The Remnant of Israel
11 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage 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 trying to kill me”[1 Kings 19:10,14 ]? 4 And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”[ 1 Kings 19:18] 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, 8 as 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.”[Deut. 29:4; Isaiah 29:10 ]
9 And David says:
“May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.”[Psalm 69:22,23 ]
Ingrafted Branches
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!
13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
All Israel Will Be Saved
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way[Or and so] all Israel will be saved. As it is written:
“The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is[Or will be ] my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”[Isaiah 59:20,21; 27:9 (see Septuagint); Jer. 31:33,34 ]
28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now[Some manuscripts do not have now. ] receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. 32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
Doxology
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and[Or riches and the wisdom and the] knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”[Isaiah 40:13 ]
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”[Job 41:11 ]
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
NOTES:
11:1–10 Although Israel has been unfaithful to the prophetic
message of the gospel (Rom 10:14–21), God remains faithful to Israel. Proof of
the divine fidelity lies in the existence of Jewish Christians like Paul
himself. The unbelieving Jews, says Paul, have been blinded by the Christian
teaching concerning the Messiah.
11:11–15 The unbelief of the Jews has paved the way for the
preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles and for their easier acceptance of it
outside the context of Jewish culture. Through his mission to the Gentiles Paul
also hopes to fill his fellow Jews with jealousy. Hence he hastens to fill the
entire Mediterranean world with the gospel. Once all the Gentile nations have
heard the gospel, Israel as a whole is expected to embrace it. This will be
tantamount to resurrection of the dead, that is, the reappearance of Jesus
Christ with all the believers at the end of time.
11:16–24 Israel remains holy in the eyes of God and stands
as a witness to the faith described in the Old Testament because of the
firstfruits (or the first piece baked) (Rom 11:16), that is, the converted
remnant, and the root that is holy, that is, the patriarchs (Rom 11:16). The
Jews’ failure to believe in Christ is a warning to Gentile Christians to be on
guard against any semblance of anti-Jewish arrogance, that is, failure to
recognize their total dependence on divine grace.
11:25–29 In God’s design, Israel’s unbelief is being used to
grant the light of faith to the Gentiles. Meanwhile, Israel remains dear to God
(cf. Rom 9:13), still the object of special providence, the mystery of which will
one day be revealed.
11:30–32 Israel, together with the Gentiles who have been
handed over to all manner of vices (Rom 1), has been delivered…to disobedience.
The conclusion of Rom 11:32 repeats the thought of Rom 5:20, “Where sin
increased, grace overflowed all the more.”
11:33–36 This final reflection celebrates the wisdom of
God’s plan of salvation. As Paul has indicated throughout these chapters, both
Jew and Gentile, despite the religious recalcitrance of each, have received the
gift of faith. The methods used by God in making this outreach to the world
stagger human comprehension but are at the same time a dazzling invitation to
abiding faith.
11:34 The citation is from the Greek text of Is 40:13. Paul
does not explicitly mention Isaiah in this verse, nor Job in Rom 11:35.
11:35 Paul quotes from an old Greek version of Jb 41:3a,
which differs from the Hebrew text (Jb 41:11a).
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