This document compiles key Bible passages from the 1995 New American Standard Bible (NASB), English Standard Version (ESV), and Legacy Standard Bible (LSB) that address God’s sovereignty in election and predestination (of nations and individuals), His use of people for His purposes (including non-believers like Pharaoh), and His attributes of aseity and omniscience.
- God’s Sovereignty in Election and Predestination
God’s sovereignty in election refers to His divine choice of nations (e.g., Israel) and individuals for salvation or specific purposes, rooted in His will, not human merit. Predestination describes His foreordaining of events or people’s destinies.
Romans 9:10-18 (Election of Individuals and Nations)
Context: Paul explains God’s sovereign choice in electing Jacob over Esau and Israel as His chosen nation, emphasizing that election depends on God’s purpose, not human works.
ESV (quoted): “And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’ What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’ So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.” (Romans 9:10-18)
NASB 1995: Similar, uses “loved”/“hated” for Jacob/Esau; “running” instead of “exertion” in v.15.
LSB: Uses “Yahweh” in quotes (e.g., v.15, citing Moses); “slave” for “servant” in some contexts.
Note: This passage links election (Jacob, Israel) with God’s use of Pharaoh (see section 2).
Ephesians 1:4-5 (Predestination of Individuals)
Context: Paul describes believers as chosen by God before creation for salvation.
LSB (quoted): “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” (Ephesians 1:4-5)
NASB 1995/ESV: Nearly identical; ESV uses “predestined” consistently, NASB capitalizes “Him.”
Note: Emphasizes predestination as God’s initiative, not human action.
Deuteronomy 7:6-8 (Election of Israel)
Context: God chooses Israel as His covenant people, not due to their merit but His love and promise.
NASB 1995 (quoted): “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers…” (Deuteronomy 7:6-8)
ESV: Similar, uses “treasured possession” for “own possession.”
LSB: Uses “Yahweh” for “LORD”; otherwise aligned.
Note: Highlights national election based on God’s covenant, not Israel’s qualities.
Additional Citations
John 15:16 (NASB/ESV/LSB): Jesus says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (individual election of disciples).
Acts 13:48 (NASB/ESV/LSB): Gentiles believe as “appointed to eternal life,” showing divine appointment.
Romans 8:29-30 (NASB/ESV/LSB): Describes the “golden chain” of predestination, calling, justification, and glorification.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 (NASB/ESV/LSB): Believers chosen “from the beginning” for salvation.
- God’s Use of People for His Purposes (Including Non-Believers)
God sovereignly uses both believers and non-believers to accomplish His will, as seen in Pharaoh’s hardening or Cyrus’s role in Israel’s restoration.
Exodus 7:3-4; 9:16 (Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart)
Context: God hardens Pharaoh’s heart to demonstrate His power and glory through the Exodus.
ESV (quoted): “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you…” (Exodus 7:3-4); “But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” (Exodus 9:16)
NASB 1995: Uses “make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn” for “harden”; similar in 9:16.
LSB: Uses “Yahweh” and “make stubborn” in 7:3; identical in 9:16.
Note: Pharaoh, a non-believer, is used to magnify God’s name, showing His control over human will.
Isaiah 45:1-5 (Cyrus as God’s Instrument)
Context: God anoints Cyrus, a pagan king, to deliver Israel, despite Cyrus not knowing Him.
LSB (quoted): “Thus says Yahweh to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have strengthened… ‘I will go before you… that you may know that I am Yahweh, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. For the sake of My servant Jacob and Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name… though you have not known Me.’” (Isaiah 45:1, 4-5)
NASB 1995/ESV: Use “LORD” instead of “Yahweh”; ESV has “grasped” for “strengthened.”
Note: God uses a non-believer for His redemptive plan, showing sovereignty over nations.
Additional Citations
Habakkuk 1:6 (NASB/ESV/LSB): God raises the Chaldeans (Babylonians) to judge Judah, using a pagan nation.
John 19:10-11 (NASB/ESV/LSB): Jesus tells Pilate his authority comes from God, despite Pilate’s unbelief.
Romans 9:17 (NASB/ESV/LSB): Reiterates Exodus 9:16 about Pharaoh’s role.
- God’s Aseity and Omniscience
Aseity: God’s self-existence, independent of creation, needing nothing outside Himself. Omniscience: God’s perfect, complete knowledge of all things, past, present, and future.
Isaiah 46:9-10 (God’s Omniscience and Sovereignty)
Context: God declares His unique knowledge and control over history.
NASB 1995 (quoted): “Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.’” (Isaiah 46:9-10)
ESV: Uses “counsel” for “purpose”; otherwise similar.
LSB: Uses “Yahweh” and “counsel”; aligns closely.
Note: Shows God’s omniscience (knowing the end from the beginning) and aseity (unique, self-existent).
John 1:1-3 (God’s Aseity)
Context: The Word (Christ) is eternal, uncreated, and the source of all creation.
ESV (quoted): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)
NASB 1995/LSB: Nearly identical; LSB capitalizes “Him” consistently.
Note: Establishes God’s self-existence, as He preexists and creates all things.
Psalm 139:1-4, 16 (God’s Omniscience)
Context: David marvels at God’s complete knowledge of him, including future events.
LSB (quoted): “O Yahweh, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar… Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Yahweh, You know it all… Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book all were written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” (Psalm 139:1-2, 4, 16)
NASB 1995/ESV: Use “LORD” for “Yahweh”; ESV has “discern” for “understand.”
Note: Highlights God’s omniscience in knowing all actions, thoughts, and preordained days.
Additional Citations
Acts 17:24-25 (NASB/ESV/LSB): God, as Creator, “does not dwell in temples made with hands” and needs nothing (aseity).
Hebrews 4:13 (NASB/ESV/LSB): “All things are open and laid bare” to God, showing omniscience.
1 John 3:20 (NASB/ESV/LSB): God “knows all things,” affirming His complete knowledge.
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