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’s Continuing Love for Jewish People
1So I ask, “Has God rejected his people Israel?” That’s unthinkable! Consider this. I’m an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin. 2God has not rejected his people whom he knew long ago. Don’t you know what Elijah says in the Scripture passage when he complains to God about Israel? He says, 3“Lord, they’ve killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I’m the only one left, and they’re trying to take my life.” 4But what was God’s reply? God said, “I’ve kept 7,000 people for myself who have not knelt to worship Baal.” 5So, as there were then, there are now a few left that God has chosen by his kindness.#11:5 Or “grace.” 6If they were chosen by God’s kindness, they weren’t chosen because of anything they did. Otherwise, God’s kindness wouldn’t be kindness.
7So what does all this mean? It means that Israel has never achieved what it has been striving for. However, those whom God has chosen have achieved it. The minds of the rest of Israel were closed, 8as Scripture says,
“To this day God has given them a spirit of deep sleep.
Their eyes don’t see,
and their ears don’t hear!”
9And David says,
“Let the table set for them become a trap and a net,
a snare and a punishment for them.
10Let their vision become clouded so that they cannot see.
Let them carry back-breaking burdens forever.”
11So I ask, “Has Israel stumbled so badly that it can’t get up again?” That’s unthinkable! By Israel’s failure, salvation has come to people who are not Jewish to make the Jewish people jealous. 12The fall of the Jewish people made the world spiritually rich. Their failure made people who are not Jewish spiritually rich. So the inclusion of Jewish people will make the world even richer.
13Now, I speak to you who are not Jewish. As long as I am an apostle sent to people who are not Jewish, I bring honor to my ministry. 14Perhaps I can make my people jealous and save some of them. 15If Israel’s rejection means that the world has been brought back to God, what does Israel’s acceptance mean? It means that Israel has come back to life.
16If the first handful of dough is holy, the whole batch of dough is holy. If the root is holy, the branches are holy. 17But some of the olive branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive branch, have been grafted in their place. You get your nourishment from the roots of the olive tree. 18So don’t brag about being better than the other branches. If you brag, remember that you don’t support the root, the root supports you. 19“Well,” you say, “Branches were cut off so that I could be grafted onto the tree.” 20That’s right! They were broken off because they didn’t believe, but you remain on the tree because you do believe. Don’t feel arrogant, but be afraid. 21If God didn’t spare the natural branches, he won’t spare you, either. 22Look at how kind and how severe God can be. He is severe to those who fell, but kind to you if you continue to hold on to his kindness. Otherwise, you, too, will be cut off ⌞from the tree⌟.
23If Jewish people do not continue in their unbelief, they will be grafted onto the tree again, because God is able to do that. 24In spite of the fact that you have been cut from a wild olive tree, you have been grafted onto a cultivated one. So wouldn’t it be easier for these natural branches to be grafted onto the olive tree they belong to?
25Brothers and sisters, I want you to understand this mystery so that you won’t become arrogant. The minds of some Israelites have become closed until all of God’s non-Jewish people are included. 26In this way Israel as a whole will be saved, as Scripture says,
“The Savior will come from Zion.
He will remove godlessness from Jacob.
27My promise #11:27 Or “covenant.” to them will be fulfilled
when I take away their sins.”
28The Good News made the Jewish people enemies because of you. But by God’s choice they are loved because of their ancestors. 29God never changes his mind when he gives gifts or when he calls someone. 30In the past, you disobeyed God. But now God has been merciful to you because of the disobedience of the Jewish people. 31In the same way, the Jewish people have also disobeyed so that God may be merciful to them as he was to you. 32God has placed all people into the prison of their own disobedience so that he could be merciful to all people.
33God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge are so deep
that it is impossible to explain his decisions
or to understand his ways.
34“Who knows how the Lord thinks?
Who can become his adviser?”
35Who gave the Lord something
which the Lord must pay back?
36Everything is from him and by him and for him.
Glory belongs to him forever! Amen!
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