Albert Barnes Commentary Romans 9:25

"As he saith also in Hosea, I will call that my people, which was not my people; And her beloved, that was not beloved." — Romans 9:25 (ASV)

As he says also. The doctrine which he had established, he now proceeds to confirm with quotations from the writings of Jews, so that he might remove every objection. The doctrine was:

1. that God intended to call his people from the Gentiles as well as the Jews.
2. That he was bound by no promise and no principle of obligation to bestow salvation on all the Jews.
3. That therefore it was right for him to reject any or all of the Jews, if he chose, and cut them off from their privileges as a people, and from salvation.

In Osee. This is the Greek form of writing the Hebrew word Hosea. It means "in the book of Hosea," as in David means "in the book of David" or "by David" (Hebrews 4:7). The passage is found in Hosea 2:23.

This quotation is not made according to the letter, but the sense of the prophet is preserved. The meaning is the same in Hosea and in this place: that God would bring those into a covenant relation to himself, who were before considered outcasts and strangers. Thus he supports his main position that God would choose his people from among the Gentiles as well as the Jews, or would exercise towards both his right as a sovereign, bestowing or withholding his blessings as he pleases.