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God Has Not Rejected Israel

11 I say then, has God (A)rejected His people? (B)May it never be! For (C)I too am an Israelite, a seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. [a](D)God has not rejected His people whom He (E)foreknew. (F)Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? “Lord, (G)they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” But what does the divine response say to him? “(H)I have left for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” In this way then, at the present time, (I)a remnant according to God’s [b]gracious choice has also come to be. But (J)if it is by grace, it is no longer of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

What then? What (K)Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but the chosen obtained it, and the rest were (L)hardened; just as it is written,

[c](M)God gave them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes to see not and ears to hear not,
Down to this very day.”

And David says,

(N)Let their table become a snare and a trap,
And a stumbling block and a retribution to them.
10 (O)Let their eyes be darkened to see not,
And bend their backs forever.”

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 11:2 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Ps 94:14
  2. Romans 11:5 Lit choice of grace
  3. Romans 11:8 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Is 29:10

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. 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? 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] 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] So also in the present time there is a remaining group by the choice of God’s grace. But if it is by grace, it isn’t by what’s done anymore. If it were, God’s grace wouldn’t be grace.

So what? Israel didn’t find what it was looking for. Those who were chosen found it, but the others were resistant. 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] 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]

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