Romans 9:15

τῷ Μωυσεῖ γὰρ λέγει. τῷ Μωυσεῖ is emphatic by position: the person to whom this declaration was made, as well as the voice which made it, render it peculiarly significant to a Jew. The words (exactly as LXX, Exodus 33:19) occur in the answer to a prayer of Moses, and may have been regarded by Paul as having special reference to him; as if the point of the quotation were, Even one who had deserved so well as Moses experienced God's mercy solely because God willed that He should. But that is not necessary, and is not what the original means. The emphasis is on ὃν ἂν, and the point is that in showing mercy God is determined by nothing outside of His mercy itself. οἰκτείρειν is stronger than ἐλεεῖν; it suggests more strongly the emotion attendant on pity, and even its expression in voice or gesture.