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Romans 11

KJV · Chapter 11/16

1I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

2God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,

3Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.

4But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.

5Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

6And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

7What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded

8(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

9And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:

10Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.

11I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

12Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

13For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

14If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

15For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

16For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

17And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

18Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

19Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.

20Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

21For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

22Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

23And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.

24For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?

25For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

26And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

27For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

28As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.

29For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

30For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

31Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

32For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

33O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

34For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

35Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?

36For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul assures that God has not totally rejected Israel, citing himself as an example of a faithful remnant. He uses the image of an olive tree, into which Gentile branches were grafted, and states that one day all Israel will be saved.

Explanation

Paul concludes his reflection on Israel with hope: the present rejection is neither permanent nor total. The image of the olive tree (the tree of Israel, with natural branches broken off through unbelief and Gentile branches grafted in by faith) teaches humility to Gentiles: they did not replace Israel but were included in the same tree, sustained by the same root. The chapter ends with a hymn of praise to God's unsearchable wisdom, acknowledging that not everything in the divine plan can be fully grasped by the human mind — an invitation to trust, not to spiritual arrogance.

Fun facts

  • The process of 'grafting' wild olive branches onto cultivated trees was actually practiced in ancient Mediterranean agriculture, though usually the reverse of what Paul describes (the common practice was to graft a good branch onto a wild tree) — a detail Paul may use on purpose, to underscore just how extraordinary the grace that includes the Gentiles really is.
  • The quotation 'there shall come out of Sion the Deliverer' (verse 26) combines texts from Isaiah 59:20-21 and 27:9, a technique common among first-century Jewish writers of blending related passages into a single quotation.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Romans 11:1Paul asks the question that closes the hard argument of chapter 9: has God rejected His people for good? He offers himself as proof of the opposite, being a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin and yet a believer in Christ.
  2. Romans 11:2He reinforces the denial by citing the story of Elias, a prophet who also mistakenly believed he was alone and that God had given up on Israel.
  3. Romans 11:3He cites Elias's complaint to God, recorded in 1 Kings: with the prophets killed and the altars torn down, he believed he was the last faithful one left, a target for persecution.
  4. Romans 11:4Baal was the god of rain and fertility worshiped by Israel's neighboring peoples, and “bowing the knee” was the physical gesture of worship before an idol. The quotation, from 1 Kings, recalls the prophet Elias, who thought he was the only one still faithful to God and is corrected: there was a hidden group that had never given in.
  5. Romans 11:5Just as in Elias's day, Paul says a faithful group always remains, a “remnant,” even when the majority seems to have drifted away — and this remnant still exists now, by God's choosing, not by its own merit.
  6. Romans 11:6He explains why he insists so much on the word “grace”: if it depends on grace, it cannot depend on effort at the same time, because mixing the two would cancel out the meaning of each.
  7. Romans 11:7He sums up what Israel was seeking, a righteousness based on works, but did not obtain; only a chosen group succeeded, while the rest were hardened.
  8. Romans 11:8He cites a combination of Old Testament texts (Isaiah and Deuteronomy) describing this hardening as something permitted by God: eyes that should not see, ears that should not hear.
  9. Romans 11:9He cites Psalm 69, from David, asking that even good things, like a bountiful table, become a snare for his enemies — used here to describe Israel's situation.
  10. Romans 11:10He continues the same quotation from the psalm: darkened eyes and a bowed back, an image of spiritual blindness and heavy burden.
  11. Romans 11:11Another question in the letter's familiar style: did Israel stumble in order to fall for good? No — their fall opened the way for salvation to reach the Gentiles, which, in turn, should stir up jealousy in Israel.
  12. Romans 11:12A “how much more” argument: if even Israel's fall brought spiritual riches to the world, their full restoration will bring even greater riches.
  13. Romans 11:13Paul addresses the Gentile readers directly, making clear his specific role as an apostle sent to them, and he values this calling for a reason he reveals in the next verse.
  14. Romans 11:14The reason is to stir up jealousy in his own Jewish kinsmen, hoping this will help save at least some of them.
  15. Romans 11:15He repeats the “how much more” argument from verse 12 in another way: if Israel's rejection already brought reconciliation to the world, their being accepted back would be like a resurrection.
  16. Romans 11:16“Firstfruit,” the first portion offered to God, and “lump,” the rest of the dough from the same batch, form a comparison with “root” and “branches” of a tree: if the source is consecrated, what comes from it carries the same mark. This sets up the image of the olive tree that comes in the next verse.
  17. Romans 11:17The “wild olive tree” produces lower-quality olives; grafting one of its branches into a cultivated olive tree was normally the opposite of what was done in the farming of that time, since the usual practice was grafting the good into the wild. Paul uses this reversal on purpose: the non-Jews, the wild branch, were fitted into a root that was not originally theirs, receiving the same sap that sustained the people of Israel.
  18. Romans 11:18He introduces the olive tree image that will dominate the rest of the chapter: the Gentiles, compared to a grafted branch, have no reason to boast before the natural branches, because it is the root that sustains the branch, never the other way around.
  19. Romans 11:19Paul anticipates an arrogant reply a Gentile reader might give: “The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in,” as if that were reason for superiority.
  20. Romans 11:20He corrects that arrogance: the branches were broken off for lack of faith, and whoever stands in their place stands there by faith, not by merit — a reason to fear, not to boast.
  21. Romans 11:21The warning becomes more direct: if God did not spare the natural branches when they failed, there is no automatic guarantee He will spare the grafted branch.
  22. Romans 11:22He describes the two sides of God revealed in this process: severity toward those who fell, goodness toward those who remain in it — with no perpetual guarantee, because whoever drifts away can also be cut off.
  23. Romans 11:23On the other side, the door is not closed forever: if those who fell abandon their unbelief, God has power to graft them back in.
  24. Romans 11:24He reinforces this point with a comparison: if the Gentiles, a graft “contrary to nature” into an olive tree that was not originally theirs, have already been accepted, it is even more natural for the original branches to return to their own tree.
  25. Romans 11:25A “secret,” or mystery, is something only God knew and now reveals — it is not a riddle to decode, it is new information being delivered. Paul describes something temporary, a partial resistance among part of the Jewish people, set to last only up to a certain point, without spelling out the exact timeline here.
  26. Romans 11:26This is one of the most debated lines in the book: some readings take “Israel” to mean the Jewish people as a whole, others read it as the entire community of faith, Jews and Gentiles together. Paul moves straight into a quotation from Isaiah about a deliverer coming out of Sion, without pausing to settle this ambiguity.
  27. Romans 11:27He continues the quotation begun in the previous verse (Isaiah): the covenant promised to Israel specifically includes the removal of the people's sins.
  28. Romans 11:28He describes Israel's paradoxical situation: hostile to the gospel for now, which benefited the Gentiles, but still beloved because of the ancient promise made to the patriarchs.
  29. Romans 11:29He explains why this promise still stands despite the current rejection: God's gifts and calling are not canceled when He changes His mind, because He does not change His mind about them.
  30. Romans 11:30Paul draws a parallel between Gentiles and Jews: just as the Gentiles were once disobedient and have now received mercy,
  31. Romans 11:31the same pattern repeats in reverse: now it is Israel's turn to be in disobedience, so that they too may later receive mercy, the same way the Gentiles did.
  32. Romans 11:32He sums up the argument of chapters 9 through 11: God allowed everyone, Jews and Gentiles, to fall into disobedience, precisely so He could show mercy to all, without exception.
  33. Romans 11:33After such a complex argument, Paul bursts into praise: God's logic and plans, revealed here only in part, are still too deep to be fully understood.
  34. Romans 11:34He cites Isaiah to reinforce this human limitation: no one has full access to the mind of God to the point of counseling or correcting Him.
  35. Romans 11:35He cites the book of Job: no one gave God anything first that would put Him in the position of owing something back, because everything already comes from Him.
  36. Romans 11:36He closes the letter's theological block (chapters 1 through 11) with a brief doxology: everything originates from, is sustained by, and exists for God, and that is what deserves eternal glory.

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