and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory,
Parallel Translations
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and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory,
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that he myght declare the ryches of his glory on the vessels of mercye which he had prepayred vnto glorie:
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And that hee might declare the riches of his glory vpon the vessels of mercy, which hee hath prepared vnto glory?
Cross-references (20)
Passages linked to Romans 9:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Romans 2:4 Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
- 1 Peter 1:2-5 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in Heaven for you, who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Romans 5:20-21 The law came in that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace abounded more exceedingly; that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
- Ephesians 3:16 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person,
- Colossians 1:27 to whom God was pleased to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
- 1 Chronicles 29:18 Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this desire forever in the thoughts of the heart of your people, and prepare their heart for you;
- Luke 1:17 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.”
- Romans 8:29 For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
- Ephesians 1:6-8 to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved, in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
- Ephesians 1:18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
- Ephesians 2:3-5 We also all once lived among them in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
- Ephesians 2:7 that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus;
- 2 Timothy 2:21 If anyone therefore purges himself from these, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, and suitable for the master’s use, prepared for every good work.
- Ephesians 3:8 To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
- Colossians 1:12 giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,
- 1 Thessalonians 5:9 For God didn’t appoint us to wrath, but to the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
- 2 Thessalonians 1:10-12 when he comes in that day to be glorified in his saints and to be admired among all those who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire of goodness and work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 But we are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which he called you through our Good News, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Titus 3:3-7 For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 23. That he might also make known the riches…
23. That he might also make known the riches of his glory, etc. I doubt not but the two particles καὶ ἵνα, is an instance of a construction, where the first word is put last; (ὕστερον πρότερον) and that this clause may better unite with the former, I have rendered it, That he might also make known, etc. (Ut notas quoque faceret, etc.) It is the second reason which manifests the glory of God in the destruction of the reprobate, because the greatness of divine mercy towards the elect is hereby more clearly made known; for how do they differ from them except that they are delivered by the Lord from the same gulf of destruction? and this by no merit of their own, but through his gratuitous kindness. It cannot then be but that the infinite mercy of God towards the elect must appear increasingly worthy of praise, when we see how miserable are all they who escape not his wrath.
The word glory, which is here twice mentioned, I consider to have been used for God’s mercy, a metonymy of effect for the cause; for his chief praise or glory is in acts of kindness. So in Ephesians 1:13, after having taught us, that we have been adopted to the praise of the glory of his grace, he adds, that we are sealed by the Spirit of promise unto the praise of his glory, the word grace being left out. He wished then to show, that the elect are instruments or vessels through whom God exercises his mercy, that through them he may glorify his name.
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Though in the second clause he asserts more expressly that it is God who prepares the elect for glory, as he had simply said before that the reprobate are vessels prepared for destruction; there is yet no doubt but that the preparation of both is connected with the secret counsel of God. Paul might have otherwise said, that the reprobate give up or cast themselves into destruction; but he intimates here, that before they are born they are destined to their lot.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain The unmeasurable and marvelous greatness.
The unmeasurable and marvelous greatness.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 23 And that he might make known the riches…
23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Ver. 23. And that he might] He rejected some, that his mercy might the more appear in the election of others.
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The riches of his glory] That is, of his mercy wherein he principally glorieth, and for the which he is most of all glorified.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain q.d. Again, on the other side, what hast thou…
q.d. Again, on the other side, what hast thou to say, if he proceed more mercifully with others? Seeing:
1. He thereby manifesteth the riches of his glory, or his glorious grace; and seeing:
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2. They are vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory; i.e. he had done it by election from eternity, and by regeneration and sanctification of the Spirit in time. He speaks here of two sorts of vessels, some of wrath, and some of mercy, as he had before spoken of vessels of honour, and of dishonour. Concerning the latter, he speaks passively, that they are fitted to destruction: see Rom 9:22. Concerning the former, he speaks actively, that God hath prepared them unto glory.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Even us whom he hath called,.... From election the…
Even us whom he hath called,.... From election the apostle proceeds to calling, the fruit and evidence of it, taking the same method he did in Rom 8:30, with a view to treat of the call of the Gentiles, of which he afterwards gives proof from prophecy; whence it appears to be according to divine predestination, upon which prophecy is founded; for God foretells that such a thing will be, because he has foreordained it shall be. These words are explanative of the former, and show who the vessels of mercy are; they are such whom God calls by his grace. Election may be known by calling, as the cause by its effect, and that without an extraordinary revelation. This may as well be known, as man's adoption, justification, and the forgiveness of his sins; for as all the chosen are, and shall be called in time, so all that are truly called by the grace of God, are manifestly, and to a demonstration, the chosen vessels of salvation: if a man is satisfied of his calling, he ought to be equally so of his election, the one being demonstrable by the other; and for such an one to doubt of it, is his sin and crime. Moreover, the above phrase, "afore prepared for glory", is here further explained; to be afore prepared for glory, is no other than to be called, sanctified, and justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God; for this is the saints' preparation for glory, before they come to it; and hereby the means are expressed, even sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth, through which God appoints his people unto salvation: now this calling is to be understood, not of a call to any office, as of Aaron to the priesthood, of Saul to the kingdom, of the disciples of Christ to apostleship, or of ministers to the work of the ministry; for persons may be called to the highest office in church and state, as Judas to: apostleship, and Pharaoh to the throne of Egypt, and yet have no share in electing grace: nor of a call by the external ministry of the word, which is often slighted, despised, and of none effect; in this sense many are called, who are not chosen: but of a call that is by the powerful, efficacious, and irresistible grace of God; a call that is internal, that reaches the heart, and not the ear only: a special one that is peculiar to God's elect, is by special grace, and is to special blessings, as both grace and glory; it is an high, heavenly, and holy calling, and is without repentance; between which and glorification, as between it and eternal election, there is a close and an inseparable connection. The objects of this grace follow,
not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles; not all the Jews, nor all the Gentiles, but some of each; as all are not chosen, all are not redeemed, only some out of every kindred, tongue, nation, and people; so not all, but some only are called by grace: and this is not peculiar to the Jews, it reaches to the Gentiles also; and under the present dispensation, to the far greater number of them.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain That he might make known - What if by…
That he might make known - What if by showing such longsuffering even to "the vessels of wrath," he did the more abundantly show the greatness of his glorious goodness, wisdom, and power, on the vessels of mercy; on those whom he had himself, by his grace, prepared for glory. Is this any injustice?
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 23. And that he might make known] God…
Verse 23. And that he might make known] God endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath:
1. To show his wrath, and to make his power known. And also,
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2. That he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy.
Which he had afore prepared unto glory] The Jews were fitted for destruction long before; but the fittest time to destroy them was after he had prepared the believing Gentiles unto glory. For the rod of the Messiah's strength was to be sent out of Zion, Ps 110:2. The Jewish nation was to supply the first preachers of the Gospel, and from Jerusalem their sound was to go forth into all the earth. Therefore the Jewish state, notwithstanding its corruptions, was to be preserved till the Messiah came, and even till the Gospel preached by the apostles had taken deep root in the Gentile world. Another thing which rendered the time when the Jewish polity was overthrown the most proper, was this, because then the immediate occasion of it was the extensiveness of the Divine grace. They would not have the Gentiles admitted into the Church of God; but contradicted, and blasphemed, and rejected the Lord that bought them: thus, then, the extensiveness of the Divine grace occasioned their infidelity, Ro 9:33; Ro 10:3; Ro 11:11; Ro 11:12; Ro 11:15; Ro 11:28; Ro 11:30. Thus the Jews were diminished by that abundance of grace which has enriched the Gentiles. And so the grace of God was illustrated; or, so God made known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy-the apostles and primitive believers among the Jews, and the Gentile world, which received the Gospel by the preaching of the apostles and their successors.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain And that he might make known the riches of…
And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy--that "glorious exuberance of Divine mercy" which "was manifested in choosing and eternally arranging for the salvation of sinners."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 23. Make known—Reveal in living instances.
23. Make known—Reveal in living instances.
Riches—A beautiful term. These obedient vessels of mercy are filled up and laden with the very affluence of glory.
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He had afore—God had prepared them by glory for future glory beforehand. By the us of the next verse the apostle will show who these obedient vessels are, and so imply who the disobedient are.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 23. and that he might] Some such clause as…
23. and that he might] Some such clause as “so acted,” or better, “so had patience,” must be mentally supplied. The idea of the patience of God seems to attach here to both parts of the statement: so far from acting in haste, He bore both with the persistent rebellion of the lost, and with the once equal rebellion, and then frequent failures, of the saved.
the riches of his glory] Same word as Eph_1:18; Eph_3:16; Col_1:27; (in the last two places, however, the reference is different from that here). For comment, see Rom_8:18. The “glory” of God here is the bliss and exaltation in eternity which He will give to His saints. In that better life His endless “riches” of blessing will be evermore “made known” among the glorified, by being evermore conferred on them. For similar phrases, see Rom_2:4, Rom_11:33; Eph_1:7; Eph_2:7; Eph_3:8; Php_4:19.
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on] See on Rom_8:18, last note.
afore prepared] By the Divine process traced Rom_8:29-30. See also note above, Rom_9:22, on “fitted.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 23. And that he might make known. “The vessels…
23. And that he might make known. “The vessels of mercy” are both Gentile and Jewish believers. What if God endured vessels fitted for destruction (verse 22), was there wrong in this? What if he thus made known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, was there wrong in this? Which he had afore prepared unto glory. The preparation referred to is not that of individuals for eternal life, but the preparation made was to save the Gentiles as well as Jews. The next verse shows what is meant.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 23. “In order that he may make known the…
23. “In order that he may make known the riches of his glory unto the vessels of mercy, which he before prepared unto glory.” “Glory” here means the glorification of spirit, soul and body, which awaits all the saints at the end of this life, spirit and mind being glorified simultaneously with the evacuation of the body, the latter receiving glorification in the resurrection, unless, fortunately, we should be honored with the translation, going up in the rapture “to meet the Lord in the air,” in which case, soul and mind and body will all he glorified at the same time. Hence our entire probationary life here is in the hands of the blessed Potter, who is constantly bringing into availability His Omnipotent grace and merciful Providence to prepare us for glorification in the end, thus perfecting us vessels of honor.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain and [A copula of thoughts, rather than of clauses:…
and [A copula of thoughts, rather than of clauses: God spared the wicked because of longsuffering mercy to them, and because they could be used to aid him in making known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy. Without attempting to show that God's patience with the godless aids him to win the godly, we will let it suffice to say that God spares the wicked for the sake of the righteous, lest the hasty uprooting of the former might jeopardize the safety of the latter-- Mat_13:28-30 ] that [he showed longsuffering to the wicked, in order that] he might make known the riches of his glory [God's glory is his holiness, his perfection; "riches," as Bengel observes, "of goodness, grace, mercy, wisdom, omnipotence"] upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory [It is much disputed whether the "glory" here mentioned is the temporal honor of being a church militant, a covenant people, a temple of the Spirit ( Eph_2:22 ), a new dispensation of grace supplanting that of the law (glories won by the Gentiles, and lost by the Jews), or whether it refers to the glory of the land celestial, and the bliss of heaven. The context favors the latter view, for "glory" is the antithesis of "destruction" in the parallel clause, and destruction can refer to nothing temporal. By comparing the two parallel clauses, Gifford deduces the following: "We see (1) that St. Paul is here speaking, not of election or predestination, but of an actual preparation and purgation undergone by vessels of mercy to fit them for glory, before God 'makes known the riches of his glory upon them.' Compare 2Ti_2:20-21 ; a passage which evidently looks back on this. (2) We observe that this preparation, unlike that by which 'vessels of wrath' are 'fitted for destruction,' is ascribed directly and exclusively to God as its author, being wholly brought about by his providence and prevenient grace. The idea of fitness, akin to that of desert, is ascribed only to the vessels of wrath. The vessels of mercy God has made ready for glory, but there is no idea of merit involved"],
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.