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

14for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. 15For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too. 17But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. 18But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.

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 anything back when you give me offerings from your crops and your wine. “You must give me your firstborn sons.
• Exodus 23:16“Second, celebrate the Festival of Harvest, when you bring me the first crops of your harvest. “Finally, celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the harvest season, when you have harvested all the crops from your fields.
• Leviticus 23:10“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you enter the land I am giving you and you harvest its first crops, bring the priest a bundle of grain from the first cutting of your grain harvest.
• Numbers 15:17Then the Lord said to Moses,
• Deuteronomy 18:4You must also give to the priests the first share of the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and the wool at shearing time.
• Deuteronomy 26:10And now, O Lord, I have brought you the first portion of the harvest you have given me from the ground.’ Then place the produce before the Lord your God, and bow to the ground in worship before him.
• Nehemiah 10:35“We promise to bring the first part of every harvest to the Lord’s Temple year after year—whether it be a crop from the soil or from our fruit trees.
• Proverbs 3:9Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.
• Ezekiel 44:30The first of the ripe fruits and all the gifts brought to the Lord will go to the priests. The first batch of dough must also be given to the priests so the Lord will bless your homes.
• James 1:18He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
• Revelation 14:4They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb.
• Romans 11:17But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.
• Genesis 17:7“I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
• Jeremiah 2:21But I was the one who planted you, choosing a vine of the purest stock—the very best. How did you grow into this corrupt wild vine?
• 1 Corinthians 7:14For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, 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

• 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