Romans 9:13
New International Version
Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

New Living Translation
In the words of the Scriptures, “I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.”

English Standard Version
As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Berean Standard Bible
So it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Berean Literal Bible
As it has been written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

King James Bible
As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

New King James Version
As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”

New American Standard Bible
Just as it is written: “JACOB I HAVE LOVED, BUT ESAU I HAVE HATED.”

NASB 1995
Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.”

NASB 1977
Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.”

Amplified Bible
As it is written and forever remains written, “JACOB I LOVED (chose, protected, blessed), BUT ESAU I HATED (held in disregard compared to Jacob).”

Christian Standard Bible
As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.

American Standard Version
Even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.

Contemporary English Version
That's why the Scriptures say that the Lord liked Jacob more than Esau.

English Revised Version
Even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The Scriptures say, "I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau."

Good News Translation
As the scripture says, "I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau."

International Standard Version
So it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

Majority Standard Bible
So it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

NET Bible
just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

New Heart English Bible
Even as it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

Webster's Bible Translation
As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Weymouth New Testament
This agrees with the other Scripture which says, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated."

World English Bible
Even as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
according as it has been written: “Jacob I loved, and Esau I hated.”

Berean Literal Bible
As it has been written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

Young's Literal Translation
according as it hath been written, 'Jacob I did love, and Esau I did hate.'

Smith's Literal Translation
As has been written, Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
As it is written: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.

Catholic Public Domain Version
So also it was written: “I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.”

New American Bible
As it is written: “I loved Jacob but hated Esau.”

New Revised Standard Version
As it is written, “I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
As it is written, Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
As it is written: “I have loved Jacob and I have hated Esau.”
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
as it is written: Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Godbey New Testament
as has been written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Haweis New Testament
As it is written, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”

Mace New Testament
as it is written, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau I have discarded."

Weymouth New Testament
This agrees with the other Scripture which says, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated."

Worrell New Testament
Even as it has been written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

Worsley New Testament
"I loved Jacob and I hated Esau."

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
God's Sovereign Choice
12not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13So it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Certainly not!…

Cross References
Malachi 1:2-3
“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved, / but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

Genesis 25:23
and He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”

Hebrews 12:16-17
See to it that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright. / For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. He could find no ground for repentance, though he sought the blessing with tears.

Genesis 27:27-40
So he came near and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothing, he blessed him and said: “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed. / May God give to you the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth—an abundance of grain and new wine. / May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed.” ...

Obadiah 1:10-12
Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever. / On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them. / But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their distress.

Genesis 28:13-15
And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie. / Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. / Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Deuteronomy 7:7-8
The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. / But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Matthew 11:25-26
At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. / Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.

Ephesians 1:4-5
For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love / He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,

1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. / Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Isaiah 41:8-9
“But you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend— / I brought you from the ends of the earth and called you from its farthest corners. I said, ‘You are My servant.’ I have chosen and not rejected you.

Jeremiah 31:3
The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with loving devotion.

John 15:16
You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.

2 Thessalonians 2:13
But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth.

1 John 4:19
We love because He first loved us.


Treasury of Scripture

As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Jacob.

Malachi 1:2,3
I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, …

hated.

Genesis 29:31,33
And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren…

Deuteronomy 21:15
If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:

Proverbs 13:24
He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

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Agrees Esau Hate Hated Jacob Loved Scripture Written
Romans 9
1. Paul is sorry for the Jews.
7. All of Abraham not of the promise.
18. God's sovereignty.
25. The calling of the Gentiles and rejecting of the Jews, foretold.
32. The cause of their stumbling.














So it is written
This phrase underscores the authority and divine inspiration of Scripture. The Apostle Paul is referencing the Old Testament, specifically Malachi 1:2-3, to support his argument. The use of "it is written" is a common Jewish idiom that signifies the unchanging and authoritative nature of God's Word. In the Greek, "gegraptai" (it is written) is in the perfect tense, indicating a past action with ongoing relevance, emphasizing the eternal truth of God's declarations.

Jacob I loved
The word "loved" here is translated from the Greek "ēgapēsa," which is derived from "agapao," a term often used to describe God's covenantal love. This love is not based on human merit but on God's sovereign choice and grace. Historically, Jacob, later named Israel, became the father of the twelve tribes, representing God's chosen people. This choice was made before Jacob and Esau were born, highlighting the doctrine of election, where God's love is an act of His sovereign will rather than human action.

but Esau I hated
The term "hated" is translated from the Greek "emisēsa," which can be understood in the context of preference or choice rather than emotional disdain. In the Hebrew context, as seen in Malachi, "hated" can imply a lesser degree of love or favor. This phrase reflects the divine prerogative in choosing Jacob over Esau for the fulfillment of His covenantal promises. Esau, though blessed materially, did not receive the spiritual inheritance that Jacob did. This distinction serves to illustrate God's sovereign will in His redemptive plan, where His choices are based on His purposes and not human merit.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
So
καθὼς (kathōs)
Conjunction
Strong's 2531: According to the manner in which, in the degree that, just as, as. From kata and hos; just as, that.

it is written:
γέγραπται (gegraptai)
Verb - Perfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1125: A primary verb; to 'grave', especially to write; figuratively, to describe.

“Jacob
Ἰακὼβ (Iakōb)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2384: Of Hebrew origin; Jacob, the progenitor of the Israelites.

I loved,
ἠγάπησα (ēgapēsa)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 25: To love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem. Perhaps from agan; to love.

but
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

Esau
Ἠσαῦ (Ēsau)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2269: Esau, elder son of Isaac the patriarch, brother of Jacob. Of Hebrew origin; Esau, an Edomite.

I hated.”
ἐμίσησα (emisēsa)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 3404: To hate, detest, love less, esteem less. From a primary misos; to detest; by extension, to love less.


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NT Letters: Romans 9:13 Even as it is written Jacob (Rom. Ro)
Romans 9:12
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