Romans 11
11
The Remnant of Israel
1I ask, then, #1 Sam. 12:22; Jer. 31:37; 33:24 has God rejected his people? By no means! For #2 Cor. 11:22; Phil. 3:5I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,#11:1 Or one of the offspring of Abraham a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2#Ps. 94:14 God has not rejected his people whom he #ch. 8:29foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3#Cited from 1 Kgs. 19:10, 14“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4But what is God’s reply to him? #Cited from 1 Kgs. 19:18“I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5So too at the present time there is #ch. 9:27; [Jer. 3:14; Zech. 13:8]a remnant, chosen by grace. 6#[ch. 4:4; Deut. 9:4, 5]But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
7What then? #See ch. 9:31 Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest #[ver. 25]were hardened, 8as it is written,
#
Isa. 29:10 “God gave them a spirit of stupor,
#
Deut. 29:4; [Isa. 43:8; Jer. 5:21; Ezek. 12:2; Eph. 4:18]; See Matt. 13:14 eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
9And David says,
# Cited from Ps. 69:22, 23 “Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
Gentiles Grafted In
11So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass #[Acts 28:28]salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion#11:12 Greek their fullness mean!
13Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as #ch. 15:16; [Acts 26:17]; See Acts 9:15I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and #1 Cor. 7:16; 9:22; 1 Tim. 4:16; James 5:20thus save some of them. 15For if their rejection means #ch. 5:11the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16#Num. 15:18-21; Neh. 10:37; Ezek. 44:30If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17But if #Jer. 11:16; [Ps. 52:8; John 15:2] some of the branches were broken off, and you, #[Eph. 2:12]although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root#11:17 Greek root of richness; some manuscripts richness of the olive tree, 18do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you #1 Cor. 10:12; 2 Cor. 1:24 stand fast through faith. So #ch. 12:3, 16; 1 Tim. 6:17 do not become proud, but #Prov. 28:14; Isa. 66:2, 5; Jer. 44:10; Phil. 2:12fear. 21For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, #1 Cor. 15:2; Heb. 3:6, 14 provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise #[John 15:2]you too will be cut off. 23And #2 Cor. 3:16even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation
25 # ch. 12:16 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:#11:25 Or brothers and sisters #2 Cor. 3:14; [ver. 7] a partial hardening has come upon Israel, #[Rev. 7:9]; See Luke 21:24until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
# Cited from Isa. 59:20, 21; [John 4:22; Heb. 8:8-12] “The Deliverer will come #Ps. 14:7; 53:6from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
27“and this will be my #See ch. 9:4 covenant with them
#
Isa. 27:9; [Heb. 8:12] when I take away their sins.”
28As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are #ch. 9:5; Deut. 7:8; 10:15beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29For the gifts and #See ch. 8:28the calling of God are irrevocable. 30For just as #Eph. 2:2, 3, 11, 13; Col. 1:21; 3:7; Titus 3:3you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now#11:31 Some manuscripts omit now receive mercy. 32For God #See ch. 3:9has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
33Oh, the depth of the riches and #Col. 2:3; [Ps. 139:6; Eph. 3:10] wisdom and knowledge of God! #Deut. 29:29How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34“For #Isa. 40:13; 1 Cor. 2:16; [Job 15:8] who has known the mind of the Lord,
or #Job 36:22, 23who has been his counselor?”
35“Or #Job 35:7; 41:11who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36For #1 Cor. 8:6; 11:12; Col. 1:16; [Heb. 2:10] from him and through him and to him are all things. #ch. 16:27; Eph. 3:21; Phil. 4:20; 1 Tim. 1:17; 1 Pet. 4:11; 2 Pet. 3:18; Jude 25; Rev. 1:6; 5:13To him be glory forever. Amen.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Romans 11
11
God Has Not Forgotten His People
1So I ask, “Did God force his people to leave him?” Of course not. I myself am an Israelite. I am from the family of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2God chose the Israelites to be his people before they were born. And he did not force them to leave. Surely you know what the Scriptures say about Elijah. The Scriptures tell about Elijah praying to God against the people of Israel. He said, 3“Lord, they have killed your prophets and destroyed your altars. I am the only prophet still living, and they are trying to kill me now.”#Quote from 1 Kings 19:10, 14. 4But what answer did God give to Elijah? God said, “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have never given worship to Baal.”#Quote from 1 Kings 19:18.
5It is the same now. God has chosen a few people by his grace. 6And if he chose them by grace, then it is not what they have done that made them his people. If they could be made his people by what they did, his gift of grace would not really be a gift.
7So this is what has happened: The people of Israel wanted God’s blessing, but they did not all get it. The people he chose did get his blessing, but the others became hard and refused to listen to him. 8As the Scriptures say,
“God caused the people to fall asleep.” Isaiah 29:10
“God closed their eyes so that they could not see,
and he closed their ears so that they could not hear.
This continues until now.” Deuteronomy 29:4
9And David says,
“Let those people be caught and trapped at their own feasts.
Let them fall and be punished.
10Let their eyes be closed so that they cannot see.
And let them be troubled forever.” Psalm 69:22-23
11So I ask: When the Jews fell, did that fall destroy them? No! But their mistake brought salvation to those who are not Jews. The purpose of this was to make the Jews jealous. 12Their mistake brought rich blessings to the world. And what they lost brought rich blessings to the non-Jewish people. So surely the world will get much richer blessings when enough Jews become the kind of people God wants.
13Now I am speaking to you people who are not Jews. I am an apostle to the non-Jewish people. So while I have that work, I will do the best I can. 14I hope I can make my own people jealous. That way, maybe I can help some of them to be saved. 15God turned away from the Jews. When that happened, he became friends with the other people in the world. So when he accepts the Jews, it will be like bringing people to life after death. 16If the first piece of bread is offered to God, then the whole loaf is made holy. If the roots of a tree are holy, the tree’s branches are holy too.
17It is as if some of the branches from an olive tree have been broken off, and the branch of a wild olive tree has been joined to that first tree. If you are not a Jew, you are the same as that wild branch, and you now share the strength and life of the first tree. 18But don’t act as if you are better than those branches that were broken off. You have no reason to be proud of yourself, because you don’t give life to the root. The root gives life to you. 19You might say, “Branches were broken off so that I could be joined to their tree.” 20That is true. But those branches were broken off because they did not believe. And you continue to be part of the tree only because you believe. Don’t be proud, but be afraid. 21If God did not let the natural branches of that tree stay, he will not let you stay if you stop believing.
22So you see that God is kind, but he can also be very strict. He punishes those who stop following him. But he is kind to you, if you continue trusting in his kindness. If you don’t continue depending on him, you will be cut off from the tree. 23And if the Jews will believe in God again, he will accept them back. He is able to put them back where they were. 24It is not natural for a wild branch to become part of a good tree. But you non-Jewish people are like a branch cut from a wild olive tree. And you were joined to a good olive tree. But those Jews are like a branch that grew from the good tree. So surely they can be joined to their own tree again.
25I want you to understand this secret truth, brothers and sisters. This truth will help you understand that you don’t know everything. The truth is this: Part of Israel has been made stubborn, but that will change when enough non-Jewish people have come to God. 26And that is how all Israel will be saved. The Scriptures say,
“The Savior will come from Zion;
he will take away all evil from the family of Jacob.
27And I will make this agreement with those people
when I take away their sins.” Isaiah 59:20-21; 27:9
28The Jews refuse to accept the Good News, so they are God’s enemies. This has happened to help you who are not Jews. But they are still God’s chosen people, and he loves them because of the promises he made to their ancestors. 29God never changes his mind about the people he calls. He never decides to take back the blessings he has given them. 30At one time you refused to obey God. But now you have received mercy, because the Jews refused to obey. 31And now they are the ones who refuse to obey, because God showed mercy to you. But this happened so that they can also receive mercy from him. 32All people have refused to obey God. And he has put them all together as people who don’t obey him so that he can show mercy to everyone.
Praise to God
33Yes, God’s riches are very great! His wisdom and knowledge have no end! No one can explain what God decides. No one can understand his ways. 34As the Scriptures say,
“Who can know what is on the Lord’s mind?
Who is able to give him advice?” Isaiah 40:13
35“Who has ever given God anything?
God owes nothing to anyone.” Job 41:11
36Yes, God made all things. And everything continues through him and for him. To God be the glory forever! Amen.
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