Bible Strands
Romans 9:6
It is not as though God’s word has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Roman congregation while explaining the relationship between ethnic Israel and the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises. He speaks at the moment of resolving the tension between Jewish heritage and current Gentile inclusion.
The words — ἐκπέπτωκεν (ekpeptōken) literally means “has failed” or “has fallen out,” paired with λόγος (logos) for “word.” The verse declares that God’s spoken promise remains intact despite the reality that physical descent does not guarantee covenant status.
The thread — The distinction between biological lineage and covenant identity recurs in Romans 2:28 regarding inward circumcision, Galatians 6:16 naming the “Israel of God,” and Romans 11:1 where Paul affirms God has not abandoned ethnic Israel.
Why it lands — The text requires a reader to separate physical ancestry from covenant standing before evaluating God’s faithfulness. It demands acceptance that divine promises operate through sovereign selection rather than automatic inheritance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
Cross-references
- Romans 2:28 A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical.
- Galatians 6:16 Peace and mercy to all who walk by this rule, even to the Israel of God.
- Romans 11:1 I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
- Romans 3:3 What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness?
- Romans 4:12 And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
- John 1:47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”
- Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- Isaiah 55:11 so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.
- Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
- John 10:35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken—