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) 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: “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) 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) So too, at the present time there is a remnant(H) chosen by grace.(I) And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works;(J) if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

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) 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)

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)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 11:3 1 Kings 19:10,14
  2. Romans 11:4 1 Kings 19:18
  3. Romans 11:8 Deut. 29:4; Isaiah 29:10
  4. Romans 11:10 Psalm 69:22,23

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]

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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.