11:17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in 1 the richness of the olive root, 11:18 do not boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 11:19 Then you will say, “The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 11:20 Granted! 2 They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear! 11:21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you. 11:22 Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God – harshness toward those who have fallen, but 3 God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; 4 otherwise you also will be cut off. 11:23 And even they – if they do not continue in their unbelief – will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 11:24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree?
11:25 For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, 5 so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel 6 until the full number 7 of the Gentiles has come in. 11:26 And so 8 all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion;
he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.
11:27 And this is my covenant with them, 9
when I take away their sins.” 10
11:28 In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers. 11:29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. 11:30 Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience, 11:31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now 11 receive mercy. 11:32 For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all. 12
11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!
11:34 For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor? 13
11:35 Or who has first given to God, 14
that God 15 needs to repay him? 16
11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.
1 tn Grk “became a participant of.”
2 tn Grk “well!”, an adverb used to affirm a statement. It means “very well,” “you are correct.”
3 tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.
4 tn Grk “if you continue in (the) kindness.”
5 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
6 tn Or “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.”
7 tn Grk “fullness.”
8 tn It is not clear whether the phrase καὶ οὕτως (kai Joutws, “and so”) is to be understood in a modal sense (“and in this way”) or in a temporal sense (“and in the end”). Neither interpretation is conclusive from a grammatical standpoint, and in fact the two may not be mutually exclusive. Some, like H. Hübner, who argue strongly against the temporal reading, nevertheless continue to give the phrase a temporal significance, saying that God will save all Israel in the end (Gottes Ich und Israel [FRLANT], 118).
9 sn A quotation from Isa 59:20-21.
10 sn A quotation from Isa 27:9; Jer 31:33-34.
11 tc Some important Alexandrian and Western
12 tn Grk “to all”; “them” has been supplied for stylistic reasons.
13 sn A quotation from Isa 40:13.
14 tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 sn A quotation from Job 41:11.