23 He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory.
24 And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.
25 Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea,“Those who were not my people,I will now call my people.And I will love thosewhom I did not love before.”
26 And,“Then, at the place where they were told,‘You are not my people,’there they will be called‘children of the living God.’”
27 And concerning Israel, Isaiah the prophet cried out,“Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore,only a remnant will be saved.
28 For the lord will carry out his sentence upon the earthquickly and with finality.”
29 And Isaiah said the same thing in another place:“If the lord of Heaven’s Armieshad not spared a few of our children,we would have been wiped out like Sodom,destroyed like Gomorrah.”