Romans 11:16

Romans 11:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
• New International Version (NIV)If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
• English Standard Version (ESV)If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

Context of Romans 11:16

14if I might somehow make my own people jealous and save some of them. 15For if their rejection brings reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? Now if the firstfruits are holy, so is the whole batch. And if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich root of the cultivated olive tree, 18do not boast that you are better than those branches. But if you do boast — you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you.

Romans 11:16 word by word

εἰ δὲ ἡ ἀπαρχὴ ἁγία, καὶ τὸ φύραμα· καὶ εἰ ἡ ῥίζα ἁγία, καὶ οἱ κλάδοι.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forδέde · thenG1161
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• the firstfruitὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the firstfruitἀπαρχήaparchē · firstfruitsG536
• holyἅγιοςhagios · holyG40
• the lumpφύραμαphurama · lumpG5445
• alsoκαίkai · andG2532
• the rootῥίζαrhiza · rootG4491
• the branchesκλάδοςklados · branchG2798

Cross-references for Romans 11:16

• Exodus 22:29“You must not hold back offerings from your harvest or your vats. Give me the firstborn of your sons.
• Exodus 23:16Also observe the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of your produce from what you sow in the field, and observe the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field.
• Leviticus 23:10“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you and reap its harvest, you are to bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest.
• Numbers 15:17The Lord instructed Moses,
• Deuteronomy 18:4You are to give him the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and fresh oil, and the first sheared wool of your flock.
• Deuteronomy 26:10I have now brought the first of the land’s produce that you, Lord, have given me. You will then place the container before the Lord your God and bow down to him.
• Nehemiah 10:35We will bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree to the Lord’s house year by year.
• Proverbs 3:9Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest;
• Ezekiel 44:30The best of all the firstfruits of every kind and contribution of every kind from all your gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest so that a blessing may rest on your homes.
• James 1:18By his own choice, he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
• Revelation 14:4These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, since they remained virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were redeemed from humanity as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb.
• Romans 11:17Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich root of the cultivated olive tree,
• Genesis 17:7I will confirm my covenant that is between me and you and your future offspring throughout their generations. It is a permanent covenant to be your God and the God of your offspring after you.
• Jeremiah 2:21I planted you, a choice vine from the very best seed. How then could you turn into a degenerate, foreign vine?
• 1 Corinthians 7:14For the unbelieving husband is made holy by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy by the husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy.

Commentaries on Romans 11:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16For if the first fruit be holy - As the consecrating the first fruits to God was the means of drawing down his blessing upon the rest, so the conversion of Abraham to the true faith, and the several Jews who have now embraced Christianity, are pledges that God will, in process of time, admit the whole Jewish nation into his favor again, so that they shall constitute a part of the visible Church of Christ. If the root be holy, so are the branches - The…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16For if the first-fruit be holy - The word “first-fruit” ̓́ aparchēused here denotes the firstling of fruit or grain which was separated from the mass and presented as an offering to God. The Jews were required to present such a portion of their harvest to God, as an expression of gratitude and of their sense of dependence; Numbers 15:19-21. Until this was done, it was not lawful to partake of the harvest. The offering of this was regarded as rendering…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-21Verses 11-21 The gospel is the greatest riches of every place where it is. As therefore the righteous rejection of the unbelieving Jews, was the occasion of so large a multitude of the Gentiles being reconciled to God, and at peace with him; the future receiving of the Jews into the church would be such a change, as would resemble a general resurrection of the dead in sin to a life of righteousness. Abraham was as the root of the church. The Jews…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16The whole batch … is holy: This is because the first part given as an offering is holy. This imagery comes from Numbers 15:17–21. In that passage, God told the Israelites to take part of their first batch of dough and set it apart as an offering to him. Paul uses this image to explain God’s faithfulness to Israel. God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were like a first portion given to God. Because of these promises, God’s work with his people will…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. For--"But" if the first-fruit be holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root ... so the branches--The Israelites were required to offer to God the first-fruits of the earth--both in their raw state, in a sheaf of newly reaped grain (Le 23:10, 11), and in their prepared state, made into cakes of dough (Nu 15:19-21)--by which the whole produce of that season was regarded as hallowed. It is probable that the latter of these offerings is here intended…Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 11:16

• First Fruits
• Holiness
• Salvation

In the dictionaries

• Cast
• Conclude
• Dark
• Depth
• Election
• Emulation
• Grace
• Judgment
• Rest
• Trap

Commentaries on Romans 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings