Romans 11:1

Romans 11:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
• New International Version (NIV)I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
• English Standard Version (ESV)I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
• New King James Version (NKJV)I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

Context of Romans 11:1

I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, 3“Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

Romans 11:1 word by word

Λέγω οὖν· μὴ ἀπώσατο ὁ θεὸς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ; μὴ γένοιτο. καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ Ἰσραηλίτης εἰμί, ἐκ σπέρματος Ἀβραάμ, φυλῆς Βενιαμίν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• I sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• thenοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• ·μήmē · notG3361
• Hathἀπωθέωapōtheomai apōthomai · to rejectG683
• Godὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• peopleλαόςlaos · a peopleG2992
• God forbidγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• alsoκαίkai · andG2532
• amεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• an IsraeliteἸσραηλίτηςIsraēlitēs · IsraeliteG2475
• ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• the seedσπέρμαsperma · seed: offspringG4690
• of AbrahamἈβραάμAbraam · AbrahamG11
• the tribeφυλήphulē · tribeG5443
• of BenjaminΒενιαμίνBeniamin · BenjaminG958

Cross-references for Romans 11:1

• 1 Samuel 12:22The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people.
• 2 Kings 23:27For the Lord said, “I will also banish Judah from my presence just as I have banished Israel. And I will reject my chosen city of Jerusalem and the Temple where my name was to be honored.”
• Psalms 77:7Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me?
• Psalms 89:31if they do not obey my decrees and fail to keep my commands,
• Psalms 94:14The Lord will not reject his people; he will not abandon his special possession.
• Jeremiah 31:36“I am as likely to reject my people Israel as I am to abolish the laws of nature!”
• Jeremiah 33:24“Have you noticed what people are saying?—‘The Lord chose Judah and Israel and then abandoned them!’ They are sneering and saying that Israel is not worthy to be counted as a nation.
• Hosea 9:17My God will reject the people of Israel because they will not listen or obey. They will be wanderers, homeless among the nations.
• Amos 9:8“I, the Sovereign Lord, am watching this sinful nation of Israel. I will destroy it from the face of the earth. But I will never completely destroy the family of Israel,” says the Lord.
• Romans 3:4Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.”
• Romans 9:3for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.
• Acts 22:3Then Paul said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today.
• Acts 26:4“As the Jewish leaders are well aware, I was given a thorough Jewish training from my earliest childhood among my own people and in Jerusalem.
• 2 Corinthians 11:22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.
• Philippians 3:5I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.

Commentaries on Romans 11:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1I say then, hath God cast away his people? - Has he utterly and finally rejected them? for this is necessarily the apostle's meaning, and is the import of the Greek word , which signifies to thrust or drive away, from , from, and , to thrust or drive; has he thrust them off, and driven them eternally from him? God forbid - by no means. This rejection is neither universal nor final. For I also am an Israelite - I am a regular descendant from Abraham…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1I say then - This expression is to be regarded as conveying the sense of an objection. Paul, in the previous chapters, had declared the doctrine that all the Jews were to be rejected. To this a Jew might naturally reply, Is it to be believed, that God would cast off his people whom he had once chosen; to whom pertained the adoption, and the promises, and the covenant, and the numerous blessings conferred on a favorite people? It was natural for a Jew to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The rejection of the Jews is not universal. (1-10) God overruled their unbelief for making the Gentiles partakers of gospel privileges. (11-21) The Gentiles cautioned against pride and unbelief, The Jews shall be called as a nation, and brought into God's visible covenant again. (22-32) A solemn adoring of the wisdom, goodness, and justice of God. (33-36) Verses 1-10 There was a chosen remnant of believing Jews, who had righteousness and life by faith in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-32n this section, Paul addresses a serious question. Many Jews did not believe in Jesus. If God had promised salvation to Israel, how could Jesus truly fulfill God’s plan when so few Jews believed (9:1–5)? In response, Paul uses the Old Testament to show that God always planned to save only a remnant, that is, a smaller group within Israel (9:6–29). Paul also explains that many Jews did not accept Christ because they refused to trust in him (9:30–10:21)…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-361. I say then, Hath--"Did" God cast away his people? God forbid--Our Lord did indeed announce that "the kingdom of God should be taken from Israel" (Mt 21:41); and when asked by the Eleven, after His resurrection, if He would at that time "restore the kingdom to Israel," His reply is a virtual admission that Israel was in some sense already out of covenant (Ac 1:9). Yet here the apostle teaches that, in two respects, Israel was not "cast away"; First, Not…Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 11:1

• Benjamin
• God
• Paul
• Salvation

In the dictionaries

• Abraham
• Benjamin
• God
• Abraham, Abram
• Benjamin, Benjaminite
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Cast
• Conclude
• Dark
• Depth

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