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Romans 11
EasyEnglish Bible
Romans 11
EasyEnglish Bible
Some of the Jews do trust God
11 So I ask this: ‘Has God turned away from his people?’ No, certainly, he has not done that! I myself belong to Israel's people. I am a descendant of Abraham and I belong to Benjamin's tribe. 2 God chose who would be his people from the beginning. He has not turned against them now. Remember what the Bible tells us about Elijah. He wanted God to punish Israel's people. Elijah said: 3 ‘Lord God, they have killed your prophets. They have destroyed the altars where people offered sacrifices to you. I am the only person alive who still serves you. And they are trying to kill me.’ 4 This was God's answer to Elijah: ‘There are still 7,000 men that I have kept for myself. Those men have not worshipped the false god Baal.’[a]
5 It is the same at this time too. There is a small number of Israel's people that God has chosen to trust him. He has chosen them because he is very kind. 6 This shows that God has not chosen them because of any good things that they have done. If that was true, we could not say that God was really being kind to them. It would not be his gift.
7 So we can say this: Israel's people did not all find what they were looking for. Only those people that God had chosen received it. But the other people of Israel became unable to understand God's message. 8 It says this in the Bible:
‘God caused them to be like people who are sleeping.
Even until this day, their eyes cannot really see,
and their ears cannot really hear.’[b]
9 King David says this:
‘They enjoy eating lots of good food together.
I pray that God will catch them while they are eating!
I want those good things to lead them into trouble.
I want God to punish them because of what they have done.
10 I want their eyes to become dark so that they cannot see.
I want their bodies always to be in pain, like slaves.’[c]
11 So now I ask this: ‘When Israel's people failed to accept Jesus as God's Messiah, did they make themselves separate from God for ever?’ No, certainly that is not true! Because of their mistake, God is now saving Gentiles. God is doing that so that Israel's people would become jealous. 12 Because of their mistake, God has done good things for everyone in the world. Israel's people failed to receive what God wanted to give them. As a result, the Gentiles have received very many good things from God. That was the good result when Israel's people failed. So, when the complete number of Israel's people do turn to God, the result will be even better!
Paul speaks to the Gentiles
13 Now I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. God has sent me to be his apostle to the Gentiles. I thank him that he has given this important work to me. 14 I hope that my work among you Gentiles will cause my own people to be jealous. As a result, some of them may turn to God, so that he saves them. 15 When God turned away from Israel's people, he then accepted other people in the world as his friends. So, when God does accept Israel's people, the result will be even better! It will be like dead people who have become alive again!
16 If you offer the first piece of bread to God, then all the bread will belong to God. If the roots of a tree belong to God, then the branches will also be his.
17 Israel's people are like an olive tree that a farmer has planted. But God has broken off some of that tree's branches. Then he has taken a branch from a wild olive tree. He has put that wild branch into the farmer's tree, to become part of that tree. You Gentiles are like the wild branch. Now you receive food from the root of the farmer's tree, to make you strong. 18 Israel's people are like the branches that God broke off. But you must not think that you are better than those branches. Remember that you are still only a branch. You do not make the root strong. No, it is the root that holds you up and makes you strong.
19 You might say, ‘God broke off the branches so that I could become part of the tree.’ 20 That is true. God broke them off because they did not believe in Christ. God has accepted you as part of the tree because you do believe in Christ. So do not become proud. Instead, be afraid. 21 God broke off the proper branches and he did not let them stay in the tree. So, if you no longer trust him, he will not let you stay either.
22 So you should think about what God is like. He is kind, but he also punishes people. He has punished Israel's people, because they turned away from him. He has been kind to you. But you must continue to accept his kind gift. If you do not do that, he will break you off from his tree as well.
23 God is able to accept Israel's people back again. If they come to believe in Christ, God will put them back as part of the tree. He is able to make them become branches of the tree again. 24 God cut you like branches from a wild olive tree. Then he put you into the farmer's olive tree so that you became part of it. He could do that even though that was not your own tree before. So God will be able to do that for Israel's people. He can easily put them back into their own tree, that they were part of before.[d]
God will save the Jews
25 My Christian friends, I want to help you to understand about Israel's people. It is a secret that God has shown to us. If you really understand it, you will not be proud that you are so clever. Many of Israel's people have refused to believe in Christ. They will continue to refuse him until the complete number of Gentiles have believed. 26 When that has happened, God will save all Israel's people. This is written in the Bible:
‘The one who rescues will come from Zion.
He will turn Jacob's people away from their sins.[e]
27 And I will make this agreement with them.
I will forgive them for their sins.’[f]
28 Israel's people have become God's enemies, because they have refused to believe the good news about Christ. This has happened to help you Gentiles. But God still loves Israel's people, because he has chosen them as his own people. That is what he promised to their ancestors. 29 God's thoughts about his people cannot change. He has blessed them with gifts and he has chosen them to belong to him.
30 In past times, you Gentiles did not obey God. But now God has been very kind to you, because Israel's people refused to obey him. 31 They do not obey God now. As a result God has been very kind to you. That has happened so that God may now be very kind to them too. 32 God says that everyone is guilty because they do not obey him. He says that so that he can be kind and he can forgive everyone.
33 Yes! God is very great! He has everything! He knows and he understands all things! Nobody can completely understand the things that he decides. Nobody can explain the ways in which he works. 34 The Bible says this:
‘Nobody knows the thoughts of the Lord God.
Nobody is able to tell him what he should do.’[g]
35 ‘Nobody has ever given anything to God,
so that God had a debt to pay back to them.’[h]
36 It is God who made all things. He also causes all things to continue. And all things are there to show how great he is.
We praise him! He is great for ever! Amen. This is true!
Footnotes
- 11:4 See 1 Kings 19:10-18.
- 11:8 See Deuteronomy 29:4; Isaiah 29:10.
- 11:10 See Psalms 69:22-23.
- 11:24 When Jesus lived on earth, most of Israel's people, the Jews, did not believe that Jesus was God's Messiah. They were no longer part of God's true people. God's true people were like an olive tree that God had planted long ago. The wild olive tree is like the Gentiles. If they believe in Jesus, they become part of God's people. If the Jews decide to believe in Jesus, then they also belong to God's people again.
- 11:26 Zion is God's city, on earth (Jerusalem) or in heaven. See Revelation 21:2. ‘Jacob's people’ is another name for Israel's people, the Jews. Jacob was Abraham's grandson and God gave him the name ‘Israel’.
- 11:27 See Isaiah 59:20-21; 27:9; Jeremiah 31:33-34.
- 11:34 See Isaiah 40:13.
- 11:35 See Job 41:11.
Romans 11
Amplified Bible
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.
Romans 11
New International Version
Romans 11
New International Version
The Remnant of Israel
11 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means!(A) I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham,(B) from the tribe of Benjamin.(C) 2 God did not reject his people,(D) whom he foreknew.(E) Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”[a]?(F) 4 And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”[b](G) 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant(H) chosen by grace.(I) 6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works;(J) if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain.(K) The elect among them did, but the others were hardened,(L) 8 as it is written:
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that could not see
and ears that could not hear,(M)
to this very day.”[c](N)
9 And David says:
“May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,(O)
and their backs be bent forever.”[d](P)
Ingrafted Branches
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all!(Q) Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles(R) to make Israel envious.(S) 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles,(T) how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!
13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles,(U) I take pride in my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy(V) and save(W) some of them. 15 For if their rejection brought reconciliation(X) to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?(Y) 16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits(Z) is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 If some of the branches have been broken off,(AA) and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others(AB) and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.(AC) 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith.(AD) Do not be arrogant,(AE) but tremble.(AF) 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22 Consider therefore the kindness(AG) and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue(AH) in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.(AI) 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.(AJ) 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree,(AK) how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
All Israel Will Be Saved
25 I do not want you to be ignorant(AL) of this mystery,(AM) brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited:(AN) Israel has experienced a hardening(AO) in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in,(AP) 26 and in this way[e] all Israel will be saved.(AQ) As it is written:
“The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is[f] my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”[g](AR)
28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies(AS) for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs,(AT) 29 for God’s gifts and his call(AU) are irrevocable.(AV) 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient(AW) to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now[h] receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. 32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience(AX) so that he may have mercy on them all.
Doxology
33 Oh, the depth of the riches(AY) of the wisdom and[i] knowledge of God!(AZ)
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!(BA)
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”[j](BB)
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”[k](BC)
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.(BD)
To him be the glory forever! Amen.(BE)
Footnotes
- Romans 11:3 1 Kings 19:10,14
- Romans 11:4 1 Kings 19:18
- Romans 11:8 Deut. 29:4; Isaiah 29:10
- Romans 11:10 Psalm 69:22,23
- Romans 11:26 Or and so
- Romans 11:27 Or will be
- Romans 11:27 Isaiah 59:20,21; 27:9 (see Septuagint); Jer. 31:33,34
- Romans 11:31 Some manuscripts do not have now.
- Romans 11:33 Or riches and the wisdom and the
- Romans 11:34 Isaiah 40:13
- Romans 11:35 Job 41:11
Romans 11
Common English Bible
Romans 11
Common English Bible
Israel and God’s faithfulness
11 So I ask you, has God rejected his people? Absolutely not! I’m an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God hasn’t rejected his people, whom he knew in advance. Or don’t you know what the scripture says in the case of Elijah, when he pleads with God against Israel? 3 Lord, they have killed your prophets, and they have torn down your altars. I’m the only one left, and they are trying to take my life.[a] 4 But what is God’s reply to him? I have kept for myself seven thousand people who haven’t bowed their knees to Baal.[b] 5 So also in the present time there is a remaining group by the choice of God’s grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it isn’t by what’s done anymore. If it were, God’s grace wouldn’t be grace.
7 So what? Israel didn’t find what it was looking for. Those who were chosen found it, but the others were resistant. 8 As it is written, God gave them a dull spirit, so that their eyes would not see and their ears not hear, right up until the present day.[c] 9 And David says,
Their table should become a pitfall and a trap,
a stumbling block and payback to them for what they have done.
10 Their eyes should be darkened so they can’t see,
and their backs always bent.[d]
11 So I’m asking you: They haven’t stumbled so that they’ve fallen permanently, have they? Absolutely not! But salvation has come to the Gentiles by their failure, in order to make Israel jealous. 12 But if their failure brings riches to the world, and their defeat brings riches to the Gentiles, how much more will come from the completion of their number! 13 I’m speaking to you Gentiles. Considering that I’m an apostle to the Gentiles, I publicize my own ministry 14 in the hope that somehow I might make my own people jealous and save some of them. 15 If their rejection has brought about a close relationship between God and the world, how can their acceptance mean anything less than life from the dead?
16 But if part of a batch of dough is offered to God as holy, the whole batch of dough is holy too. If a root is holy, the branches will be holy too. 17 If some of the branches were broken off, and you were a wild olive branch, and you were grafted in among the other branches and shared the root that produces the rich oil of the olive tree, 18 then don’t brag like you’re better than the other branches. If you do brag, be careful: it’s not you that sustains the root, but it’s the root that sustains you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Fine. They were broken off because they weren’t faithful, but you stand only by your faithfulness.[e] So don’t think in a proud way; instead be afraid. 21 If God didn’t spare the natural branches, he won’t spare you either. 22 So look at God’s kindness and harshness. It’s harshness toward those who fell, but it’s God’s kindness for you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise, you could be cut off too. 23 And even those who were cut off will be grafted back in if they don’t continue to be unfaithful, because God is able to graft them in again. 24 If you were naturally part of a wild olive tree and you were cut off from it, and then, contrary to nature, you were grafted into the cultivated olive tree, won’t these natural branches stand an even better chance of being grafted back onto their own olive tree?
All Israel will be saved
25 I don’t want you to be unaware of this secret,[f] brothers and sisters. That way you won’t think too highly of yourselves. A part of Israel has become resistant until the full number of the Gentiles comes in. 26 In this way, all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
The deliverer will come from Zion.
He will remove ungodly behavior from Jacob.
27 This is my covenant with them,
when I take away their sins.[g]
28 According to the gospel, they are enemies for your sake, but according to God’s choice, they are loved for the sake of their ancestors. 29 God’s gifts and calling can’t be taken back. 30 Once you were disobedient to God, but now you have mercy because they were disobedient. 31 In the same way, they have also been disobedient because of the mercy that you received, so now they can receive mercy too. 32 God has locked up all people in disobedience, in order to have mercy on all of them.
33 God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge are so deep! They are as mysterious as his judgments, and they are as hard to track as his paths!
34 Who has known the Lord’s mind?
Or who has been his mentor?[h]
35 Or who has given him a gift
and has been paid back by him?[i]
36 All things are from him and through him and for him.
May the glory be to him forever. Amen.
Footnotes
EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
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New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible