Rom 9
1 Kri ah loktang ni ka thuih, lok kam lai ai, Kacai Muithla ah kasae kahoih panoekhaih palungthin mah doeh kai hnukung ah oh,
I am in Christ, and what I say is true. I'm not lying! My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm
2 palung ka set moe, boeng thai ai poek angphohaih ka tawnh.
how terribly sad I am, how I have never-ending pain in my heart,
3 Taksa ah kaimah ih acaengnawk hoi nawkamyanawk hanah, kaimah roe hae Kri khae hoiah tangoenghaih tongh han khoek to ka koeh:
for my own people, my brothers and sisters. I would rather be cursed myself, separated from Christ, if that would help them.
4 nihcae loe Israel kami ah oh o moe, pacah ih caa ah ohhaih, lensawkhaih, lokmaihaih, kaalok paekhaih, Sithaw toksakhaih hoi lokkamhaih hnu kami ah oh o;
They are my fellow-Israelites, God's chosen people. God revealed to them his glory and made agreements with them, giving them the law, true worship, and his promises.
5 nihcae loe aicae ampa ah oh o, taksa ah nihcae thung hoiah ni Kri to angzoh, Anih loe hmuennawk boih ukkung ah oh moe, dungzan tahamhoihaih Sithaw ah oh. Amen. (aiōn g165)
They are our forefathers—ancestors of Christ, humanly-speaking, the one who rules over everything, the eternally-blessed God. Amen. (aiōn g165)
6 Sithaw lok loe atho om ai, tiah thuih koehhaih ih na ai ni. Israel hoi tacawt kaminawk loe Israel kami boih na ai ni:
It's not that God's promise has failed. For not every Israelite is a true Israelite,
7 Abraham ih atii ah oh o pongah, nihcae loe caa ah om o boih ai: toe Isak khae hoiah ni nang ih atii, tiah kawk o tih, tiah oh.
and all those who are descended from Abraham are not his true children. For Scripture says, “Your descendants will be counted through Isaac,”
8 To pongah, taksa ah kaom caanawk loe Sithaw ih caa na ai ni: lokkamhaih hoiah kaom caanawk to ni atii, tiah kroek o.
so it's not Abraham's actual children who are counted as God's children, but only those children of God's promise who are considered his true descendants.
9 Vaihi tue thuem phak naah, kang zoh han, to naah Sarah mah capa maeto sah tih, tiah lokkamhaih to oh.
This is what the promise was: “I will return next year and Sarah will have a son.”
10 Hae khue ai; Rebekah doeh kami maeto, aicae ampa Isak ih caa to pom naah;
In addition Rebecca's twin sons had the same father, our forefather Isaac.
11 (Sithaw mah qoih ih baktih toengah oh hanah, Sithaw khokkhanhaih loe toksakhaih hoiah om ai, kawkkung Anih koehhaih baktiah ni om tih, tiah a caa hnik tapen ai vop moe, a caa hnik mah kasae hmuen maw, to tih ai boeh loe kahoih hmuen maw sakhaih om ai naah,
But even before the children were born, and before they'd done anything right or wrong, (so that God's purpose could continue, proving God's calling of people is not based on human performance),
12 nongpata khaeah, Kacoeh mah kanawk ih tok to sah pae tih, tiah a thuih pae.
she was told, “The older brother will serve the younger one.”
13 Jakob to ka palung, Isau loe ka hnukma, tiah tarik ih oh.
As Scripture says, “I chose Jacob, but rejected Esau.”
14 To tiah nahaeloe kawbangmaw a tih o han boeh? Sithaw loe toeng ai, tiah a thuih o han maw? A thui o mak ai.
So what should we conclude? That God was unjust? Certainly not!
15 Sithaw mah Mosi khaeah, Palungnat han koeh ih kami nuiah palung ka nat moe, palung han koeh ih kami to ka palung han, tiah thuih.
As he said to Moses, “I will be merciful to whoever I should show mercy, and I will have compassion on whoever I should show compassion.”
16 To pongah kami mah koeh pongah na ai, toksah kami pongah doeh na ai, palungnathaih amtuengsak Sithaw pongah ni oh.
So it does not depend on what we want, or our own efforts, but the merciful nature of God.
17 Cabu mah Faro khaeah, Ka timhaih baktiah nang khaeah Ka thacakhaih kam tuengsak moe, Ka hmin long pum ah taphong han ih ni, kang qoengsak, tiah a naa.
Scripture records God saying to Pharaoh: “I put you here for a reason—so that through you I could demonstrate my power, and so that my name could be made known throughout the earth.”
18 To pongah, Anih loe a koeh ih kami nuiah palungnathaih tawnh moe, a koeh ih kami to palung thahsak.
So God is merciful to those he wishes to be, and hardens the attitude of those he wants to.
19 To tih nahaeloe Anih koehhaih to mi mah maw pakaa thai ai to mah, tipongah Anih mah kami zaehaih to pakrong loe? tiah na thuih o han maw?
Now you'll argue with me and ask, “So why does he still blame us then? Who can resist the will of God?”
20 Na thui o mak ai, toe, Aw kami, Sithaw lok aek nang loe mi aa? A sak ih hmuen mah Sahkung khaeah, Tipongah hae tiah nang sak loe, tiah naa thai tih maw?
That's no way to speak, for who are you—a mere mortal—to contradict God? Can something that is created say to its creator, “Why did you make me like this?”
21 Laom sah kami loe amlai long tawnkung ah oh pongah, kanghmong amlai long hoiah na ai maw kahoih laom hoi kasae laom to a sak?
Doesn't a potter have the right to use the same batch of clay to make both a decorative bowl and an everyday pot?
22 Sithaw mah angmah ih palungphuihaih to amtuengsak moe, a sakthaihaih panoeksak han koeh pongah, paro hanah sak ih palungphuihaih kaomsak laomnawk nuiah palungsawkhaih tawn nahaeloe timaw thuih han oh vop,
It's as if God, wanting to demonstrate his opposition to sin and to reveal his power, bears patiently with these “pots destined for destruction,”
23 anih mah kating ai a lensawkhaih to pakoeh han sak coek ih, tahmenhaih laomnawk nuiah amtuengsak,
so that he might reveal the greatness of his glory through these “pots of mercy” which he has prepared in advance for glory.
24 Judahnawk khae khue ai, Gentelnawk hoi anih mah kawk ih aicae khaeah doeh amtuengsak,
This is who we are—people he has called, not just from among the Jews, but from among the foreigners too...
25 Hosea Cabu thungah, Kai ih kami ah kaom ai kaminawk to Kai ih kami, tiah Ka kawk han; palung ai ih kami to kang palung, tiah Ka naa han.
As God said in the book of Hosea, “Those who are not my people I will call my people, and those who are not loved I will call the ones I love,”
26 Nihcae khaeah, Nangcae loe Kai ih kami na ai ni, tiah thuih ih ahmuen ah kaom kaminawk to kahing Sithaw ih capanawk, tiah kawk tih, tiah thuih ih lok to oh.
and, “It will happen that at the place where they were told, ‘You're not my people,’ there they will be called the children of the living God.”
27 Tahmaa Isaiah mah doeh Israel kawng pongah, Israel caanawk loe tuipui ih savuet zetto pop o langlacadoeh, kanghmat kaminawk ni pahlong ah om o tih:
Isaiah cries out regarding Israel: “Even if the children of Israel have become as numerous as the sands of the sea, only a small number will be saved.
28 anih mah toenghaih hoiah toksak pacoeng hanah, lok takroek tih; Angraeng mah long ah sak han atimhaih to sah palang tih, tiah thuih.
For the Lord is going to quickly and completely finish his work of judgment on the earth.”
29 Tahmaa Isaiah mah loe, Sabaoth Angraeng mah aicae ih atii paquem ai nahaeloe, aicae loe Sodom baktiah a om o ueloe, Gomorrah hoiah anghmong tih boeh, tiah thuih coek boeh.
As Isaiah previously said, “If the Lord Almighty had not left us some descendants, we would have become just like Sodom and Gomorrah.”
30 To tih nahaeloe kawbangmaw a tih o han boeh? Toenghaih pazui ai Gentelnawk loe, tanghaih rang hoiah kaom, toenghaih to hnuk o boeh.
What shall we conclude, then? That even though the foreigners were not even looking to do right, they did grasp what is right, and through their trust in God did what was morally right.
31 Toe kaalok rang hoiah kaom toenghaih pazui, Israelnawk loe, kaalok rang hoiah kaom toenghaih to hnu o ai.
But the people of Israel, who looked to the law to make them right with God, never succeeded.
32 Tipongah hnu o ai loe? Nihcae loe amthaekhaih thlung pongah amtimh o pongah, tanghaih hoiah pakrong o ai, kaalok mah thuih ih baktih toengah toksakhaih rang hoiah pakrong o lat pongah ni hnu o ai.
Why not? Because they relied on what they did rather than trusting in God. They tripped on the stumbling-block,
33 Cabu thungah, Khenah, Zion ah amthaekhaih thlung hoi amtimhaih thlung to ka suek: mi kawbaktih doeh Anih tang kami loe azathaih tongh mak ai, tiah tarik ih oh.
just as Scripture predicted: “Look, I'm placing in Zion a stumbling-block, a rock that will offend people. But those who trust in him won't be disappointed.”
