Romans 11:1–24

The Remnant of Israel

11I ask, then, ^hhas God rejected his people? By no means! For ⁱI myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,¹ a member of the tribe of Benjamin. ^2jGod has not rejected his people whom he ^kforeknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ^3l“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? ^m“I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵So too at the present time there is ⁿa remnant, chosen by grace. ^6oBut if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

⁷What then? ^pIsrael failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest ^qwere hardened, ⁸as it is written,

^r“God gave them a spirit of stupor,

^seyes that would not see

and ears that would not hear,

down to this very day.”

⁹And David says,

^t“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 ^usalvation 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 inclusion² mean!

¹³Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as ^vI am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry ¹⁴in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and ^wthus save some of them. ¹⁵For if their rejection means ^xthe reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? ^16yIf the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷But if ^zsome of the branches were broken off, and you, ^aalthough a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root³ 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 ^bstand fast through faith. So ^cdo not become proud, but ^dfear. 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, ^eprovided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise ^fyou too will be cut off. ²³And ^geven 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.