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

14Perhaps I can make my people jealous and save some of them. 15If Israel’s rejection means that the world has been brought back to God, what does Israel’s acceptance mean? It means that Israel has come back to life. If the first handful of dough is holy, the whole batch of dough is holy. If the root is holy, the branches are holy. 17But some of the olive branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive branch, have been grafted in their place. You get your nourishment from the roots of the olive tree. 18So don’t brag about being better than the other branches. If you brag, remember that you don’t support the root, the root supports 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“Never withhold your best wine from me. “You must give me your firstborn son.
• Exodus 23:16“Celebrate the Festival of the Harvest with the first produce harvested from whatever you plant in your fields. “Celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the year when you harvest your crops from the fields.
• Leviticus 23:10“Tell the Israelites: When you come to the land I am going to give you and you harvest grain, bring the priest a bundle of the first grain you harvest.
• Numbers 15:17The Lord said to Moses,
• Deuteronomy 18:4Also, give them the first produce harvested: grain, new wine, olive oil, and the first wool you shear from your sheep.
• Deuteronomy 26:10So now I’ve brought the first produce harvested from the fields you gave me, Lord.” You will place the basket in the presence of the Lord your God and bow down in front of him.
• Nehemiah 10:35We have drawn lots to decide who should bring the first produce harvested and the first fruit from every tree each year to the Lord’s temple.
• Proverbs 3:9Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first and best part of all your income.
• Ezekiel 44:30The priests should have the best of all the first ripened fruits. The best of every gift from all your contributions must go to the priests. The best of your dough must go to the priests. This will cause a blessing to rest on your home.
• James 1:18God decided to give us life through the word of truth to make us his most important creatures.
• Revelation 14:4These 144,000 virgins are pure. They follow the lamb wherever he goes. They were bought from among humanity as the first ones offered to God and to the lamb.
• Romans 11:17But some of the olive branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive branch, have been grafted in their place. You get your nourishment from the roots of the olive tree.
• Genesis 17:7I will make my promise to you and your descendants for generations to come as an everlasting promise. I will be your God and the God of your descendants.
• Jeremiah 2:21I planted you like a choice grapevine from the very best seed. Now you have turned against me and have become a wild vine.
• 1 Corinthians 7:14Actually, the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and an unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise, their children would be unacceptable ⌞to God⌟, but now they are acceptable to him.

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