New English Translation
Romans 11:16
16If 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.
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 somehow I could provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them. 15For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 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. 17Now 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, 18do not boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
Read all of Romans 11Romans 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.
Cross-references for Romans 11:16
- Exodus 22:29“Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. You must give me the firstborn of your sons.
- Exodus 23:16“You are also to observe the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors that you have sown in the field, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year when you have gathered in your harvest out of the field.
- Leviticus 23:10“Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land that I am about to give to you and you gather in its harvest, then you must bring the sheaf of the first portion of your harvest to the priest,
- Numbers 15:17The Lord spoke to Moses:
- Deuteronomy 18:4You must give them the best of your grain, new wine, and olive oil, as well as the best of your wool when you shear your flocks.
- Deuteronomy 26:10So now, look! I have brought the first of the ground’s produce that you, Lord, have given me.” Then you must set it down before the Lord your God and worship before him.
- Nehemiah 10:35We also accept responsibility for bringing the first fruits of our land and the first fruits of every fruit tree year by year to the temple of the lord.
- Proverbs 3:9Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first fruits of all your crops;
- Ezekiel 44:30The first of all the first fruits and all contributions of any kind will be for the priests; you will also give to the priest the first portion of your dough, so that a blessing may rest on your house.
- James 1:18By his sovereign plan he gave us birth through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
- Revelation 14:4These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from humanity as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb,
- Romans 11:17Now 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,
- Genesis 17:7I will confirm my covenant as a perpetual covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
- Jeremiah 2:21I planted you in the land like a special vine of the very best stock. Why in the world have you turned into something like a wild vine that produces rotten, foul-smelling grapes?
- 1 Corinthians 7:14For the unbelieving husband is sanctified because of the wife, and the unbelieving wife because of her husband. Otherwise your children are unclean, but now 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
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
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