Romans 11-13

English Standard Version

The Remnant of Israel

11 I ask, then, ^(A)has God rejected his people? By no means! For ^(B)I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,^[a] a member of the tribe of Benjamin. ²^(C)God has not rejected his people whom he ^(D)foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ³^(E)“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? ^(F)“I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵So too at the present time there is ^(G)a remnant, chosen by grace. ⁶^(H)But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

⁷What then? ^(I)Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest ^(J)were hardened, ⁸as it is written,

^(K)“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
^(L)eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”

⁹And David says,

^(M)“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 ^(N)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^[b] mean!

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

¹⁷But if ^(S)some of the branches were broken off, and you, ^(T)although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root^[c] 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 ^(U)stand fast through faith. So ^(V)do not become proud, but ^(W)fear. 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, ^(X)provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise ^(Y)you too will be cut off. ²³And ^(Z)even 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^(AA)Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:^[d] ^(AB)a partial hardening has come upon Israel, ^(AC)until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

^(AD)“The Deliverer will come ^(AE)from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
²⁷“and this will be my ^(AF)covenant with them
^(AG)when I take away their sins.”

²⁸As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are ^(AH)beloved for the sake of their forefathers. ²⁹For the gifts and ^(AI)the calling of God are irrevocable. ³⁰For just as ^(AJ)you 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^[e] receive mercy. ³²For God ^(AK)has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

³³Oh, the depth of the riches and ^(AL)wisdom and knowledge of God! ^(AM)How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

³⁴“For ^(AN)who has known the mind of the Lord,
or ^(AO)who has been his counselor?”
³⁵“Or ^(AP)who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”

³⁶For ^(AQ)from him and through him and to him are all things. ^(AR)To him be glory forever. Amen.

A Living Sacrifice

12 ^(AS)I appeal to you therefore, brothers,^[f] by the mercies of God, ^(AT)to present your bodies ^(AU)as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.^[g] ²^(AV)Do not be conformed to this world,^[h] but be transformed by ^(AW)the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may ^(AX)discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.^[i]

Gifts of Grace

³For ^(AY)by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you ^(AZ)not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, ^(BA)each according to ^(BB)the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For ^(BC)as in one body we have many members,^[j] and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵so we, ^(BD)though many, ^(BE)are one body in Christ, and individually ^(BF)members one of another. ⁶^(BG)Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if ^(BH)prophecy, ^(BI)in proportion to our faith; ⁷if ^(BJ)service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; ^(BK)the one who leads,^[k] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with ^(BL)cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

⁹^(BM)Let love be genuine. ^(BN)Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ¹⁰^(BO)Love one another with brotherly affection. ^(BP)Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹Do not be slothful in zeal, ^(BQ)be fervent in spirit,^[l] ^(BR)serve the Lord. ¹²^(BS)Rejoice in hope, ^(BT)be patient in tribulation, ^(BU)be constant in prayer. ¹³^(BV)Contribute to the needs of the saints and ^(BW)seek to show hospitality.

¹⁴^(BX)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵^(BY)Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶^(BZ)Live in harmony with one another. ^(CA)Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.^[m] ^(CB)Never be wise in your own sight. ¹⁷^(CC)Repay no one evil for evil, but ^(CD)give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸If possible, so far as it depends on you, ^(CE)live peaceably with all. ¹⁹Beloved, ^(CF)never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[n] to the wrath of God, for it is written, ^(CG)“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰To the contrary, ^(CH)“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Submission to the Authorities

13 Let every person ^(CI)be subject to the governing authorities. For ^(CJ)there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ²Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you ^(CK)will receive his approval, ⁴for ^(CL)he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, ^(CM)an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also ^(CN)for the sake of conscience. ⁶For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷^(CO)Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

⁸^(CP)Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for ^(CQ)the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹For the commandments, ^(CR)“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ^(CS)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore ^(CT)love is the fulfilling of the law.

¹¹Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you ^(CU)to wake from sleep. ^(CV)For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. ¹²^(CW)The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us ^(CX)cast off ^(CY)the works of darkness and ^(CZ)put on the armor of light. ¹³^(DA)Let us walk properly as in the daytime, ^(DB)not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, ^(DC)not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴But ^(DD)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, ^(DE)to gratify its desires.