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Romans

About this book
Chapter 11

1 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. 2 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? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets; they have demolished your altars; I alone am left, and they are seeking my life!” 4 But what was the divine response to him? “I have kept for myself 7,000 people who have not bent the knee to Baal.”⁠ 5 So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if it is by grace, it is no longer by works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace. 7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was diligently seeking, but the elect obtained it. The rest were hardened, 8 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.” 9 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.”⁠ 11 I ask then, they did not stumble into an irrevocable fall, did they? Absolutely not! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous.⁠ 12 Now if their transgression means riches for the world and their defeat means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full restoration bring? 13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if somehow I could provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the first portion of the dough offered is holy, then the whole batch is holy, and if the root is holy, so too are the branches. 17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in the richness of the olive root,⁠ 18 do not boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 Then you will say, “The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted! They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear! 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you. 22 Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God—harshness toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And even they—if they do not continue in their unbelief—will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree? 25 For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.⁠ 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion; he will remove ungodliness from Jacob. 27 And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.” 28 In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers.⁠ 29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all. 33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how unfathomable his ways!⁠ 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? 35 Or who has first given to God that God needs to repay him?⁠ 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 94:14 and Romans 11:3

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Romans echoes Psalm 94 to argue that God has not abandoned Israel despite their unfaithfulness. The psalm affirms that God does not forget those who belong to him, which Paul uses to address the perception of Israel’s rejection in the Roman community.

Passages

Psalm 94:14

Hebrew Bible
12 How blessed is the one whom you instruct, O Lord, the one whom you teach from your law 13 in order to protect him from times of trouble, until the wicked are destroyed. 14 Certainly the Lord does not forsake his people; he does not abandon the nation that belongs to him. 15 For justice will prevail, and all the morally upright will be vindicated. 16 Who will rise up to defend me against the wicked? Who will stand up for me against the evildoers?
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Romans 11:3

New Testament
1 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. 2 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? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets; they have demolished your altars; I alone am left, and they are seeking my life!” 4 But what was the divine response to him? “I have kept for myself 7,000 people who have not bent the knee to Baal.” 5 So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
55–58 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Romans

References

"... Paul wrestles with the problem of Israel’s unfaithfulness. Had God rejected his people (Romans 11:2)? Paul’s answer was based on the experience of Elijah: Romans 11:4: “But what is God's reply to him (Elijah)? ‘I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal’”. In this case, Paul used the historical narrative, but his answer is buttressed by Psalm 94:14: “For the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance”. Israel’s unbelief had been foreseen and the consequences would be retribution. In Romans 11:9-10, Paul establishes this from Psalm 69. As Paul develops his argument, he quotes Isaiah 59:20-21 in Romans 11:26-27. This echoes David’s conclusion to Psalm 14, which Paul used earlier in the epistle: “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!” (Psalm 14:7). Paul concludes his consideration of God’s dealings with Israel in a doxology in language reminiscent of Psalm 77 ..."
Iain Gibb, “Paul and the Psalms: Paul's Hermeneutic and Worldview” (MTh(R) diss., University of Glasgow, 2017), 176–177.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Psalm 94:14 and Romans 11:3

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