Romans 9:5

Joshua Perez

10/20/24

"Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." (Romans 9:5 NIV)

Romans 9:5 is another heavily disputed text of scripture that many trinitarians propose teaches that Yeshua (Jesus) is God, or YHWH. However, after a quick assessment of the grammar of this verse one will quickly find out why this verse cannot be used as a prooftext for the deity of Christ. As displayed by the various renderings of this verse in different translations of the Bible, there are multiple ways to translate and interpret it that change it's meaning entirely. One must look at preceding, and proceeding context to figure out which translation is correct. And more so, figure out which translation reads most consistent with the rest of scripture. Listed below are the various renderings of Romans 9:5 in different translations. 

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

"The ancestors are theirs, and from them, by physical descent, came the Messiah, who is God over all, praised forever. Amen." (HCSB)

"Whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen." (NASB)

"The patriarchs are theirs, and from them, physically, Christ sprang—blessed for evermore be the God who is over all! Amen." (Moffatt translation)

"Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." (NIV)

"To them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ. God who is over all be blessed forever. Amen." (RSV)

"Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them, in natural descent, sprang the Messiah. May God, supreme above all, be blessed forever! Amen." (NEB)

There are two main categories of how different translations put this verse. The first category renders the language of the verse to make Jesus "God over all", and the second category who make the latter portion of the verse into a doxology or eulogy for God the father. 

1. Some translations such as the NIV, HCSB, NASB, and KJV contain something to the effect "Messiah, who is God over all, praised forever! Amen." Essentially making the Messiah into the "God over all". While technically grammatically correct, there is strong internal and external evidence in support of the alternative category of translation, that being that the end of the verse is a doxology for God the father. However, even if the messiah in this verse is called "God over all", this wouldn't automatically make him equal to Hashem himself. As there are many instances in the Bible where humans empowered by God the father are given the title "god" (elohim in hebrew, theos in greek). See our article on Isaiah 9:6 where we outline this scriptural fact. Moreover, "Messiah" is typically understood to be the title of a man; a man who died. Which would rule out him being essentially immortal, and thus rule out Jesus being God Almighty. 

2. The all more likely rendering of Romans 9:5 is reflected in the RSV, NEB, and the Moffat translation; where they turn the ending of Romans 9:5 into a seperate clause of praise for God the father. As in, ".... is the Christ. God who is over all be blessed forever. Amen." This translation has far better contextual support, as every other time Paul uses terms like "God over all", or "God be blessed forever", they are undoubtedly always in reference to God the father. To list numerous examples, 

"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen." (Romans 1:25 HCSB)

"The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows I am not lying." (2 Corinthians 11:31 HCSB)

"Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3 HCSB)

"One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:6 HCSB)

"To keep this command without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in His own time—He is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who lives in unapproachable light; whom no one has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen." (1 Timothy 6:14-16 HCSB)

The whole context of Romans 9 is outlining the numerous blessings that Hashem has bestowed upon the nation of Israel. The adoption, the glory, the covenants, the temple service, and the promises. The greatest promise being that God would send his son to die for them, so that they could have their sins eternally forgiven. So, it is very fitting that Paul would insert a doxology for God in such a place. To praise and thank the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, for sending his unique son according to the flesh of the patriarchs, so that all who believe in him will receive eternal salvation.