God’s Word Translation
Romans 11:23
23If Jewish people do not continue in their unbelief, they will be grafted onto the tree again, because God is able to do that.
Romans 11:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
- New International Version (NIV)And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
Context of Romans 11:23
21If God didn’t spare the natural branches, he won’t spare you, either. 22Look at how kind and how severe God can be. He is severe to those who fell, but kind to you if you continue to hold on to his kindness. Otherwise, you, too, will be cut off ⌞from the tree⌟. If Jewish people do not continue in their unbelief, they will be grafted onto the tree again, because God is able to do that. 24In spite of the fact that you have been cut from a wild olive tree, you have been grafted onto a cultivated one. So wouldn’t it be easier for these natural branches to be grafted onto the olive tree they belong to? 25Brothers and sisters, I want you to understand this mystery so that you won’t become arrogant. The minds of some Israelites have become closed until all of God’s non-Jewish people are included.
Read all of Romans 11Romans 11:23 word by word
κἀκεῖνοι δέ, ἐὰν μὴ ἐπιμένωσιν τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ, ἐγκεντρισθήσονται· δυνατὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς πάλιν ἐγκεντρίσαι αὐτούς·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andδέde · thenG1161
- theyἐκεῖνοςekeinos · thatG1565
- alsoκαίkai · andG2532
- ifἐάνean · ifG1437
- they abideἐπιμένωepimenō · to remain/keep onG1961
- notμήmē · notG3361
- in unbeliefὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- in unbeliefἀπιστίαapistia · unbeliefG570
- shall be graffed inἐγκεντρίζωegkentrizō · to ingraftG1461
- forγάρgar · forG1063
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- ableδυνατόςdunatos · ableG1415
- themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- againπάλινpalin · againG3825
Cross-references for Romans 11:23
- Zechariah 12:10“I will pour out the Spirit of blessing and mercy on David’s family and on those who live in Jerusalem. They will look at me, whom they have stabbed. Then they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they will cry bitterly for him as one cries for a firstborn son.
- Matthew 23:39I can guarantee that you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
- 2 Corinthians 3:16But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Commentaries on Romans 11:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23If they abide not in unbelief - So, we find that their rejection took place in consequence of their wilful obstinacy: and, that they may return into the fold, the door of which still stands open. For God is able to graft them in again - Fallen as they are and degraded, God can, in the course of his providence and mercy, restore them to all their forfeited privileges; and this will take place if they abide not in unbelief: which intimates that God has…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23And they also - The Jews. If they bide not - If they do not continue in willful obstinacy and rejection of the Messiah. As their unbelief was the sole cause of their rejection, so if that be removed, they may be again restored to the divine favor. For God is able - He has, (1)Power to restore them, to bring them back and replace them in his favor. (2)he has not bound himself utterly to reject them, and forever to exclude them. In this way the apostle…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-32Verses 22-32 Of all judgments, spiritual judgments are the sorest; of these the apostle is here speaking. The restoration of the Jews is, in the course of things, far less improbable than the call of the Gentiles to be the children of Abraham; and though others now possess these privileges, it will not hinder their being admitted again. By rejecting the gospel, and by their indignation at its being preached to the Gentiles, the Jews were become enemies to…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-24In Paul’s extended metaphor, God’s special olive tree represents the people of God. This image would have been familiar to his readers. The olive tree was the most common fruit tree in the Mediterranean region. It was also already used as a symbol for Israel in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 11:16; Hosea 14:5–6). Paul describes non-Jewish (gentile) Christians as branches from a wild olive tree because they were not originally part of God's people.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22-2322-23. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them that fell, severity--in rejecting the chosen seed. but toward thee, goodness--"God's goodness" is the true reading, that is, His sovereign goodness in admitting thee to a covenant standing who before wert a "stranger to the covenants of promise" (Ep 2:12-20). if thou continue in his goodness--in believing dependence on that pure goodness which made thee what thou art.Read the comment
Topics related to Romans 11:23
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries