Romans 9 · Verse 5

Romans 9:5

Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

Romans 9:5, King James Version

Romans 9:5 in other translations

BSB	Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them proceeds the human descent of Christ, who is God over all, forever worthy of praise! Amen.
WEB	of whom are the fathers, and from whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen.
ASV	whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
YLT	whose are the fathers, and of whom is the Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed to the ages. Amen.
DARBY	whose are the fathers; and of whom, as according to flesh, is the Christ, who is over all,God blessed for ever. Amen.
BBE	Whose are the fathers, and of whom came Christ in the flesh, who is over all, God, to whom be blessing for ever. So be it.
Webster	Whose are the fathers, and from whom according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

What does Romans 9:5 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

5. Whose are the fathers--here, probably, the three great fathers of the covenant--Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--by whom God condescended to name Himself (Ex 8:6, 13; Lu 20:37). and--most exalted privilege of all, and as such, reserved to the last. of whom as concerning the flesh--(See on Ro 1:3). Christ came--or, "is Christ" who is over all, God--rather, "God over all." blessed for ever. Amen--To get rid of the bright testimony here borne to the supreme divinity of Christ, various expedients have been adopted: (1) To place a period, either after the words "concerning the flesh Christ came," rendering the next clause as a doxology to the Father--"God who is over all be blessed for ever"; or after the word "all"--thus, "Christ came, who is over all: God be blessed.", &c. [Erasmus, Locke, Fritzsche, Meyer, Jowett, &c.]. But it is fatal to this view, as even Socinus admits, that in other Scripture doxologies the word "Blessed" precedes the name of God on whom the blessing is invoked (thus: "Blessed be God," Psa 68:35; "Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel," Psa 72:18). Besides, any such doxology here would be "unmeaning and frigid in the extreme"; the sad subject on which he was entering suggesting anything but a doxology, even in connection with Christ's Incarnation [Alford]. (2) To transpose the words rendered "who is"; in which case the rendering would be, "whose (that is, the fathers') is Christ according to the flesh" [Crellius, Whiston, Taylor, Whitby]. But this is a desperate expedient, in the face of all manuscript authority; as is also the conjecture of Grotius and others, that the word "God" should be omitted from the text. It remains then, that we have here no doxology at all, but a naked statement of fact, that while Christ is "of" the Israelitish nation "as concerning the flesh," He is, in another respect, "God over all, blessed for ever." (In 2Co 11:31 the very Greek phrase which is here rendered "who is," is used in the same sense; and compare Ro 1:25, Greek). In this view of the passage, as a testimony to the supreme divinity of Christ, besides all the orthodox fathers, some of the ablest modern critics concur [Bengel, Tholuck, Stuart, Olshausen, Philippi, Alford, &c.]

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 5. Whose are the fathers. Who have been honoured with so illustrious an ancestry. Who are descended from Abraham, Isaac, etc. On this they highly valued themselves, and, in a certain sense, not unjustly. Comp. Mt 3:9.

Of whom. Of whose nation. This is placed as the crowning and most exalted privilege, that their nation had given birth to the long-expected Messiah, the hope of the world.

As concerning the flesh. So far as his human nature was concerned. The use of this language supposes that there was a higher nature, in respect to which he was not of their nation. Rom 1:3.

Christ came. He had already come; and it was their high honour that he was one of their nation.

Who is over all. This is an appellation that belongs only to the true God. It implies supreme Divinity; and is full proof that the Messiah is Divine. Much effort has been made to show that this is not the true rendering, but without success. There are no various readings in the Greek MSS. of any consequence; and the connexion here evidently requires us to understand this of a nature that is not "according to the flesh," i.e., as the apostle here shows, of the Divine nature.

God blessed for ever. This is evidently applied to the Lord Jesus; and it proves that he is Divine. If the translation is fairly made,--and it has never been proved to be erroneous,--it demonstrates that he is God as well as man. The doxology "blessed for ever" was usually added by the Jewish writers after the mention of the name God, as an expression of reverence. (See the various interpretations that have been proposed on this passage examined in Prof Stuart's Notes on this verse.)

(d) "fathers" Rom 11:28 (e) "as concerning" Lk 3:23 (f) "is over all" Jn 1:1

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 5 Whose are the fathers - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, the twelve patriarchs, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, etc., etc., without controversy, the greatest and most eminent men that ever flourished under heaven. From these, is an uninterrupted and unpolluted line, the Jewish people had descended; and it was no small glory to be able to reckon, in their genealogy, persons of such incomparable merit and excellency. And of whom, as concerning the flesh Christ came - These ancestors were the more renowned, as being the progenitors of the human nature of the Messiah. Christ, the Messiah, κατα σαρκα, according to the flesh, sprang from them. But this Messiah was more than man, he is God over all; the very Being who gave them being, though he appeared to receive a being from them. Here the apostle most distinctly points out the twofold nature of our Lord - his eternal Godhead and his humanity; and all the transpositions of particles, and alterations of points in the universe, will not explain away this doctrine. As this verse contains such an eminent proof of the deity of Christ, no wonder that the opposers of his divinity should strive with their utmost skill and cunning to destroy its force. And it must be truly painful to a mind that has nothing in view but truth, to see the mean and hypocritical methods used to elude the force of this text. Few have met it in that honest and manly way in which Dr. Taylor, who was a conscientious Arian, has considered the subject. "Christ," says he, "is God over all, as he is by the Father appointed Lord, King, and Governor of all. The Father hath committed all judgement to the Son, Joh 5:22; has given all things into his hands, Mat 28:18; he is Lord of all, Act 10:36. God has given him a name above every name, Phi 2:9; above every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and has put all things (himself excepted, 1Cor 15:27) under his feet and given him to be head over all things, Eph 1:21, Eph 1:22. This is our Lord's supreme Godhead. And that he is ευλογητος, blessed for ever, or the object of everlasting blessing, is evident from Rev 5:12, Rev 5:13 : Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power - and blessing and honor be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Thus it appears the words may be justly applied to our blessed Lord." Notes, p. 329. Yes, and when we take other scriptures into the account, where his essential Godhead is particularly expressed, such as Col 1:16, Col 1:17 : For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created By him, and For him: and he is Before all things, and By him do all things consist; we shall find that he is not God by investiture or office, but properly and essentially such; for it is impossible to convey in human language, to human apprehension, a more complete and finished display of what is essential to Godhead, indivisible from it, and incommunicable to any created nature, than what is contained in the above verses. And while these words are allowed to make a part of Divine revelation, the essential Godhead of Jesus Christ will continue to be a doctrine of that revelation. I pass by the groundless and endless conjectures about reversing some of the particles and placing points in different positions, as they have been all invented to get rid of the doctrine of Christ's divinity, which is so obviously acknowledged by the simple text; it is enough to state that there is no omission of these important words in any MS. or version yet discovered.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Romans 9:1-5

Chapter Outline The apostle's concern that his countrymen were strangers to the gospel. (1-5) The promises are made good to the spiritual seed of Abraham. (6-13) Answers to objections against God's sovereign conduct, in exercising mercy and justice. (14-24) This sovereignty is in God's dealing both with Jews and Gentiles. (25-29) The falling short of the Jews is owing to their seeking justification, not by faith…

Read the full comment on Romans 9:1-5 →

Romans 9:5 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ὧνhōnwhose [are]G3739

οἱhoitheG3588

πατέρεςpaterespatriarchsG3962

καὶkaiandG2532

ἐξexfromG1537

ὧνhōnwhom [is]G3739

ὁho<the>G3588

ΧριστὸςChristosChristG5547

τὸto<the>G3588

κατὰkataaccording toG2596

σάρκα,sarkathe flesh,G4561

ὁhowhoG3588

ὢνōnis beingG1510

ἐπὶepioverG1909

πάντωνpantōnallG3956

θεὸςtheosGodG2316

εὐλογητὸςeulogētosblessedG2128

εἰςeistoG1519

τοὺςtoustheG3588

αἰῶνας,aiōnasages,G165

ἀμήν.¶amēnAmen.G281

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Romans 9:5

John 10:30
I and my Father are one.
Colossians 1:16-19
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Romans 1:25
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
1 John 5:20
And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
Romans 1:3
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
Philippians 2:6-11
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: …
1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
Isaiah 11:1
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
Revelation 1:18
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Isaiah 9:6-7
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Matthew 1:1-17
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

are the fathers.
11:28; De 10:15
of whom.
1:3; Ge 12:3; 49:10; Isa 7:14; 11:1; Mt 1:1-17; Lu 3:23-38; 2Ti 2:8
Re 22:16
who is.
10:12; Ps 45:6; 103:19; Isa 9:6,7; Jer 23:5,6; Mic 5:2; Joh 1:1-3
Joh 10:30; Ac 20:28; Php 2:6-11; Col 1:16; 1Ti 3:16; Heb 1:8-13
1Jo 5:20
blessed.
1:25; Ps 72:19; 2Co 11:31; 1Ti 6:15
Amen.
De 27:15-26; 1Ki 1:36; 1Ch 16:36; Ps 41:13; 89:52; 106:48; Jer 28:6
Mt 6:13; 28:20; 1Co 14:16; Re 1:18; 5:14; 22:20

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Romans 9:4
Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Romans 9:5
Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
Romans 9:6
Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:

Read all of Romans 9

Romans 9:5 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Cuyos son los padres, y de los cuales es Cristo según la carne, el cual es Dios sobre todas las cosas, bendito por los siglos. Amén.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	auxquels sont les pères, et desquels, selon la chair, est issu le Christ, qui est sur toutes choses Dieu béni éternellement. Amen!
German Elberfelder 1871	deren die Väter sind, und aus welchen, dem Fleische nach, der Christus ist, welcher über allem ist, Gott, gepriesen in Ewigkeit. Amen.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	quorum patres, et ex quibus est Christus secundum carnem, qui est super omnia Deus benedictus in sæcula. Amen.