9:4a

the people of Israel: The Greek is literally “who are Israelites.” It describes “my brothers, my own flesh and blood” in 9:3b. The word “who” does not imply here that only some of Paul’s “flesh and blood” are Israelites. The Greek grammar clearly indicates that all of Paul’s “flesh and blood” were Israelites.

God gave the name Israel to Jacob. The words people of can also be indicated by the “-ites” ending in English. For example:

the Israelites

If people in your language group are not familiar with the name Israel, you may want to translate literally and explain its meaning in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:

Israel is another name for the Jews. God gave their ancestor Jacob the name Israel (Genesis 32:28).

Theirs is the adoption as sons: The Greek is literally “of whom the adoption.” God made a covenant with Israel and considers them his adopted children. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

theirs the adoption (New American Bible, Revised Edition)
-or-
who were adopted as ⌊God’s⌋ children
-or-
whom ⌊God⌋ adopted as his children
-or-
they have the adoption
-or-
they are adopted ⌊by God⌋, and they have

Some languages must translate the adoption with a verb. For example:

⌊God⌋ adopted them and they have

9:4b–c

theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises: The word “theirs” that the Berean Standard Bible repeats three times in 9:4a and 9:4b connects each of these terms. Also, some languages need to put the word and between each term. For example:

and the divine glory and the covenants and the giving of the law and the temple worship and the promises
-or-
the adoption as sons and the divine glory and the covenants and the giving of the law and the temple worship and the promises belong to them

9:4b

the divine glory: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as divine glory refers literally to a very bright light. In this context it implies power, majesty, and greatness. Here are other ways to translate this word:

majesty
-or-
greatness

Some languages must translate this word as describing something or someone, as the Berean Standard Bible does. For example:

the glory ⌊of God⌋

See how you translated the word glory in 1:23 or 5:2.

the covenants: The word covenants refers to an agreement or contract. God made several covenants with the people of Israel. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

the pledges (God’s Word)
-or-
He made agreements with them (Contemporary English Version)

the giving of the law: This refers to God giving the laws to Moses for the people of Israel to follow. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

he…gave them the Law (Good News Translation)
-or-
to them were given the Law (New Jerusalem Bible)

9:4c

the temple worship: This refers to the pattern of worshipping God that he gave to the Jews to follow. This includes the sacrifice of animals and all that was done at the temple in Jerusalem. It may also include worship in the synagogues. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

their way of worship
-or-
They were told the way they were to worship

the promises: This refers to the promises that God made to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as others such as Moses and David.

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