A Remnant of Israel Remains

11 Therefore I say, God has not rejected his people, has he?[a] May it never be! For I also am an Israelite, from the descendants of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people, whom he foreknew! Or do you not know, in the passage about[b] Elijah, what the scripture says—how he appeals to God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life!”[c] But what does the divine response say to him? “I have left for myself seven thousand people[d] who have not bent the knee to Baal.”[e] So in this way also at the present time, there is a remnant selected by grace[f]. But if by grace, it is no longer by works, for otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

What then? What Israel was searching for, this it did not obtain. But the elect obtained it, and the rest were hardened, just as it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear,
    until this very day.”[g]

And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
    and a cause for stumbling and a retribution to them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they do not see,
    and cause their backs to bend continually[h].”[i]

11 I say then, they did not stumble so that they fell, did they?[j] May it never be! But by their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles, in order to provoke them to jealousy.[k] 12 And if their trespass means riches for the world and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness mean?

Gentile Branches Grafted in

13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Therefore, inasmuch as I am apostle to the Gentiles, I promote my ministry, 14 if somehow I may provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean except life from the dead? 16 Now if the first fruits are holy, so also is the whole batch of dough, and if the root is holy, so also are the branches.

17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although you[l] were a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them and became a sharer of the root of the olive tree’s richness, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you boast against them, you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off in order that I could be grafted in.” 20 Well said! They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand firm because of faith. Do not think arrogant thoughts, but be afraid. 21 For if God did not spare the natural[m] branches, neither will he spare you.[n] 22 See, then, the kindness and severity of God: severity upon those who have fallen, but upon you the kindness of God—if you continue in his kindness, for otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And those also, if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, because God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are natural branches[o] be grafted into their own olive tree?

All Israel to be Saved

25 For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you will not be wise in your own sight,[p] that a partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and so all Israel will be saved, just as it is written,

“The deliverer will come out of Zion;
    he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
27 And this is the covenant from me with them[q]
    when I take away their sins.”[r]

28 With respect to the gospel, they are enemies for your sake, but with respect to election, they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you formerly were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of the disobedience of these, 31 so also these have now been disobedient for your mercy, in order that they also may now be shown mercy. 32 For God confined them all in disobedience, in order that he could have mercy on them all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches
    and the wisdom and the knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments
    and how incomprehensible are his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counselor?[s]
35 Or who has given in advance to him,
    and it will be paid back to him?”[t]
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.
    To him be glory for eternity! Amen.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 11:1 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here
  2. Romans 11:2 The words “the passage about” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied for clarity
  3. Romans 11:3 A quotation from 1 Kgs 19:10, 14
  4. Romans 11:4 Or perhaps “males,” referring to men only
  5. Romans 11:4 A quotation from 1 Kgs 19:18
  6. Romans 11:5 Literally “according to selection of grace”
  7. Romans 11:8 A quotation from Deut 29:4; Isa 29:10
  8. Romans 11:10 Literally “throughout everything”
  9. Romans 11:10 A quotation from Ps 69:22–23
  10. Romans 11:11 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here
  11. Romans 11:11 *The words “to jealousy” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied for clarity
  12. Romans 11:17 Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“were”) which is understood as concessive
  13. Romans 11:21 Literally “according to nature”
  14. Romans 11:21 Some manuscripts have “perhaps he will not spare you either”
  15. Romans 11:24 Literally “by nature”
  16. Romans 11:25 Literally “in yourselves”
  17. Romans 11:27 A quotation from Isa 59:20–21
  18. Romans 11:27 A quotation from Isa 27:9; Jer 31:33–34
  19. Romans 11:34 A quotation from Isa 40:13
  20. Romans 11:35 A quotation from Job 41:11

上帝不放棄以色列人

11 這樣,難道上帝放棄了祂的子民嗎?當然沒有!因我自己也是以色列人,是亞伯拉罕的後裔,屬於便雅憫支派。 上帝並沒有放棄祂預先揀選的子民。你們不知道聖經上有關以利亞先知的記載嗎?他在上帝面前控告以色列人,說: 「主啊!他們殘殺你的先知,拆毀你的祭壇,只剩下我一個人,他們還要殺我。」 上帝怎樣回答呢?祂說:「我為自己留下七千人,他們未曾跪拜巴力。」

現在的情況也是一樣,上帝按照揀選的恩典留下了少數人。 既然說是出於恩典,就不再基於行為,不然恩典就不再是恩典了。 這該怎麼說呢?以色列人努力追求,卻一無所得,只有蒙揀選的人得到了,其他的人都變得頑固不化。 正如聖經上說:

「上帝使他們至今心智昏迷,
眼睛看不見,耳朵聽不到。」

大衛也說:

「願他們的宴席成為網羅、
陷阱、絆腳石,
給他們帶來報應;
10 願他們眼目昏暗,
無法看見,
永遠彎腰駝背。」

11 那麼,以色列人一失足就再也爬不起來了嗎?當然不是!恰好相反,因他們的過犯,救恩臨到了外族人,使他們心生嫉妒。 12 如果他們的過犯給世界帶來了富足,他們的失敗給外族人帶來了富足,那麼,他們發憤回頭的時候豈不要帶來更大的祝福嗎?

外族人得救

13 我有話要對你們外族人說,因為我是外族人的使徒,我尊重自己的職分, 14 希望使我的骨肉同胞心生嫉妒,好使他們當中的一些人得救。 15 如果他們被拋棄,人類便有機會與上帝和好,那麼,當他們被接納的時候,又將怎樣呢?豈不是要死而復生嗎? 16 獻祭時所獻的那部分麵團如果聖潔,整團麵也聖潔;樹根如果聖潔,樹枝也聖潔。

17 如果橄欖樹上有幾條枝子被折了下來,你這野橄欖枝被接了上去,得以汲取橄欖樹根供應的汁漿,你就不可向折下來的枝子誇口。 18 你怎能誇口呢?要知道:不是你托住樹根,而是樹根托住你。 19 你也許會說:「原來的枝子被折下來,是為了把我接上去。」 20 不錯,他們因為不信被折了下來,而你因為信被接了上去,然而不要自高,要敬畏上帝。 21 上帝既然沒有留下原來的枝子,也可以不留下你。 22 可見,上帝既慈愛又嚴厲。祂對墮落的人是嚴厲的,對你卻是慈愛的。你要常常活在祂的愛中,不然你也會被砍下來。 23 當然,如果以色列人不再頑固不信,必會重新被接上去,因為上帝能把他們重新接上。 24 你這從野生的橄欖樹上砍下來的枝子,尚且可以違反自然,被接到好橄欖樹上,何況原來的枝子被接回到原來的樹上呢?

全以色列都要得救

25 弟兄姊妹,我不願意你們對以下這奧祕一無所知,還自以為聰明。這奧祕就是:雖然有些以色列人的心剛硬,但等到外族人得救的數目滿了以後, 26 全以色列都要得救。正如聖經上說:「救主必從錫安出來,祂將除去雅各子孫的罪惡。 27 那時我要除去他們的罪,這是我與他們所立的約。」

28 就福音而論,他們成為上帝的仇敵是為了使你們得到福音;就上帝的揀選而論,因為他們祖先的緣故,他們仍是上帝所愛的。 29 因為上帝絕不會收回祂的恩賜和呼召。 30 你們從前不順服上帝,然而因為他們的不順服,你們現在反蒙了憐憫。 31 同樣,他們現在不順服是為了使你們蒙憐憫,好使他們也蒙憐憫。 32 因為上帝把世人都歸在不順服之列,是為了要憐憫世人。

頌讚上帝

33 啊,上帝的智慧和知識多麼博大精深!
祂的判斷多麼難測!
祂的蹤跡多麼難尋!
34 誰曾知道主的心意?
誰曾做過祂的謀士?
35 誰曾給過祂,
等祂償還呢?
36 因為萬物都源於祂,
倚靠祂,歸於祂。
願榮耀歸給祂,
直到永遠。阿們!

Israel’s Rejection not Complete nor Final

11 So I ask, God has not rejected his people, has he? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew! Do you not know what the scripture says about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars; I alone am left and they are seeking my life![a] But what was the divine response[b] to him? “I have kept for myself 7,000 people[c] who have not bent the knee to Baal.”[d]

So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if it is by grace, it is no longer by works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was diligently seeking, but the elect obtained it. The[e] rest were hardened, as it is written,

God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear,
to this very day.[f]

And David says,

Let their table become a snare and trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they may not see,
and make their backs bend continually.[g]

11 I ask then, they did not stumble into an irrevocable fall,[h] did they? Absolutely not! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel[i] jealous. 12 Now if their transgression means riches for the world and their defeat means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full restoration[j] bring?

13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if somehow I could provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the first portion[k] of the dough offered is holy, then the whole batch is holy, and if the root is holy, so too are the branches.[l]

17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in[m] the richness of the olive root, 18 do not boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 Then you will say, “The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted![n] They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear! 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you. 22 Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God—harshness toward those who have fallen, but[o] God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness;[p] otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And even they—if they do not continue in their unbelief—will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree?

25 For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters,[q] so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel[r] until the full number[s] of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so[t] all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

The Deliverer will come out of Zion;
he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.
27 And this is my covenant with them,[u]
when I take away their sins.[v]

28 In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now[w] receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.[x]

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how unfathomable his ways!

34 For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?[y]
35 Or who has first given to God,[z]
that God[aa] needs to repay him?[ab]

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 11:3 sn A quotation from 1 Kgs 19:10, 14.
  2. Romans 11:4 tn Grk “the revelation,” “the oracle.”
  3. Romans 11:4 tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anēr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it appears to be a generic usage (“people”) since when Paul speaks of a remnant of faithful Israelites (“the elect,” v. 7), he is not referring to males only. It can also be argued, however, that it refers only to adult males here (“men”), perhaps as representative of all the faithful left in Israel.
  4. Romans 11:4 sn A quotation from 1 Kgs 19:18.
  5. Romans 11:7 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  6. Romans 11:8 sn A quotation from Deut 29:4; Isa 29:10.
  7. Romans 11:10 sn A quotation from Ps 69:22-23.
  8. Romans 11:11 tn Grk “that they might fall.”
  9. Romans 11:11 tn Grk “them”; the referent (Israel, cf. 11:7) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  10. Romans 11:12 tn Or “full inclusion”; Grk “their fullness.”
  11. Romans 11:16 tn Grk “firstfruits,” a term for the first part of something that has been set aside and offered to God before the remainder can be used.
  12. Romans 11:16 sn Most interpreters see Paul as making use of a long-standing metaphor of the olive tree (the root…the branches) as a symbol for Israel. See, in this regard, Jer 11:16, 19. A. T. Hanson, Studies in Paul’s Technique and Theology, 121-24, cites rabbinic use of the figure of the olive tree, and goes so far as to argue that Rom 11:17-24 is a midrash on Jer 11:16-19.
  13. Romans 11:17 tn Grk “became a participant of.”
  14. Romans 11:20 tn Grk “well!”, an adverb used to affirm a statement. It means “very well,” “you are correct.”
  15. Romans 11:22 tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.
  16. Romans 11:22 tn Grk “if you continue in (the) kindness.”
  17. Romans 11:25 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
  18. Romans 11:25 tn Or “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.”
  19. Romans 11:25 tn Grk “fullness.”
  20. Romans 11:26 tn It is not clear whether the phrase καὶ οὕτως (kai houtōs, “and so”) is to be understood in a modal sense (“and in this way”) or in a temporal sense (“and in the end”). Neither interpretation is conclusive from a grammatical standpoint, and in fact the two may not be mutually exclusive. Some, like H. Hübner, who argue strongly against the temporal reading, nevertheless continue to give the phrase a temporal significance, saying that God will save all Israel in the end (Gottes Ich und Israel [FRLANT], 118).
  21. Romans 11:27 sn A quotation from Isa 59:20-21.
  22. Romans 11:27 sn A quotation from Isa 27:9; Jer 31:33-34.
  23. Romans 11:31 tc Some significant Alexandrian and Western mss (א B D*,c 1506 bo) read νῦν (nun, “now”) here. A few other mss (33 365 sa) have ὕστερον (husteron, “finally”). mss that lack the word are P46 A D1 F G Ψ 81 1175 1241 1505 1739 1881 M latt. External evidence slightly favors omission with good representatives from the major text-forms, and because of the alliance of Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (with the Byzantine going against its normal tendency to embrace the longer reading). Internally, scribes could have added νῦν here to give balance to the preceding clause (οὗτοι νῦν ἠπείθησαναὐτοὶ νῦν ἐλεηθῶσιν [|outoi nun ēpeithēsanautoi nun eleēthōsin; “they have now been disobedient…they may now receive mercy”]). However, it seems much more likely that they would have deleted it because of its seeming inappropriateness in this context. That some witnesses have ὕστερον presupposes the presence of νῦν in their ancestors. A decision is difficult, but νῦν is slightly preferred, since it is the more difficult reading and is adequately represented in the mss.
  24. Romans 11:32 tn Grk “to all”; “them” has been supplied for stylistic reasons.
  25. Romans 11:34 sn A quotation from Isa 40:13.
  26. Romans 11:35 tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  27. Romans 11:35 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  28. Romans 11:35 sn A quotation from Job 41:11.