Romans 10:1-11:21

New King James Version

Israel Needs the Gospel

10 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for ^[a]Israel is that they may be saved. ²For I bear them witness ^(A)that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. ³For they being ignorant of ^(B)God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own ^(C)righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. ⁴For ^(D)Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

⁵For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, ^(E)“The man who does those things shall live by them.” ⁶But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, ^(F)“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) ⁷or, ^(G)“ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸But what does it say? ^(H)“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹that ^(I)if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹For the Scripture says, ^(J)“Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” ¹²For ^(K)there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for ^(L)the same Lord over all ^(M)is rich to all who call upon Him. ¹³For ^(N)“whoever calls ^(O)on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Israel Rejects the Gospel

¹⁴How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear ^(P)without a preacher? ¹⁵And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

^(Q)“How beautiful are the feet of those who ^[b]preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

¹⁶But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ^(R)“Lord, who has believed our report?” ¹⁷So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

¹⁸But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed:

^(S)“Their sound has gone out to all the earth,
And their words to the ends of the world.”

¹⁹But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says:

^(T)“I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation,
I will move you to anger by a ^(U)foolish nation.”

²⁰But Isaiah is very bold and says:

^(V)“I was found by those who did not seek Me;
I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.”

²¹But to Israel he says:

^(W)“All day long I have stretched out My hands
To a disobedient and contrary people.”

Israel’s Rejection Not Total

11 I say then, ^(X)has God cast away His people? ^(Y)Certainly not! For ^(Z)I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. ²God has not cast away His people whom ^(AA)He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, ³^(AB)“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”? ⁴But what does the divine response say to him? ^(AC)“I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵^(AD)Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. ⁶And ^(AE)if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. ^[c]But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

⁷What then? ^(AF)Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were ^(AG)blinded. ⁸Just as it is written:

^(AH)“God has given them a spirit of stupor,
^(AI)Eyes that they should not see
And ears that they should not hear,
To this very day.”

⁹And David says:

^(AJ)“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
A stumbling block and a recompense to them.
¹⁰Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see,
And bow down their back always.”

Israel’s Rejection Not Final

¹¹I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But ^(AK)through their ^[d]fall, to provoke them to ^(AL)jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. ¹²Now if their ^[e]fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!

¹³For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as ^(AM)I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, ¹⁴if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and ^(AN)save some of them. ¹⁵For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be ^(AO)but life from the dead?

¹⁶For if ^(AP)the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. ¹⁷And if ^(AQ)some of the branches were broken off, ^(AR)and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and ^[f]fatness of the olive tree, ¹⁸^(AS)do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

¹⁹You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰Well said. Because of ^(AT)unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. ²¹For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.