King James Version · Under Rome
Romans 11
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I say then, Hath cast away his people? forbid. For I also am an , of the of , of the tribe of . hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the saith of ? how he maketh intercession to against Israel, saying, , they have killed thy , and digged down thine ; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the of . Even so then at this present time also there is a according to the election of . And if by , then is it no more of works: otherwise is no more . But if it be of works, then is it no more : otherwise work is no more work. What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded (According as , hath given them of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. And saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and their back alway. I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? forbid: but rather through their fall is come unto the , for to provoke them to . Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the ; how much more their fulness? For I speak to you , inasmuch as I am the of the , I magnify mine office: If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my , and might some of them. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from ? For if the firstfruit be , the lump is also : and if the root be , so are the . And if some of the be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the . But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by . Be not highminded, but fear: For if spared not the natural , take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of : on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt . And they also, if they not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for is able to graff them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural , be graffed into their own olive tree? For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this , lest ye should be in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the be come in. And so all Israel shall be : as , There shall come out of the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from : For this is my unto them, when I shall take away their . As concerning , they are for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. For the gifts and calling of are without . For as ye in times past have not , yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not , that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. O the depth of the riches both of the and knowledge of ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known of ? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be for ever. .
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
Christians read this chapter differently
- Israel and the church: one people or two? · Romans 11:17-29
Every view at its strongest, with who holds it and what it has to answer for.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.