World English Bible · Under Rome
Romans 11
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I ask then, did reject his people? May it never be! For I also am an , a descendant of , of the tribe of . didn't reject his people, whom he foreknew. Or don't you know what the says about ? How he pleads with against Israel: ", they have killed your . They have broken down your . I am left alone, and they seek my life." But how does answer him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to ." Even so too at this present time also there is a according to the election of . And if by , then it is no longer of works; otherwise is no longer . But if it is of works, it is no longer ; otherwise work is no longer work. What then? That which Israel seeks for, that he didn't obtain, but the chosen ones obtained it, and the rest were hardened. According as , " gave them a of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, to this very day." says, "Let their table be made a snare, a trap, a stumbling block, and a retribution to them. Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see. Always keep their backs bent." I ask then, did they stumble that they might fall? May it never be! But by their fall has come to the , to provoke them to . Now if their fall is the riches of the world, and their loss the riches of the , how much more their fullness! For I speak to you who are . Since then as I am to , I my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to those who are my , and may some of them. For if the rejection of them is the reconciling of the world, what would their acceptance be, but life from ? If the first fruit is , so is the lump. If the root is , so are the . But if some of the were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the root and of the richness of the olive tree, don't boast over the . But if you boast, remember that it is not you who support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, " were broken off, that I might be grafted in." True; by their unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by your . Don't be conceited, but fear; for if didn't spare the natural , neither will he spare you. See then the goodness and severity of . Toward those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in his goodness; otherwise you also will . They also, if they don't continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more will these, which are the natural , be grafted into their own olive tree? For I don't you to be ignorant, brothers, of this , so that you won't be in your own conceits, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the has come in, and so all Israel will be . Even as , "There will come out of the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from . This is my with them, when I will take away their ." Concerning the , they are for your sake. But concerning the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sake. For the gifts and the calling of are irrevocable. For as you in time past were to , but now have obtained mercy by their , even so these also have now been , that by the mercy shown to you they may also obtain mercy. For has bound all to , that he might have mercy on all. Oh the depth of the riches both of the and the knowledge of ! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! "For who has known of ? Or who has been his ?" "Or who has first given to him, and it will be repaid to him again?" For of him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the for ever! .
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. 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.