Romans 11
Expanded Bible
God Shows Mercy to All People
11 So I ask: Did God ·throw out [cast away; reject] his people? ·No [Absolutely not; May it never be; 9:14]! I myself am an Israelite from the ·family [descendants; L seed] of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not ·thrown out [cast away; rejected] his people, whom he ·chose [or knew] ·long ago [from the beginning; L beforehand]. ·Surely you know [L Do you not know…?] what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he ·prayed [appealed; complained] to God against the people of Israel. 3 “Lord,” he said, “they have killed your prophets, and they have ·destroyed [torn/burned down] your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are ·trying to kill me, too [seeking my life; 1 Kin. 19:10, 14].” 4 But what ·answer did God give Elijah [L was the divine response]? He said, “But I have ·left [kept for myself] seven thousand ·people [or men] in Israel who have not bowed ·down [L the knee] before Baal [1 Kin. 19:18].” 5 It is the same now. There ·are a few people [is a remnant] that God has chosen by his grace. 6 And if he chose them by grace, it is not ·for the things they have done [by works]. If they could be made God’s people by ·what they did [works], God’s gift of grace would ·not really [or no longer] be a gift.
7 ·So this is what has happened [What follows from this? L What then?]: ·The people of Israel [L Israel] did not ·succeed in [attain; obtain; find] what they were ·striving [looking; seeking] for, but the ·ones God chose [elect] did ·succeed [attain/obtain/find it]. The ·others [rest] were ·made stubborn and refused to listen to God [L hardened]. 8 As it is written in the Scriptures:
“God gave the people a ·dull mind [L spirit of stupor/insensitivity] so they could not understand [Is. 29:10].”
“He ·closed their eyes so they [or gave them eyes that] could not see
and ·their ears so they [or gave them ears that] could not hear.
This continues until today [Deut. 29:4].”
9 And David says:
“Let their ·own feasts [L table] ·trap them and cause their ruin [L become a snare and a trap],
becoming a ·stumbling block [pitfall] and ·paying them back [their retribution].
10 Let their eyes be ·closed [L darkened] so they cannot see
and their backs be ·forever [or continually] ·weak from troubles [L bent over; Ps. 69:22–23].”
11 So I ask: When ·the Jews [L they] fell, did ·that fall destroy them [or they fall beyond recovery]? ·No [Absolutely not; May it never be; 11:1]! But their ·failure [transgression; violation] brought salvation to the Gentiles, in order to make ·the Jews [L them] jealous. 12 [L But if…] Their ·failure [transgression/violation] brought ·rich blessings [L riches] for the world, and their ·loss [defeat; failure] brought ·rich blessings [L riches] for the Gentiles. ·So surely the world will receive much richer blessings [L How much more…!] ·when enough Jews become the kind of people God wants [or when the appointed number of Jews is saved; or when the nation as a whole is restored; L at their fullness].
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. ·Since [or As long as] I am an apostle to the Gentiles [Acts 9:15; 22:21; Gal. 2:8], I ·will make the most of [glory in; take pride in; magnify] my ministry. 14 ·I hope […if somehow] I can make my own ·people [flesh] jealous and, in that way, help some of them to be saved. 15 [L For] If ·God’s rejection of Israel [L their loss/rejection] meant he ·became friends with [was reconciled to] the world, what will Israel’s acceptance mean? It will be like ·bringing the dead back to life [life from the dead].
16 If the ·first piece of bread is offered to God [L firstfruits are holy; C the dough made from the first crops harvested], then the whole ·loaf [batch; L lump of dough] is made holy. If the roots of a tree are holy, then the tree’s branches are holy too [C since Abraham and the patriarchs were God’s chosen people, so were their Jewish descendants].
17 It is as if some of the branches from an olive tree [C symbolizing Israel] have been broken off. You Gentiles are like the branch of a wild olive tree that has been ·joined [grafted] to that first tree. You now share the ·strength and life [nourishment; L rich/fat root] of the first tree [C the Gentiles now share in the rich blessings promised to Israel through their “root,” Abraham and the patriarchs]. 18 So do not ·brag about [boast over; consider yourselves superior to] those branches that were broken off. If you ·brag [boast], remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 [L Then] You will say, “Branches were broken off so that I could be ·joined to their tree [grafted in].” 20 That is true. But those branches were broken off because they ·did not believe [were unfaithful], and you ·continue to be part of the tree only because you believe [L stand by faith]. Do not be ·proud [arrogant], but be ·afraid [in awe]. 21 [L For] If God did not spare the natural branches, then he will not spare you either.
22 ·So you see [Notice; Consider] that God is kind and also ·very strict [stern; severe; harsh]. He ·punishes [is strict/severe/harsh toward] those who ·stop following him [have fallen]. But God is kind to you, if you continue ·following in [trusting in; L in] his kindness. If you do not, you will also be cut off from the tree. 23 And if ·the Jews [L they] ·will believe in God again [L do not continue in unbelief], ·he will accept them back [L they will be grafted in]. [L For] God is able to ·put them back where they were [graft them in again]. 24 [L For] If ·you Gentiles [you] were cut off from a wild olive tree and, contrary to nature, ·joined to [grafted into] a ·good [cultivated] olive tree, how much more will these natural branches [C Jews presently rejecting the gospel] be ·joined to [grafted into] their own olive tree again.
25 I ·want you to understand [L do not want you to be ignorant of] this ·secret [mystery; C something God had not previously disclosed; Eph. 1:9], brothers and sisters, so you will ·understand that you do not know everything [not become conceited/arrogant/superior-minded]: ·Part of Israel has been made stubborn [or A partial hardening has happened to Israel], ·but that will change when [L until] the ·complete number [or appointed number; L fullness] of the Gentiles have come ·to God [or into the kingdom; L in]. 26 And ·that is how [in this way; or so it will be that; or so in the end] all Israel will be saved. [L As; Just as] It is written in the Scriptures:
“The ·Savior [Rescuer; Deliverer] will come from ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C a poetic term for Jerusalem symbolizing the nation Israel];
he will take away ·all evil [wickedness; godlessness] from ·the family of Jacob [L Jacob; C Abraham’s grandson (renamed “Israel”), whose sons became the twelve tribes of Israel; Is. 59:20–21].
27 And I will make this ·agreement [covenant] with those people
when I take away their sins [Is. 27:9].”
28 ·The Jews refuse to accept the Good News, so [L With regard to the Gospel,] they are God’s enemies. ·This has happened to help you who are not Jews [L …for your sake; C Israel’s rejection resulted in the proclamation of the Good News to the Gentiles; vv. 11, 12]. But ·the Jews are still God’s chosen people, and he loves them very much [L with regard to election, they are beloved] because of ·the promises he made to their ancestors [L the ancestors/fathers/patriarchs]. 29 ·God never changes his mind about the people he calls and the things he gives them [L For God’s gifts and calling are irrevocable]. 30 [L For] At one time you refused to obey God. But now you have received mercy, because those people refused to obey. 31 And now the Jews refuse to obey, ·because God showed mercy to you. But this happened so that they also can[a] receive mercy from him [or but this happened so that they also can[b] receive mercy from him, because of the mercy God showed to you]. 32 God has ·given [imprisoned] all people ·over to their stubborn ways [L to/in disobedience] so that he can show mercy to all.
Praise to God
33 ·Yes [L O], ·how great are [L the depth of] ·God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge [or the riches of God’s wisdom and knowledge]! ·No one can explain [L How unsearchable are…] ·the things God decides [God’s judgments] ·or understand [L …and untraceable…!] his ·ways [paths]. 34 As the Scripture says,
“[L For] Who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been ·able to give him advice [his counselor; Is. 40:13]?”
35 “·No one [L Or who…?] has ever given God anything
that he must pay back [Job 41:11].”
36 ·Yes, God made all things, and everything continues through him and for him [L Because all things come from him, through him and for him]. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Footnotes
- Romans 11:31 can Some Greek copies read “can now.”
- Romans 11:31 can Some Greek copies read “can now.”
Romans 11
Amplified Bible
Israel Is Not Cast Away
11 I say then, has God rejected and disowned His people? Certainly not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.(A) 2 God has not rejected His [chosen] people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?(B) 3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left [of the prophets], and they are seeking my life.” 4 But what is God’s response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”(C) 5 So too then, at the present time there has come to be a remnant [a small believing minority] according to God’s gracious choice. 6 But if it is by grace [God’s unmerited favor], it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace [it would not be a gift but a reward for works].
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking [that is, God’s favor by obedience to the Law], but the elect [those chosen few] obtained it, while the rest of them became hardened and callously indifferent; 8 just as it is written [in Scripture],
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear,
[a spiritual apathy that has continued] to this very day.”(D)
9 And David says,
“Let their table (abundance) become a snare and a trap,
A stumbling block and a retribution to them.(E)
10
“Let their eyes be darkened so that they do not see,
And make their backs bend [under their burden] forever.”(F)
11 So I say, have they stumbled so as to fall [to spiritual ruin]? Certainly not! But by their transgression [their rejection of the Messiah] salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous [when they realize what they have forfeited]. 12 Now if Israel’s transgression means riches for the world [at large] and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment and reinstatement be! 13 But now I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 in the hope of somehow making my fellow countrymen jealous [by stirring them up so that they will seek the truth] and perhaps save some of them. 15 For if their [present] rejection [of salvation] is for the reconciliation of the world [to God], what will their acceptance [of salvation] be but [nothing less than] life from the dead? 16 If the first portion [of dough offered as the first fruits] is holy, so is the whole batch; and if the root (Abraham, the patriarchs) is holy, so are the branches (the Israelites).(G)
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you [Gentiles], being like a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them to share with them the rich root of the olive tree, 18 do not boast over the [broken] branches and exalt yourself at their expense. If you do boast and feel superior, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root that supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by your faith [as believers understanding the truth of Christ’s deity]. Do not be conceited, but [rather stand in great awe of God and] fear [Him]; 21 for if God did not spare the natural branches [because of unbelief], He will not spare you either. 22 Then appreciate the gracious kindness and the severity of God: to those who fell [into spiritual ruin], severity, but to you, God’s gracious kindness—if you continue in His kindness [by faith and obedience to Him]; otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they [the unbelieving Jews], if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and against nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much easier will it be to graft these who are the natural branches back into [the original parent stock of] their own olive tree?
25 I do not want you, believers, to be unaware of this mystery [God’s previously hidden plan]—so that you will not be wise in your own opinion—that a partial hardening has [temporarily] happened to Israel [to last] until the full number of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so [at that time] all Israel [that is, all Jews who have a personal faith in Jesus as Messiah] will be saved; just as it is written [in Scripture],
“The Deliverer (Messiah) will come from Zion,
He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”(H)
27
“This is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”(I)
28 From the standpoint of the gospel, the Jews [at present] are enemies [of God] for your sake [which is for your benefit], but from the standpoint of God’s choice [of the Jews as His people], they are still loved by Him for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable [for He does not withdraw what He has given, nor does He change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call]. 30 Just as you once were disobedient and failed to listen to God, but have now obtained mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient so that they too may one day receive mercy because of the mercy shown to you. 32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all [Jew and Gentile alike].
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and decisions and how unfathomable and untraceable are His ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?(J) 35 Or who has first given to Him that it would be paid back to him? 36 For from Him [all things originate] and through Him [all things live and exist] and to Him are all things [directed]. To Him be glory and honor forever! Amen.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
