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Romans 11

Paul traces God’s mercy toward Israel and the Gentiles, confronting pride and ending in worship before God’s wisdom.

Paul addresses the question of whether God has rejected Israel, pointing to his own ancestry and to a remnant preserved by grace. Speaking to Gentile believers in Rome, he explains how Israel’s stumbling has brought salvation to the nations. An olive tree becomes his picture of their shared dependence on God’s promises. He warns against pride, describes Israel’s partial hardening and promised salvation, and closes with praise for God’s unsearchable wisdom.

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1I ask then, did God reject his people? May it never be! For I also am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
2God didn’t reject his people, whom he foreknew. Or don’t you know what the Scripture says about Elijah? How he pleads with God against Israel:
3“Lord, they have killed your prophets. They have broken down your altars. I am left alone, and they seek my life.”
4But how does God answer him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
5Even so too at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
6And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
7What then? That which Israel seeks for, that he didn’t obtain, but the chosen ones obtained it, and the rest were hardened.
8According as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.”
9David says, “Let their table be made a snare, a trap, a stumbling block, and a retribution to them.
10Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see. Always keep their backs bent.”
11I ask then, did they stumble that they might fall? May it never be! But by their fall salvation has come to the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy.
12Now if their fall is the riches of the world, and their loss the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
13For I speak to you who are Gentiles. Since then as I am an apostle to Gentiles, I glorify my ministry,
14if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh, and may save some of them.
15For if the rejection of them is the reconciling of the world, what would their acceptance be, but life from the dead?
16If the first fruit is holy, so is the lump. If the root is holy, so are the branches.
17But if some of the branches 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,
18don’t boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that it is not you who support the root, but the root supports you.
19You will say then, “Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.”
20True; by their unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by your faith. Don’t be conceited, but fear;
22See then the goodness and severity of God. Toward those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in his goodness; otherwise you also will be cut off.
23They also, if they don’t continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
24For 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 branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
25For I don’t desire you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you won’t be wise in your own conceits, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in,
26and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, “There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
27This is my covenant with them, when I will take away their sins.”
28Concerning the Good News, they are enemies for your sake. But concerning the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sake.
29For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30For as you in time past were disobedient to God, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience,
31even so these also have now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to you they may also obtain mercy.
32For God has bound all to disobedience, that he might have mercy on all.
33Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!
34“For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”
35“Or who has first given to him, and it will be repaid to him again?”
36For of him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Romans 11:33Paul’s account of hardening and mercy ends in praise, acknowledging that God’s judgments exceed human understanding.
Romans 11:36The closing declaration places all things under God as their source, sustainer, and goal, leaving no ground for boasting.
Romans 11:8This quotation grounds Israel’s hardening in Scripture, within an argument that also affirms a remnant and hope of restoration.
Where this chapter reaches

Romans draws on Isaiah for language of hardening and the promised Deliverer, and on Psalm for David’s words of judgment. Its closing praise echoes Isaiah’s question about knowing God’s mind and Job’s question about whether God owes anyone repayment.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What does the olive tree picture reveal about the place of boasting in faith?

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Which part of Paul’s account of hardening and mercy leaves you with questions, and why?

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Questions people ask about Romans 11

What does “all Israel will be saved” mean in Romans 11?

Paul connects this promise with Israel’s partial hardening, the fullness of the Gentiles, and God’s covenant to take away sins. Christians differ over whether it means a future widespread turning of Jewish people to Christ or the full company of God’s people. The passage gives no date or detailed timetable.

What does the olive tree represent in Romans 11?

The cultivated olive tree pictures God’s covenant people, rooted in the promises associated with Israel’s forefathers. Gentile believers are wild branches grafted in to share its nourishment. Some natural branches were removed through unbelief, yet God can graft them in again. The picture supports Paul’s warning against Gentile pride.

Has God rejected Israel according to Romans 11?

Paul answers no. His own identity as an Israelite and the existence of a remnant chosen by grace show that rejection is not total. He also describes Israel’s hardening as partial and speaks of their future acceptance. Throughout the argument, God’s faithfulness stands alongside warnings about unbelief.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).