is unwilling to have certain saved is to deny His repeated word-

"Who would have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth";

"As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live."

11. Therefore, it would seem that only in those cases in which it would no longer be consistent with God's glory-that is, consistent with His holiness and righteousness, and His just government of His creatures, would God withhold, or refuse longer to employ. His gracious operations in behalf of any creature.

12. But, when we consider Election, we must remove our thoughts wholly from this world, the first Adam, the sin of man, and his "attitude" toward God. The purpose of God according to Election is "not of works, but of Him that calleth." It is outside human history altogether. (Ref)

IT IS OF
GOD

THAT GENTILES WHO DID NOT PURSUE RIGHTEOUSNESS ATTAINED RIGHTEOUSNESS: hoti ethne ta me diokonta (PAPNPN) dikaiosunen katelaben (3SAAI) dikaiosunen:

Ro 1:18-32; 4:11; 10:20; Isaiah 65:1,2; 1Corinthians 6:9-11; Ephesians 2:12; 4:17, 18, 19; 1Peter 4:3
Ro 9:31; Proverbs 15:9; 21:21; Isaiah 51:1; 1Timothy 6:11
Romans 9 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

Paul pictures a pursuit for righteousness, as if one were in a foot race. The Gentiles were not running toward God but from God!

Gentiles (1484) (ethnos) refers to non-Jews or the heathen or as often referred to in the OT, "the nations", terms synonymous with the Gentiles. All of mankind can be divided into Jew and Gentile and thus Gentile is a synonym for anyone who is non-Jew or who is not a member of the "chosen people". The Hebrew word corresponding to Gentile is goyim. From Genesis 12 onward the majority of the Scripture deals with Israel and the Jews, with the Gentiles mentioned primarily as they interface with the Jews. The NT does have more mention of the Gentiles after the formation of the Church, but the last book, the book of Revelation is predominantly Jewish with over 200 OT quotes or allusions to OT passages.

Did not pursue righteousness - In fact to the contrary the idol worshipping Gentiles actively sought to "suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Ro 1:18-note)

Pursue (1377) (dioko [word study] from dío = pursue, prosecute, persecute) means to follow or press hard after, literally to pursue as one does a fleeing enemy. It means to chase, harass, vex and pressure and was used for chasing down criminals. Dioko speaks of an intensity of effort leading to a pursue with earnestness and diligence in order to obtain. To go after with the desire of obtaining. It gives us the picture of going on the track of something like the hounds on the hunt and pursuing after the fox and implying a continuing effort to overtake, reach, or attain the goal.

Dioko is in the present tense which indicates pursuit of God's righteousness was continually not on the spiritual agenda of the Gentiles. Sure, they pursued a form of "righteousness" (at least some of them did), but it was a human version of righteousness which is nothing but "wrongness" in the eyes of our holy God Who demands (and makes available in Christ - 1Co 1:30, 2Co 5:21-note Ro 10:3, 4-note, Php 3:9-note) perfect, unblemished, flawless righteousness. Jesus made it very clear that the Pharisees who labored legalistically (even hypocritically tithing the smallest of seeds Mt 23:23) in their attempts to meet God's standard, still fell short of perfection, which makes Jesus' declaration in Mt 5:20-note all that much more of a challenge to anyone who would seek to be in right standing before God.

Vincent says that dioko is

Stronger than "follow". A favorite word with Paul to denote the pursuits of moral and spiritual ends. See Ro 9:30, 31-note; Ro 12:13-note; 1Cor 14:1; Php 3:12-note. (Vincent, M. R. Word Studies in the New Testament. 4:307)

Dioko means to run swiftly after righteousness, even as one hunts for prey. Figuratively dioko pictures one earnestly seeking righteousness. The Gentiles did not run after nor seek righteousness as did the Jews, albeit in vain.

Paul is going to show that the Jews missed righteousness because they sought it by works rather than by faith. The Jews missed righteousness because they did not see the end of the law which results in righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ the Righteous One (Isa 53:11 Acts 3:14, Acts 7:52, Acts 22:14, cp Jer 23:6, 33:16). On the other hand, the Gentiles were not even pursuing righteousness.

Paul concludes the lesson on God’s divine choice (God's Sovereignty in Election) by reminding his readers that although God chooses some to receive His mercy, those who receive His judgment do so not because of something God has done to them, but because of their own unwillingness to believe the gospel or as he states in his letter to the Thessalonians…

because they did not receive (dechomai = accept deliberately and readily, receive kindly and so to take to oneself) the love (agape) of the truth so as to be saved (sozo) (2Th 2:10, cp 2Th 1:8, 1Pe 4:17-note)

Sinners are condemned for their personal sins, the supreme sin being the willful rejection of God and His Son Christ Jesus.

Righteousness (1343)(dikaiosune from dikaios [word study] = being proper or right in the sense of being fully justified being or in accordance with what God requires) is the quality of being upright. In its simplest sense dikaiosune conveys the idea of conformity to a standard or norm and in Biblical terms the "standard" is God and His perfect, holy character. In this sense righteousness is the opposite of hamartia (sin), which is defined as missing of the mark set by God.

Attain (2638)(katalambano [word study] from katá = adds intensity to the meaning of the next verb + lambano = take) means to take eagerly, grasp with force, lay hold of, sometimes to seize even with hostile intent (this literal meaning vividly depicted by the demon who seizes the son and dashed him to the ground in Mark 9:18). Katalambano was used in the sense of laying hold of so as to gain control of. In a secular Greek use we read "they were pursued and overtaken."

Righteousness (1343) (dikaiosune [word study] from dikaios [word study] = being proper or right in the sense of being fully justified being or in accordance with what God requires) is the quality of being upright. In its simplest sense dikaiosune conveys the idea of conformity to a standard or norm. In this sense righteousness is the opposite of hamartia (sin), which is defined as missing of the mark set by God. In this sense righteousness is the opposite of hamartia (sin), which is defined as missing of the mark set by God.

Dikaiosune is rightness of character before God and rightness of actions before men. Righteousness of God could be succinctly stated as all that God is, all that He commands, all that He demands, all that He approves, all that He provides through faith in Christ (Click here to read Pastor Ray Pritchard's interesting analysis of righteousness in the Gospel of Matthew).

In short, the Gentiles did not pursue right standing with God and yet they attained it. Why? Because they believed, while the Jew (Ro 9:31) "worked" futilely in an attempt to attain it.

EVEN THE RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS BY FAITH: dikaiosunen de ten ek pisteos:

Ro 1:17; 3:22; 4:9,11,13,22; 5:1; 10:10; Galatians 3:8; 5:5; Philippians 3:9; Hebrews 11:7
Romans 9 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

Righteousness which is by faith (see Ro 1:16-17) - Imputed righteousness. Righteousness reckoned from the Savior's account to the sinner's account, fully meeting God's demands (Ge 15:6). This phrase is tantamount to justification by faith in Christ. Justification is the divine declaration of positional righteousness (the position of course being that the the believing sinner is now seen by the Father as immutably and forever "in Christ", the phrase of salvation which is often referred to by theologians as past tense salvation. Past tense salvation is a one time historical event (i.e., an event that has happened at a point in time in the past = the moment we truly believed in Christ). See related topic - Three Tenses of Salvation

Repeatedly Paul emphasizes the role of faith in one's reception of divine righteousness…

For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants (Referring not to physical but to spiritual offspring who have become his "descendants" by faith in Christ) that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith (cp Gal 3:26, 29). (Romans 4:13-note)

Even the beloved Jewish ritual of circumcision was only a sign and seal but never the effective agent producing divine righteousness. Paul explained that Abraham…

received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised (Could it be any clearer? Abraham was reckoned as righteous before he was circumcised, when in effect he was still a "Gentile!" There were no "Jews" in existence at this time.), so that he might be the father of all who believe (all means all without exception - this opens the door of salvation to both Jews and Gentiles) without being circumcised (This "qualifier" speaks especially of the Gentiles who were physically uncircumcised), that righteousness (of Christ) might be credited (reckoned, placed on their spiritual bank account) to them (Romans 4:11-note)

By faith - The preposition ek is rendered literally out of or from faith. As has been alluded to earlier, this is the only righteousness that is acceptable to God. Paul is not saying that Gentiles are saved on a different basis than Jews, but that the human requirement for salvation is faith.

Faith has always been the key to obtaining God's righteousness in both the Old and the New Testaments. And thus we read that…

By faith Noah (who was in effect a "Gentile" in that he lived before Israel was formed), being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence (picture of one standing in awe of, giving careful heed to) prepared an ark for the salvation of his household (His work to prepare the ark did not save him, but his obedience to God's instructions to build an ark when it had apparently never even rained did demonstrate that he believed God and thus that his faith was genuine), by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. (He 11:7-note)

Related Topic - Studies on the Relationship of faith and obedience; Obedience of faith

In his letter to the Philippians after counting his human righteousness as dung (Php 3:8 "rubbish" = skubalon = that which was thrown to the dogs) affirms his desire that he…

may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law (Php 3:6-note), but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith (Php 3:9-note)

Faith (4102) (pistis) represents a persuasion which is not based solely on a mental assent but upon a firm conviction of the veracity of a set of facts (truth), a surrender to that truth and a conduct emanating from that surrender. In sum, faith shows itself genuine by a changed life. Faith, like grace, is not static. Faith is a convicted heart reaching out to receive God’s free and unmerited gift of salvation.

William Barclay (see critique) wrote that "Faith begins with receptivity. It begins when a man is at least willing to listen to the message of the truth. It goes on to mental assent. A man first hears and then agrees that this is true. But mental assent need not issue in action. Many a man knows very well that something is true, but does not change his actions to meet that knowledge. The final stage is when this mental assent becomes total surrender. In full-fledged faith, a man hears the Christian message, agrees that it is true, and then casts himself upon it in a life of total yieldedness. (Romans 1 - William Barclay's Daily Study Bible)

Romans 9:31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. (NASB: Lockman)

Greek: Israel de diokon (PAPMSN ) nomon dikaiosun es ei s nomon ouk ephthasen. (3SAAI)

Amplified:Whereas Israel, though ever in pursuit of a law [for the securing] of righteousness (right standing with God), actually did not succeed in fulfilling the Law. [Isa. 51:1.] (Amplified Bible - Lockman)

Barclay: while Israel which was looking for a law which would produce a right relationship with God never succeeded in finding such a law. (Westminster Press)

ESV: but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness[4] did not succeed in reaching that law. (ESV)

ICB: And the people of Israel tried to follow a law to make themselves right with God. But they did not succeed, (ICB: Nelson)

NIV: but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. (NIV - IBS)

NKJV: but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.

NLT: But the Jews, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. (NLT - Tyndale House)

Phillips: but Israel, following the Law of righteousness, failed to reach the goal of righteousness. (Phillips: Touchstone)

Wuest: But Israel, earnestly endeavoring to acquire a law of righteousness, did not measure up to the law.

Young's Literal: and Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, at a law of righteousness did not arrive;

BUT ISRAEL PURSUING A LAW OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: Israel de diokon (PAPMSN) nomon dikaiosunes eis nomon:

Ro 9:30, 31, 32; 10:2, 3, 4
Romans 9 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

"Whereas Israel, though ever in pursuit of a law [for the securing] of righteousness (right standing with God), actually did not succeed in fulfilling the Law. (Amplified)

But - (term of contrast) A change of direction. In contrast to the Gentiles who did not eagerly seek after righteousness, the Jews actively ran after a manmade variety of righteousness.

Pursuing a law - Paul continues the figure of a race (pursuit) after righteousness, emphasizing the vain, futile, even frustrating human attempts of the Jews to lay hold of righteousness which would make them acceptable to God.

Harrison rightly says that…

Hardly a passage in the New Testament is stronger than this one in its exposure of the futility of works as a means of justification.

Paul understood this pursuit of righteousness by doing "good" works because as an unconverted Jew…

as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. (Philippians 3:6-note)

After his conversion Paul ask the legalistic prone Galatian believers this rhetorical question…

Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. (Galatians 3:21)

Israel like Paul in his unconverted state was pursuing righteousness by works not by faith.

DID NOT ARRIVE AT THAT LAW: ouk ephthasen (3SAAI: pthano):

Romans 9 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

Not (ou) signifies absolute negation. In other words there were no exceptions. The most righteous Jew to ever live did not reach the perfect standard set by the law.

Arrive (5348) (phthano [word study]) means to come suddenly and unexpectedly. Phillips paraphrases it that Israel "failed to reach the goal of righteousness".

William Barclay paraphrases it as…

while Israel which was looking for a law which would produce a right relationship with God never succeeded in finding such a law.

The picture Paul paints is of a foot race and his contrast is sharp, presenting Gentiles who are unconcerned about acquiring righteousness as actually arriving at the prize, even though not competing in the race with the Jews. The prize of course is justification by faith.

This is a sad picture of the nation of Israel struggling intensely to perfect their religious life and coming up empty-handed.

Hodge puts the matter well: "The Gentiles, sunk in carelessness and sin, have attained the favor of God, while the Jews, to whom religion was a business, have utterly failed (Romans 9 - Hodge's Commentary on Romans)

The Jews choose in their pride and self deception choose to identify their own works with the perfect standard the law requires and God demands. Their whole effort was not grounded in faith but in works designed to gain acceptance (Ro 9:32).

Romans 9:32 Why *? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, (NASB: Lockman)

Greek: dia ti? hoti ouk ek piste os all' os ex ergon; prosekopsan (3PAAI) to litho tou proskommatos,

Amplified: For what reason? Because [they pursued it] not through faith, relying [instead] on the merit of their works [they did not depend on faith but on what they could do]. They have stumbled over the Stumbling Stone. [Isa. 8:14; 28:16.] (Amplified Bible - Lockman)

Barclay: Why? Because they tried to get into a right relationship with God, not by trusting God, but by depending on their own human achievements. They stumbled over the stone which makes men stumble, (Westminster Press)

ESV: Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, (ESV)

ICB: because they tried to make themselves right by the things they did. They did not trust in God to make them right. They fell over the stone that causes people to fall. (GWT)

(ICB: Nelson)

NIV: Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." (NIV - IBS)

NKJV: Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.

NLT: Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law and being good instead of by depending on faith. They stumbled over the great rock in their path. (NLT - Tyndale House)

Phillips: And why? Because their minds were fixed on what they achieved instead of on what they believed. They tripped over that very stone the scripture mentions: (Phillips: Touchstone)

Wuest: Because of what? Because, not out of a source of faith but even as out of a source of works they sought to acquire it. They stumbled up against the stone which is a stumbling stone

Young's Literal: wherefore? because -- not by faith, but as by works of law; for they did stumble at the stone of stumbling,

WHY? BECAUSE THEY DID NOT PURSUE IT BY FAITH BUT AS THOUGH IT WERE BY WORKS: dia ti hoti ouk ek pisteos all os ex ergon:

Ro 4:16; 10:3; Matthew 19:16, 17, 18, 19, 20; John 6:27, 28, 29; Acts 16:30, 31, 32 33, 34; 1John 5:9, 10, 11, 12
Romans 9 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

Why? - Why did they not arrive at God's standard?

Because - Righteousness has always been by grace through faith and not the result of works so that no man might boast. Israel failed to follow the prototype, Abraham, who presented the pattern by which one attains God's righteousness "(Abraham) believed in the LORD and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." (Genesis 15:6)

THEY STUMBLED OVER THE STUMBLING STONE: prosekopsan (3PAAI) to litho tou proskommatos:

Ro 11:11; Matthew 13:57; Luke 2:34; 7:23; 1Corinthians 1:23
Romans 9 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

What was the result of pursuing righteousness by works rather than by simple, child-like faith? They stumbled!

Stumbled (4350) (proskopto [word study] from prós = to, against + kópto = cut, strike) means literally to strike against and so to dash against something as one's foot against a stone.

Proskopto in its literal use pictures a traveler who bumps against an obstacle and is caused to stumble. Most of the NT passages use proskopto in a figurative sense, so that here in Romans Paul pictures Israel stumbling spiritually.

Proskopto is used 8 times and is translated (NAS) as beat upon, 1; dash, 2; stumble, 3; stumble at, 2; NAS (8) - slammed against, 1; strike, 2; stumble, 2; stumbled over, 1; stumbles, 2;

Matthew 4:6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'He will give His angels charge concerning You'; and 'On their hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.'"

Matthew 7:27 (note) (Jesus in His closing warning in the Sermon on the Mount) "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."

Luke 4:11 and, 'On their hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.'" (Note that this verse and Mt 4:6 give the devil's version of Ps 91:11-12 which correctly reads "For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, Lest you strike your foot against a stone." In the "devil's version" note that he quoted it out of context leaving out the phrase "in all your ways". The idea is that such a one's "ways" would be in the will of and pleasing to God. To jump off the pinnacle of the Temple was not God's will for His Son -- the Cross was His will.)

John 11:9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 "But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." (Jesus uses proskopto with a literal meaning while at the same time conveying a spiritual truth "the light is not in him")

Romans 9:32 (note) Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, (Comment: Thayer remarks that the idea of prokopto here is that "the Jews are said to have recoiled from Jesus as one who failed to meet their ideas of the Messiah". In short Israel for the most part failed to recognize the role of Jesus the Messiah in God's plan of salvation and they took offense at and stumbled over the Rock Who is Jesus.)

Romans 14:21 (note) It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. (Comment: The idea here is to make a misstep. Thayer remarks that this means "to be made to stumble by a thing, i.e., metaphorically, to be induced to sin. Since we are angry with an obstacle in our path which we have struck and hurt our foot against, one is tropically said to stumble at, a person or thing which highly displeases him." Believers will have different convictions about matters on which Scripture is silent. Each of us is free to follow his or her conscience in such matters. But we are never free to influence others to act against their personal convictions and thus cause them to stumble into sin.)

1 Peter 2:8 (note) and, "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense" (Jesus is the "Stone" and the "Rock"); for they stumble because they are disobedient (refused to believe and obey) to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

Proskopto - 9x in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (LXX) - Ps. 91:12; Pr. 3:6, 23; 4:19; Isa. 3:5; Jer. 13:16; Da 11:14, 19, 33.

Proverbs 3:23 Then you will walk in your way securely, And your foot will not stumble (Lxx = proskopto).

Proverbs 4:19 The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they stumble (Lxx = proskopto).

Jeremiah 13:16 Give glory to the LORD your God, Before He brings darkness And before your feet stumble (Lxx = proskopto) On the dusky mountains, And while you are hoping for light He makes it into deep darkness, And turns it into gloom.

NIDNTT adds that…

The verb proskopto (from Aristophanes onwards), derived from kopto, smite, strike, beat, knock (from Homer onwards), means transitively to strike or knock against; intransitively to knock oneself against, trip, or fall. Metaphorically it means both to give and to take offense. (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan or Computer version)

TDNT has the following summary of prokopto…

1. Literally, this word means “to strike,” “to dash against.” Intransitively it means “to stumble against,” “bump,” “slip,” “fall,” “suffer harm,” “perish.”

2. In a transferred sense, proskopto means “to give offense,” “to cause displeasure,” or “to take offense,” “to be annoyed or enraged,” “to experience displeasure.” (Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans or Wordsearch)

Stone (3037) (lithos) was used in classic Greek to describe stones of every sort (even including fine, precious stones). The OT equivalent word is 'Eben which was part of the familiar Hebrew word "Ebenezer" which means "Stone of Help." (See also Jehovah Ezer: The LORD our Helper) How sad that the Jews had so many pictures and shadows of Messiah and yet for the most part refused to believe in Him (this is true of both Old and New Testament Jews).

Seven centuries earlier, the prophet Isaiah had predicted the stumbling that Paul is describing in Romans 9:32…

It is the Lord of hosts (Jehovah Sabaoth, LORD of hosts or of armies) Whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread. 14 Then He shall become a sanctuary (As a result of a reverential fear and a choice to trust in Messiah, God would become a place to worship and experience fellowship for the believing Jewish remnant - most of Israel in the OT choose not believe in Messiah and so the latter part of this passage describes their tragic fate and eternal end!); but to both the houses of Israel (Northern and Southern Kingdoms), a Stone to strike and a Rock to stumble over, and a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 Many will stumble over them. Then they will fall and be broken. They will even be snared and caught.” (Isaiah 8:13-15-note).

Comment: The Stone either saves or stumbles. What about you dear reader - is Messiah your Stone of Help or your Stone of Stumbling? I pray you choose His help for… "behold, now is "THE ACCEPTABLE TIME," behold, now is "THE DAY OF SALVATION" (2Cor 6:2)

Related Topic -

Passages that describe Messiah as a Stone or Rock

Absorbed in their own efforts, the Israelites did not (or refused to) recognize that Christ the Stone described even in their own OT prophecies was the sure foundation for eternal life, and as a result they fell headlong over Him. The point of all this argument is to reiterate that God's rejection of Israel was not an arbitrary decision on His part, but was based on Israel's rejection of God's only provision (faith in Christ) for securing righteousness.

Romans 9:33 just as it is written, "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." (NASB: Lockman)

Greek: kathos gegraptai 3SRPI, Idou (AMM) tithemi (1SPAI) en Sion liqon proskommatos kai petran skandalou, kai o pisteuon (PAPMSN) ep' auto ou kataischunthesetai. (3SFPI)

Amplified: As it is written, Behold I am laying in Zion a Stone that will make men stumble, a Rock that will make them fall; but he who believes in Him [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] shall not be put to shame nor be disappointed in his expectations. [Isa 28:16.] (Amplified Bible - Lockman)

Barclay: even as it stands written: “I have set in Zion a stone which makes men stumble, and a rock which makes them trip. And he who believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Westminster Press)

ESV: as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." (ESV)

ICB: As it is written in the Scripture: "I will put in Jerusalem a stone that causes people to stumble. It is a rock that makes them fall. Anyone who trusts in him will not be disappointed." Isaiah 8:14; 28:16 (ICB: Nelson)

NIV: As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." (NIV - IBS)

NKJV: As it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

NLT: God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said, "I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that causes people to stumble, and a rock that makes them fall. But anyone who believes in him will not be disappointed." (NLT - Tyndale House)

Phillips: the scripture mentions: 'Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offence, and whoever believes on him will not be put to shame'. (Phillips: Touchstone)

Wuest: even as it stands written, Behold, I place in Sion a stone, a stumbling stone, and a rock of offense. And the one who places his faith upon Him will not be put to shame.

Young's Literal: according as it hath been written, 'Lo, I place in Sion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence; and every one who is believing thereon shall not be ashamed.'

JUST AS IT IS WRITTEN BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE : kathos gegraptai (3SRPI) idou tithemi (1SPAI) en Sion lithon proskommatos kai petran skandalou:

Matthew 21:42,44; 1Peter 2:7,8
Romans 9 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

Just as it is written - This exact phrase occurs 13x - Matt 26:24; Mark 9:13; 14:21; Acts 15:15; Rom2:24; 8:36; 9:13, 33; 10:15; 11:8, 26; 1 Cor 1:31; 2:9

Written (1125) (grapho [word study]) from root graph- = primarily means to scratch on or engrave as on an ornament, reports, letters, etc; English = graph, graphic, etc) means to engrave or inscribe with a pen or stylus characters or letters on a surface which can be wood, wax, metal, leather, stone, parchment, dirt (John ), paper, etc. (Click to review all 191 uses of grapho in the NAS)

Grapho is in the perfect tense which emphasizes the lasting and binding authority of that which was written. It has been written at some point in time in the past and it "stands" written.

The Lord Jesus Christ, “the stumbling Stone” (1Pe 2:4, 5, 6-note, 1Pe 2:7, 8-note), did not conform to the Jews’ expectations (He did not defeat the Roman army and set up an earthly kingdom - that will be fulfilled in His Second Coming), so they rejected Him instead of responding to Him by faith. To show that God anticipated this, Paul quoted from where "it is written"

The stone (Messiah) which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. (Psalms 118:22-note)

"Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, and a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many will stumble over them, then they will fall and be broken. They will even be snared and caught." (Isaiah 8:14,15)

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed. (Isaiah 28:16)

Paul combines two statements to indicate the contrasting reactions by men to the Stone that God placed in Zion. To some people Messiah would prove to be a stumbling Stone and Rock of offense (Isaiah 8:14). Others would believe on Him and find no reason for shame, offense, or disappointment (Isaiah 28:16).

PAY ATTENTION!

Behold (2400) (idou) means "Look!" and in Hebrew style narrative was used to emphasize an idea or call attention to some thought. In this case Paul wants every reader to look to the "Stone" that has been laid in Zion. Behold is in the aorist imperative and the middle voice which is a command calling for immediate, effective personal involvement which even conveys a sense of urgency in looking at the "Rock". Why? Because to choose not look to at the Rock of salvation assures one's destiny and "the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (2Th 1:9)

Stone (3037) (líthos) means a stone, literally or as in the current verse figuratively referring to the Messiah.

Stumbling (4348) (proskomma from prós = to, against + kopto = cut, strike) can describe literal or figurative stumbling. It is something a person trips over. Thus proskomma can be an obstacle in the way which if one strikes his foot against he stumbles or falls or figuratively it can describe that over which a soul stumbles i.e. by which is caused to sin or which causes an occasion of apostasy. It is also used figuratively, to describe a cause of falling or an occasion of sinning (Ro 14:13, 20; 1Cor. 8:9; Septuagint: Ex 23:33; 34:12).

Proskomma - 4x Translated: obstacle, 1; offense, 1; stumbling, 3; stumbling block, 1

Romans 9:32 (note) - [Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,

Romans 9:33 (note) - just as it is written, "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE (skandalon), AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED "

Romans 14:13 (note) Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this --not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block (skandalon) in a brother's way.

Romans 14:20 (note) - Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense.

1 Cor 8:9 -But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

1 Peter 2:8 (note) - and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE "; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

Barclay writes that…

proskomma, means 'a barrier', 'a hindrance', 'a road-block'. It is the word that would be used for a tree that has been felled and laid across a road to block it. We must never do or allow anything which would be a road-block on the way to goodness. (William Barclay. New Testament Words)

The TDNT summarizes the meanings of proskomma…

1. This noun may denote the result of falling, hence “damage,” “wound,” “bump,” or more generally “hurt,” “destruction,” “ruin,” and morally “fall,” “sin.”

2. It may also denote a quality as in the phrase “stone of stumbling.”

3. Finally, it may indicate a cause of hurt, e.g., an “obstacle,” or more generally a cause of ruin, e.g., a “hindrance” to faith, a “temptation” that causes a fall into sin.

(Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Page 946. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W. B. Eerdmans)

A Rock of offense - In this context the Rock metaphor clearly symbolizes Christ. This picture of Christ as a Stone or Rock is intimately woven by the Spirit throughout both the Old and New Testaments and makes for a fascinating and encouraging study

Suggestion: This study would make an edifying series in a Sunday School class and would be very enlightening to those who are not that familiar with the Old Testament. Remember to carefully observe the context to arrive at the most accurate interpretation, interrogating each each "base" verse with questions such as… When does this take place? Where does this take place? What are the circumstances surrounding the use of this metaphor? Who are the "cast of characters"? Who used the name Rock? What attributes do you discover about the Rock or Stone? How should we apply this truth to our life today -- not Can we? - it is God's Word of Truth and it is ALWAYS applicable to our life. The more relevant question is "Will we allow the Spirit to speak the Word of Truth to our innermost being and respond with unhesitating obedience"?)… here are the Scriptures…

Genesis 49:24 > Exodus 17:6 > Exodus 33:21 > Numbers 20:11 > Deut 32:4 > 2Samuel 23:3 > Psalm 18:2 > Psalm 18:31 > Psalm 18:46 > Psalm 19:14 > Psalm 27:5 > Psalm 28:1 > Psalm 31:2-3 > Psalm 40:2 > Psalm 42:9 > Psalm 61:2 >Psalm >Psalm 62:2 >Psalm 62:6-7 >Psalm 71:3 >Psalm 78:16 > Psalm 78:20 > Psalm 78:35 > Psalm 81:16 > Psalm 89:26 > Psalm 92:15 > Psalm 94:22 >Psalm 95:1 >Psalm 105:41 >Psalm 114:8 >Psalm 118:22 >Psalm 144:1 >Isaiah 8:14 > Isaiah 17:10 > Isaiah 26:4 >Isaiah 28:16 >Isaiah 30:29 >Isaiah 32:2 >Isaiah 33:16 >Isaiah 44:8 >Isaiah 48:21 >Isaiah 51:1 > Da 2:34 > Da 2:35, 44-46 > Hab 1:12 > Zech 4:7 > Mt 7:24,25> Mt 16:18 >Mt 21:42 >Mk 12:10 >Luke 20:17 > Acts 4:11 >Ro 9:32-33 > Acts 4:11 >1Cor 1:23>1Cor 10:4 >Ephesians 2:20 >1Pe 2:4-8 (Which book of the Bible has the most allusions to Rock? Why might that be the case?)

CHRIST THE ROCK
OUR CORNER STONE

(1) To God Jesus is…

Smitten Stone
Exodus 17:6, 1Cor 10:4,
cp John 4:13, John 4:14

(2) To Israel Messiah is…

Stumbling Stone
1Pe 2:8 (note), Ro 9:32 (note)
Ro 9:33 (note); 1Cor 1:23

(3) To the Church the Lord Jesus is…

Cornerstone
1Pe 2:6 (note), Ep 2:20 (note),
1Cor 3:10, 11, 12 (foundation)

(4) To all the Gentile world powers Jesus the King of kings is the…

Stone cut without hands
Da 2:34

Stone that grows and fills the earth
Da 2:35, cf Da 2:44 2:45

(5) To Israel at Second coming Messiah is…

Capstone of the corner
Zech 4:7

(6) To unbelievers the Lord Jesus Christ is the…

Crushing Stone of judgment
Mt 21:44

Offense (4625) (skandalon from a root meaning jump up, snap shut) was originally the piece of wood that kept open a trap for animals. Outside the Bible it is not used metaphorically, though its derivative skandalethron (e.g. a trap set through questions) is so used. The English word scandal is derived from the noun via the Lat. scandalum.

Thus skandalon was literally, that movable part of a trap on which the bait was laid, and when touched caused the trap to close on its prey. Skandalon thus came to mean any entanglement of the foot. Figuratively, as used most often in Scripture, skandalon refers to any person or thing by which one is drawn into error or sin. (but see more detailed notes below)

Skandalon is used 15 times: KJV (15) - occasion of stumbling, 1; occasion to fall, 1; offence, 9; stumbling block, 3; thing that offends, 1; NAS (15) - cause for stumbling, 1; hindrances, 1; offense, 2; stumbling block, 7; stumbling blocks, 4

Mt 13:41 "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,

Mt 16:23 - But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's ."

Mt 18:7 - "Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

Lk 17:1 - He said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! William Barclay comments on skandalon in this verse writing…

Skandalon has two meanings. (a) It originally meant the bait-stick in a trap. (b) It then came to mean any stumbling-block placed in a man’s way to trip him up. Jesus said that it was impossible to construct a world with no temptations; but woe to that man who taught another to sin or who took away another’s innocence. Every one must be given his first invitation to sin, his first push along the wrong way. Kennedy Williamson tells of an old man who was dying. Something was obviously worrying him. He told them at last what it was. “When I was a lad,” he said, “I often played on a wide common. Near its centre two roads met and crossed, and, standing at the cross-roads, was an old rickety sign-post. I remember one day twisting it round in its socket, thus altering the arms and making them point in the wrong direction; and I’ve been wondering ever since how many travelers I sent on the wrong road.” (The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press)

Romans 9:33 (note) - just as it is written, "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED ."

Romans 11:9 (note) - And David says, "LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM.

Romans 14:13 (note) - Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this --not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.

Romans 16:17 (note) - Now urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.

1Corinthians 1:23 - but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,

Galatians 5:11 - But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished.

1 Peter 2:8 (note) - - and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE "; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed

1John 2:10 - The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

Revelation 2:14 (note) - 'But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality

Skandalon - 11x in the Septuagint (LXX) - Lev 19:14; Josh 23:13 (translates Heb = moqesh = bait or lure placed in a hunter's trap); Jdg 2:3; 1Sa 18:21; 25:31; Ps 49:13; 50:20; 69:22; 106:36; 119:165; 140:5; 141:9; Hos 4:17

As noted above, in the NT skandalon is always used metaphorically, and ordinarily of anything that arouses prejudice, or becomes a hindrance to others, or causes them to fall by the way. Sometimes the hindrance is in itself good, and those stumbled by it are the wicked. Paul clearly uses skandalon in the good sense here in Romans 9:33. He also records that rejection of the Messiah was especially true with respect to His Crosst…

"we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block (skandalon), and to Gentiles foolishness (1Co 1:23) (see also Galatians 5:11 above)

Skandalon can describe that which causes someone to sin or that which produces certain behavior which can lead to ruin. Skandalon thus denotes an enticement to conduct which could ruin the person in question. For example, Balaam’s device was a trap for Israel, John recording Jesus' words…

'But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit acts of immorality. (Rev 2:14)

Skandalon can refer to a hindrance which stresses that which cause harmful or annoying delay or interference with progress. For example, Paul writes…

Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances (skandalon) contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. (Ro 16:17)

William Barclay has a lengthy note on skandalon writing…

The interest of this word lies in the fact that it has, not one, but two pictures behind it, and to differentiate between the two will often give us a much more vivid picture. The word skandalon is not a classical Greek word at all. It is late Greek and is, in fact, much commoner in the Septuagint (LXX) and in the NT than anywhere else. The classical equivalent is skandalethron, which means `the bait-stick in a trap'. The skandalethron was the arm or stick on which the bait was fixed. The animal for which the trap was set was lured by the bait to touch or step on the stick; the stick touched off a spring; and so the animal was enticed to its capture or destruction. In classical Greek the word is used by Aristophanes for `verbal traps' set to lure a person in an argument into defeat. It is therefore clear that the original flavour of the word was not so much 'a stumbling-block' to trip someone up as an 'enticement' to lure someone to destruction.

When we turn to the Septuagint (LXX) we find that this distinction is still quite clear. The Greek word skandalon is used to translate two Hebrew words. (a) It is used to translate the word michsol, which quite definitely does mean a 'stumbling-block'. It is so in Lev. 19.14,

'Thou shalt not put a stumbling-block before the blind.'

It is so used in Ps. 119.165,

'Great peace have they which love thy law; and nothing shall offend them.'

That is to say, 'Nothing shall trip them up.'

(b) It is used to translate the word mokesh, which definitely means 'a trap' or 'a snare'. So in Josh. 23.13 alliances with foreign nations are said to be 'snares' and 'traps'. In Ps. 140.5 the Psalmist says that the proud have hid a 'snare' for him, and cords; they have spread a 'net' by the wayside; they have set 'gins' for him. In Ps. 141.9 the Psalmist prays :

'Keep me, from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity.'

In Ps. 69.22 the Psalmist says :

'Let their table become a snare before them; and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.'

The idea is that success and prosperity can become a snare instead of a blessing. In the Septuagint, then, the word skandalon has two ideas behind it. It means either a 'stumbling-block', something set in a man's path to trip him up, or 'a snare', 'a bait', 'a lure' to entice him astray and so to ruin him.

When we turn to the NT we find that the translators of the AV always took skandalon in the sense of 'stumbling-block', but when we go to the NT passages with the idea of the double meaning of skandalon in our minds, we find that in certain passages the other meaning gives a more vivid picture.

(i) There are some passages where either meaning is perfectly suitable. In Matt. 13.41 it is said that the Son of Man will remove all skandala from his Kingdom. When the Kingdom comes all the things which are calculated to make a man sin, all the things which could trip him up, all the things which would entice him and seduce him into the wrong way will be taken away. The Kingdom will be a state of things in which temptation will lose its power.

(ii) There are some passages where the meaning of `stumbling-block' is more fitting, or where it is even essential. In Rom. 14.13 we are forbidden to put a `stumbling-block' or 'occasion to fall' in our brother's way. The word that is used for 'occasion to fall' is proskomma, which means 'a barrier', 'a hindrance', 'a road-block'. It is the word that would be used for a tree that has been felled and laid across a road to block it. We must never do or allow anything which would be a road-block on the way to goodness.

In Matt. 13.21 the shallow hearer of the word is said to be 'offended' (skandalizein) by persecution. Persecution is a stumbling-block that stops him on the Christian way.

The Pharisees are 'offended' by Jesus and his words (Matt. 15.12).

Jesus forecasts that all his disciples will be 'offended' because of him (Matt. 26.31). The false teachers put a 'stumbling-block' in the way of others (Rev. 2.14).

The Jews find the cross of Christ 'a stumbling-block' and 'an offence' (I Cor. 1.23; Gal. 5.11).

In all these cases, the words mean something which stops a man's progress, something which trips him up, something which bars the way to him. That something may come from the malicious action of others, or it may come from the prejudice and the pride of a man's own heart.

(iii) But there are certain cases where it gives a far better picture to take skandalon and skandalizein in the sense of a 'trap', a 'snare', a 'bait', an 'allurement', an 'enticement to sin'. Rom. 16.17 warns against those who cause divisions and 'offences' contrary to the doctrine which Christ's people have received. That is a warning against those who would 'lure' us from the way of true belief.

1 John 2.10 says :

'He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is no skandalon in him.' That is to say, 'He would never entice and seduce anyone into sin.'

Matt. 18.6 talks about the sin of 'offending' one of these little ones, and the next verse talks about the terribleness of 'offences'. It gives a much better picture to take skandalon and skandalizein there in the sense of luring and enticing the younger and the more impressionable people to sin.

Matt. 5.29, 30 speak of the necessity of cutting off and plucking out the hand and the eye which 'offend' us. Clearly it is better there to take skandalon in the sense of 'that which lays a trap or snare to entice us into the ruin of sin'. If the desires of the hand and the eye are a bait to sin they must be eradicated.

When Burns went to learn flax-dressing in Irvine he met an older man who led him far astray. He said of him afterwards : 'His friendship did me a mischief.' That is precisely the meaning of skandalon. A skandalon is that which trips us up or that which lures us into sin. From our own lives such things must be rooted out; and God will not hold us guiltless if we bring such things into the lives of others. (William Barclay. New Testament Words)

Regarding skandalon, Vine writes that it was

originally the name of the part of a trap to which the bait is attached, hence, the trap or snare itself, as in [Romans 11:9-note], ‘stumbling block,’ quoted from [Ps 69:22 - see Spurgeon's note], and in [Revelation 2:14-note], for Balaam’s device which proved to be a trap for Israel rather than a stumbling block to them… In NT skandalon is always used metaphorically, and ordinarily of anything that arouses prejudice, or becomes a hindrance to others or causes them to fall by the way. Sometimes the hindrance is in itself good, and those stumbled by it are the wicked. Thus it is used (a) of Christ in [Romans 9:33-note] “(a rock) of offense” [cf 1Cor 1:23'; see 1 Peter 2:8-note] and of His cross [Gal 5:11] of the “table” provided by God for Israel [Romans 11:9-note] (b) of that which is evil, eg, [Mt 13:41] lit., “all stumblingblocks”; [Mt 18:7] “occasions of stumbling” and “occasion”; [see Romans 14:13-note] “an occasion of falling” of such use of Christian liberty that proves a hindrance to another; [see Romans 16:17-note] “occasions of stumbling,” of the teaching of things contrary to sound doctrine. (Vine, W E: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. 1996. Nelson)

Paul is saying in these verses that the Messiah is either a stumbling stone (to perdition) or a stepping stone (to salvation). That "stone" which caused Israel to stumble, the "rock" which offended their self-righteousness, was none other than their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Israel's rejection of their Messiah resulted in God setting Israel aside and turning to the Gentiles.

Godet says “In their foolish course Israel thought that they were advancing on a clear path, and lo! all at once there was found in this way an obstacle upon which they were broken; and this obstacle was the very Messiah whom they had so long invoked in all their prayers.”

Related Resource:

Play Michael Card's great song SKANDALON

SKANDALON

The seers and the prophets had foretold it long ago
That the long awaited One would make men stumble
But they were looking for a king to conquer and to kill
Who'd have ever thought He'd be so weak and humble
Chorus
He will be the truth that will offend them one and all
A Stone that makes men stumble
And a Rock that makes them fall
Many will be broken so that He can make them whole
And many will be crushed and lose their own soul
Along the path of life there lies a stubborn Scandalon
And all who come this way must be offended
To some He is a barrier, To others He's the way
For all should know the scandal of believing
Chorus
It seems today the Scandalon offends no one at all
The image we present can be stepped over
Could it be that we are like the others long ago
Will we ever learn that all who come must stumble
Repeat Chorus

AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED (put to shame): kai o pisteuon (PAPMSN) ep auto ou kataiscunthesetai (3SFPI):

Ro 5:5; 10:11; Ps 25:2,3,20; Isa 45:17; 54:4; Joel 2:26,27; Php 1:20; 2Ti 1:12; 1Jn 2:28
1Pe 2:6
Romans 9 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

He who believes in Him - In Christ. The one who places his faith in Christ.

Believe (4100)(pisteuo from pistis; pistos; related studies the faith, the obedience of faith) means to consider something to be true and therefore worthy of one’s trust. To accept as true, genuine, or real. To have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something or someone. To consider to be true. To accept the word or evidence of. Present tense signifies this is his "lifestyle" (not perfection, but direction).

(Not) Be disappointed (2617) (Kataischuno from kata = down but here intensifies meaning of verb aischuno = to shame) means primarily to put to shame, to humiliate, to disgrace (1Cor 11:4, 5) and (as used in the present verse) to disappoint or to frustrate one's hope (Ro 9:33-note, Ro 10:11-note, 1Pe 2:6-note).

To disappoint means to fail to meet the expectation or hope of, to hinder from the possession or enjoyment of that which was intended, to prevent the fulfilment of (a plan, intention, etc.

In the passive voice it can mean to blush with shame at one's predicament.

Richards…

Aischuno and its compound forms kataischuno and epaischunomai are used in the Septuagint as translations of bos and its derivatives. In Greek culture, the focus was not on the objective consequences of actions but on the feeling of shame that might come with exposure of shameful deeds to others. The OT sense of the word is clearly seen in Ro 9:33 and Ro 10:11, each of which quotes from the OT and affirms that anyone "who trusts in him will never be put to shame." (Richards, L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency)

The NIDNTT writes that "The root aisch- refers originally to that which is ugly and disgraceful. Aischuno (Homer onwards) thus meant originally to disfigure, make ugly. It is found in Greek literature almost exclusively in the mid. or pass. with the meaning to feel shame, be ashamed, or to be confounded, be disconcerted. Epaischunomai (Aesch. onwards) is a strengthened form of the mid., and kataischuno (Homer onwards) of the active and passive meanings of aischuno. (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan)

TDNT on aischuno, kataischuno and epaischunomai [word study] - This group was in common use and is thus often found in the Septuagint (LXX). The sense is “to shame,” “put to shame” (God mostly as subject), “be shamed or ashamed” (personally rather than publicly). The main point of aischune is not “feeling of shame” but “disgrace” i.e., the shame brought by divine judgment, though sometimes with a stress on “being ashamed.” (Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans)

Vine writes that kataischuno "involves the falsification of ideas, the exposure of pretensions, and the nullification of hopes. (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson)

Kataischuno - 13x in 12v - NAS = disappoint(1), disappointed(3), disgraces(2), humiliated(1), put to shame(3), shame(3).

Luke 13:17 As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.

Comment: The critics of our Lord were thoroughly put to shame by His words.

Romans 5:5-note and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Comment: God's hope (absolute assurance of future good) will not bring disappointment because God loves us and enables us to withstand tribulations.

MacDonald: If we were to hope for something but then later find that we were never going to get it, our hope would be put to shame or disappointed. But the hope of our salvation will never be put to shame. We will never be disappointed or find that we have rested on a false confidence. How can we be so sure? Because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts. (MacDonald, W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson)

Romans 9:33-note just as it is written, "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."

Romans 10:11-note For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."

Comment: MacDonald - "The thought of public confession of Christ might arouse fears of shame, but the opposite is true. Our confession of Him on earth leads to His confession of us in heaven. Ours is a hope that will never be disappointed." (Ibid)

1Corinthians 1:27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,

1Corinthians 11:4 Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. 5 But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.

1Corinthians 11:22 What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.

Comment: The lack of control at the time of the Lord's Supper and the shameful treatment of poorer brethren is most inconsistent with the Christian faith.

2Corinthians 7:14 For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I was not put to shame; but as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before Titus proved to be the truth.

2Corinthians 9:4 otherwise if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we-- not to speak of you-- will be put to shame by this confidence.

1Peter 2:6-note For this is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." (See similar uses of kataischuno in the Septuagint translation of some of the Psalms below)

1 Peter 3:16-note and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.

Comment: MacDonald "Even if a believer’s life is blameless, the enemies of the gospel will still find fault with him and bring false charges against him. But when the case comes to trial, and the charges are found to be empty, the accusers will be ashamed." (Ibid)

Kataischuno - 57x in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (LXX) -

Jdg 18:7; Ruth 2:15; 2 Sam 10:6; 16:21; 19:5; 2 Kgs 19:26; Ps 6:10; 14:6; 22:5; 25:2f, 20; 31:1, 17; 34:5; 35:4; 37:19; 40:14; 44:7, 9; 53:5; 70:2; 71:1; 74:21; 119:31, 116; 127:5; Pr 19:26; Isa 3:15; 28:16; 54:4; Jer 2:36; 6:15; 7:19; 9:19; 10:14; 15:9; 17:13, 18; 46:24; 48:13, 20; 49:23; 50:2, 38; 51:17; Ezek 24:12; Hos 2:5; 4:19; Joel 2:26f; Mic 3:7; 7:16; Zeph 3:11, 20; Zech 10:5; 13:4.

Given the fact that the Septuagint has many more uses of kataischuno, below are most (but not all) of these passages to help discern the meaning of this verb.

Ruth 2:15-note When she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult (Heb = kalam = to humiliate, cause to blush; Lxx = kataischuno) her.

2Sa 16:21 Ahithophel said to (David's son) Absalom, “Go in to (have sexual relations with) your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself odious (Heb = baash = have a bad smell, to stink!; Lxx = kataischuno) to your father. The hands of all who are with you will also be strengthened.”

Psalm 22:5-note To You they cried out and were delivered; In You they trusted and were not disappointed. (Hebrew = bos/bosh = to be ashamed; Lxx = kataischuno)

Psalm 25:2-note O my God, in You I trust, Do not let me be ashamed (Hebrew = bos/bosh = to be ashamed; Lxx = kataischuno); Do not let my enemies exult over me.

Spurgeon: O my God, I trust in thee. Faith is the cable which binds our boat to the shore, and by pulling at it we draw ourselves to the land; faith unites us to God, and then draws us near to him. As long as the anchor of faith holds there is no fear in the worst tempest; if that should fail us there would be no hope left. We must see to it that our faith is sound and strong, for otherwise prayer cannot prevail with God. Woe to the warrior who throws away his shield; what defence can be found for him who finds no defence in his God?

Let me not be ashamed. Let not my disappointed hopes make me feel ashamed of my former testimonies of thy faithfulness. Many were on the watch for this. The best of men have their enemies, and should pray against them that they may not see their wicked desires accomplished.

Let not mine enemies triumph over me. Suffer no wicked mouth to make blasphemous mirth out of my distresses by asking, "Where is thy God?" There is a great jealousy in believers for the honour of God, and they cannot endure that unbelievers should taunt them with the failure of their expectations from the God of their salvation. All other trusts will end in disappointment and eternal shame, but our confidence shall never be confounded.

Psalm 25:3-note Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed (Hebrew = bos/bosh = to be ashamed; Lxx = kataischuno); Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed (Lxx = aischuno).

Psalm 25:20-note (This is a great prayer to pray, as are the next two entries below!) Guard my soul and deliver me; Do not let me be ashamed (Hebrew = bos/bosh = to be ashamed; Lxx = kataischuno), for I take refuge in You.

Spurgeon " Let me not be ashamed. This is the one fear which like a ghost haunted the psalmist's mind. He trembled lest his faith should become the subject of ridicule through the extremity of his affliction. Noble hearts can brook anything but shame. David was of such a chivalrous spirit, that he could endure any torment rather than be put to dishonour. For I put my trust in thee. And therefore the name of God would be compromised if his servants were deserted; this the believing heart can by no means endure."

Psalm 31:1-note For the choir director. A Psalm of David. In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed (Hebrew = bos/bosh = to be ashamed; Lxx = kataischuno); In Your righteousness deliver me.

Spurgeon "Let me never be ashamed. How can the Lord permit the man to be ultimately put to shame who depends alone upon him? This would not be dealing like a God of truth and grace. It would bring dishonour upon God himself if faith were not in the end rewarded. It will be an ill day indeed for religion when trust in God brings no consolation and no assistance."

Psalm 31:17-note Let me not be put to shame (Hebrew = bos/bosh = to be ashamed; Lxx = kataischuno), O LORD, for I call upon You; Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.

Psalm 34:5-note They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed (Hebrew = bos/bosh = to be ashamed; Lxx = kataischuno);.

David Smith, 1792-1867: They looked unto him. The more we can think upon our Lord, and the less upon ourselves, the better. Looking to him, as he is seated upon the right hand of the throne of God, will keep our heads, and especially our hearts, steady when going through the deep waters of affliction. Often have I thought of this when crossing the water opposite the old place of Langholm. I found, when I looked down on the water, I got dizzy; I therefore fixed my eyes upon a steady object on the other side, and got comfortably through.

Spurgeon: And their faces were not ashamed. Their faces were covered with joy but not with blushes. He who trusts in God has no need to be ashamed of his confidence, time and eternity will both justify his reliance.

Psalm 37:19-note They will not be ashamed (Hebrew = bos/bosh = to be ashamed; Lxx = kataischuno) in the time of evil, And in the days of famine they will have abundance.

Spurgeon: They shall not be ashamed in the evil time. Calamities will come, but deliverances will come also. As the righteous never reckoned upon immunity from trouble, they will not be disappointed when they are called to take their share of it, but the rather they will cast themselves anew upon their God, and prove again his faithfulness and love. God is not a friend in the sunshine only, he is a friend indeed and a friend in need.

Psalm 44:7-note But You have saved us from our adversaries, And You have put to shame (Hebrew = bos/bosh = to be ashamed; Lxx = kataischuno) those who hate us.

Spurgeon: And hast put them to shame that hated us. With the back of thy saving hand thou hast given them a cuff which has made them hide their faces; thou hast defeated them in such a manner as to make them ashamed of themselves to be overthrown by such puny adversaries as they thought the Israelites to be. The double action of God in blessing his people and confounding his enemies is evermore to be observed; Pharaoh is drowned, while Israel passes through the sea; Amalek is smitten, while the tribes rejoice; the heathen are chased from their abodes, while the sons of Jacob rest beneath their vine and fig tree.

Psalm 53:5-note There they were in great fear where no fear had been; For God scattered the bones of him who encamped against you; You put them to shame, because God had rejected them.

Psalm 71:1-note In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed (Hebrew = bos/bosh = to be ashamed; Lxx = kataischuno).

Psalm 74:21YLT-note Let not the oppressed return dishonored; Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name.

Psalm 119:31-note I cling to Your testimonies; O LORD, do not put me to shame! (Hebrew = bos/bosh = to be ashamed; Lxx = kataischuno)

Spurgeon: O LORD, put me not to shame. This would happen if God's promises were unfulfilled, and if the heart of God's servant were suffered to fail. This we have no reason to fear, since the Lord is faithful to his word. But it might also happen though the believer's acting in an inconsistent manner, as David had himself once done, when he fell into the way of lying, and pretended to be a madman. If we are not true to our profession we may be left to reap the fruit of our folly, and that will be the bitter thing called "shame." It is evident from this that a believer ought never to be ashamed, but act the part of a grave man who has done nothing to be ashamed of in believing his God, and does not mean to adopt a craven tone in the presence of the Lord's enemies. If we beseech the Lord not to put us to shame, surely we ought not ourselves to be ashamed without cause.

Psalm 119:116-note Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed (Hebrew = bos/bosh = to be ashamed; Lxx = kataischuno) of my hope.

Spurgeon: And let me not be ashamed of my hope. In Psalm 119:114 he had spoken of his hope as founded on the word, and now he begs for the fulfilment of that word that his hope might be justified in the sight of all. A man would be ashamed of his hope if it turned out that it was not based upon a sure foundation; but this will never happen in our case (cp Ro 5:5). We may be ashamed of our thoughts, and our words, and our deeds for they spring from ourselves; but we never shall be ashamed of our hope, for that springs from the Lord our God. Such is the frailty of our nature that unless we are continually upheld by grace, we shall all so foully as to be ashamed of ourselves, and ashamed of all those glorious hopes which are now the crown and glory of our life. The man of God had uttered the most positive resolves, but he felt that he could not trust in his own solemn determination: hence these prayers. It is not wrong to make resolutions, but it will be useless to do so unless we salt them well with believing cries to God. David meant to keep the law of the Lord, but he first needed the Lord of the law to keep him.

Psalm 127:5-note How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed (Hebrew = bos/bosh = to be ashamed; Lxx = kataischuno) When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Proverbs 19:26 He who assaults his father and drives his mother away Is a shameful (Hebrew = bos/bosh = to be ashamed; Lxx = kataischuno) and disgraceful son.

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.

Isaiah 54:4 "Fear not, for you will not be put to shame; And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced; But you will forget the shame of your youth, And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

Jeremiah 2:36 "Why do you go around so much Changing your way? Also, you will be put to shame by Egypt As you were put to shame by Assyria.

Jeremiah 6:15 "Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down," says the LORD.

Jeremiah 7:19 "Do they spite Me?" declares the LORD. "Is it not themselves they spite, to their own shame?"

Jeremiah 9:19 "For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion, 'How are we ruined! We are put to great shame, For we have left the land, Because they have cast down our dwellings.'"

Jeremiah 10:14 Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them.

Jeremiah 15:9 "She who bore seven sons pines away; Her breathing is labored. Her sun has set while it was yet day; She has been shamed and humiliated. So I will give over their survivors to the sword Before their enemies," declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 17:13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the LORD.

Jeremiah 17:18 Let those who persecute me be put to shame, but as for me, let me not be put to shame; Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed. Bring on them a day of disaster, And crush them with twofold destruction!

Jeremiah 46:24 "The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame, Given over to the power of the people of the north."

Jeremiah 48:13 "And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

Jeremiah 48:20 "Moab has been put to shame, for it has been shattered. Wail and cry out; Declare by the Arnon That Moab has been destroyed.

Jeremiah 49:23 Concerning Damascus. "Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, For they have heard bad news; They are disheartened. There is anxiety by the sea, It cannot be calmed.

Jeremiah 50:2 "Declare and proclaim among the nations. Proclaim it and lift up a standard. Do not conceal it but say, 'Babylon has been captured, Bel has been put to shame, Marduk has been shattered; Her images have been put to shame, her idols have been shattered.'

Jeremiah 51:17 All mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them.

Hosea 2:5 "For their mother has played the harlot; She who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, 'I will go after my lovers, Who give me my bread and my water, My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.' (NET Bible note = This statement alludes to the practice of sexual rites in the Canaanite fertility cult which attempted to secure agricultural fertility from the Canaanite gods)

Hosea 4:19 The wind wraps them in its wings, and they will be ashamed because of their sacrifices (Reflects Israel's apostate idolatrous Baal worship)

Joel 2:26 "You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame. 27 "Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the LORD your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame. (Promises to be fulfilled in the Millennium)

Micah 3:7 The seers will be ashamed and the diviners will be embarrassed. Indeed, they will all cover their mouths Because there is no answer from God.

Micah 7:16 Nations will see and be ashamed Of all their might. They will put their hand on their mouth, Their ears will be deaf. (NET Bible note: Apparently this means the opposing nations will be left dumbfounded by the LORD's power. Their inability to respond will make them appear to be deaf mutes.)

Zephaniah 3:11 "In that day you will feel no shame Because of all your deeds By which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst Your proud, exulting ones, And you will never again be haughty On My holy mountain.

Zechariah 10:5 "They will be as mighty men, Treading down the enemy in the mire of the streets in battle; And they will fight, for the LORD will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame.

Zechariah 13:4 "Also it will come about in that day (Millennium) that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive;

Spicq on the frequent (when compared to the NT) Septuagint uses of kataischuno…

In the sense “dishonor, taint” (2Sa16:21; 19:6; Pr 19:26; Sir 22:4–5; 42:11; 1Cor 11:5, 22), humiliate and molest (Ruth 2:15), expresses simultaneously the ideas of punishment and derision: Mic 3:7 (linked with katagelao); Ps 44:8; 1Cor 1:27; 1Pet 3:16; (Spicq, C., & Ernest, J. D. Theological Lexicon of the New Testament. Peabody, MA.: Hendrickson)

Warren Wiersbe sums up Romans 9 writing that…

But the main thrust of this chapter is clear: Israel’s rejection of Christ does not deny the faithfulness of God. Romans 9 does not negate Romans 8. God is still faithful, righteous, just, and gracious, and He can be depended on to accomplish His purposes and keep His promises. (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor)

Book

Romans

Search

Book