Romans · Chapter 11
Romans 11
Berean Standard Bible · Public domain · Source credits
A Remnant Chosen by Grace
1I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
2God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel:
3“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well”?*
4And what was the divine reply to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”*
5In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
6And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.*
7What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
8as it is written:“God gave them a spirit of stupor,eyes that could not see,and ears that could not hear,to this very day.”*
9And David says:“May their table become a snare and a trap,a stumbling block and a retribution to them.
10May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,and their backs be bent forever.”*
The Ingrafting of the Gentiles
11I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.*
12But if their trespass means riches for the world, and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!
13I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry
14in the hope that I may provoke my own people to jealousy and save some of them.
15For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
16If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root,
18do not boast over those branches. If you do, remember this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.
19You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”
20That is correct: They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.
21For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will certainly not spare you either.*
22Take notice, therefore, of the kindness and severity of God: severity to those who fell, but kindness to you, if you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.
23And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
24For if you were cut from a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into one that is cultivated, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
All Israel Will Be Saved
25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
26And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:“The Deliverer will come from Zion;He will remove godlessness from Jacob.
27And this is My covenant with themwhen I take away their sins.”*
28Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs.
29For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.
30Just as you who formerly disobeyed God have now received mercy through their disobedience,
31so they too have now disobeyed, in order that they too may now receive mercy through the mercy shown to you.*
32For God has consigned everyone to disobedience so that He may have mercy on everyone.
A Hymn of Praise
(Isaiah 40:9–31)
33O, the depth of the richesof the wisdom and knowledge of God!How unsearchable are His judgments,and untraceable His ways!
34“Who has known the mind of the Lord?Or who has been His counselor?”*
35“Who has first given to God,that God should repay him?”*
36For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.To Him be the glory forever! Amen.
Source notes
- 11:3 1 Kings 19:10, 14 Read 1 Kings 19:10
- 11:4 1 Kings 19:18 Read 1 Kings 19:18
- 11:6 BYZ and TR include But if it is by works, then it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
- 11:8 See Deuteronomy 29:4 and Isaiah 29:10. Read Deuteronomy 29:4 Read Isaiah 29:10
- 11:10 Psalms 69:22–23 (see also LXX) Read Psalms 69:22
- 11:11 Or did they stumble so as to lose their share? Literally did they stumble that they might fall?
- 11:21 Or He will perhaps not; SBL, NE, and WH He will not
- 11:27 Isaiah 27:9 and Isaiah 59:20–21; see also LXX Read Isaiah 27:9 Read Isaiah 59:20
- 11:31 Literally may now receive mercy through your mercy; BYZ and TR may receive mercy through your mercy
- 11:34 Isaiah 40:13 (see also LXX) Read Isaiah 40:13
- 11:35 Job 41:11 Read Job 41:11
Old Testament references
References from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Text from the Berean Standard Bible.
1 Kings 19:10“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
1 Kings 19:18Nevertheless, I have reserved seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
Deuteronomy 29:4Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.
Isaiah 29:10For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, O prophets; He has covered your heads, O seers.
Psalms 69:22May their table become a snare; may it be a retribution and a trap.
Isaiah 27:9Therefore Jacob’s guilt will be atoned for, and the full fruit of the removal of his sin will be this: When he makes all the altar stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.
Isaiah 59:20“The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the LORD.
Isaiah 40:13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or informed Him as His counselor?
Job 41:11Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.
1 Samuel 12:22Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.
2 Kings 23:27For the LORD had said, “I will remove Judah from My sight, just as I removed Israel. I will reject this city Jerusalem, which I chose, and the temple of which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’”
Psalms 77:7“Will the Lord spurn us forever and never show His favor again?
Psalms 89:31if they violate My statutes and fail to keep My commandments,
Psalms 89:32I will attend to their transgression with the rod, and to their iniquity with stripes.
Psalms 89:33But I will not withdraw My loving devotion from him, nor ever betray My faithfulness.
Psalms 89:34I will not violate My covenant or alter the utterance of My lips.
Psalms 89:35Once and for all I have sworn by My holiness— I will not lie to David—
Psalms 89:36his offspring shall endure forever, and his throne before Me like the sun,
Psalms 89:37like the moon, established forever, a faithful witness in the sky.” Selah
Psalms 94:14For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage.
Jeremiah 31:36“Only if this fixed order departed from My presence, declares the LORD, would Israel’s descendants ever cease to be a nation before Me.”