Passage

Romans 11.17-24

Book: Romans · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"15. For if the casting away of them is the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? 16. And if the firstfruit is holy, so is the lump: and if the root is holy, so are the branches."

"17. But if some of the branches were broken off, and thou, being a wild olive, wast grafted in among them, and didst become partaker with them of the root of the fatness of the olive tree; 18. glory not over the branches: but if thou gloriest, it is not thou that bearest the root, but the root thee. 19. Thou wilt say then, Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. 20. Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21. for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee. 22. Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23. And they also, if they continue not in their unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. 24. For if thou wast cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive tree, and wast grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree; how much more shall these, which are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?"

"25. For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in; 26. and so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:" (Romans 11:15-26, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"15. For if the rejection of them is the reconciling of the world, what would their acceptance be, but life from the dead? 16. If the first fruit is holy, so is the lump. If the root is holy, so are the branches."

"17. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them, and became partaker with them of the root and of the richness of the olive tree; 18. don’t boast over the branches. But if you boast, it is not you who support the root, but the root supports you. 19. You will say then, “Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.” 20. True; by their unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by your faith. Don’t be conceited, but fear; 21. for if God didn’t spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22. See then the goodness and severity of God. Toward those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in his goodness; otherwise you also will be cut off. 23. They also, if they don’t continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24. For if you were cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more will these, which are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?"

"25. For I don’t desire you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you won’t be wise in your own conceits, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, 26. and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, “There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob." (Romans 11:15-26, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"15. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? 16. For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches."

"17. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; ^{among them: or, for them} 18. Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 19. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. 20. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21. For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 23. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. 24. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?"

"25. For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. ^{blindness: or, hardness} 26. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:" (Romans 11:15-26, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"15. for if the casting away of them [is] a reconciliation of the world, what the reception, if not life out of the dead? 16. and if the first-fruit [is] holy, the lump also; and if the root [is] holy, the branches also."

"17. And if certain of the branches were broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wast graffed in among them, and a fellow-partaker of the root and of the fatness of the olive tree didst become, 18. do not boast against the branches; and if thou dost boast, thou dost not bear the root, but the root thee! 19. Thou wilt say, then, 'The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in;' right! 20. by unbelief they were broken off, and thou hast stood by faith; be not high-minded, but be fearing; 21. for if God the natural branches did not spare, lest perhaps He also shall not spare thee. 22. Lo, then, goodness and severity of God, upon those indeed who fell, severity; and upon thee, goodness, if thou mayest remain in the goodness, otherwise, thou also shalt be cut off. 23. And those also, if they may not remain in unbelief, shall be graffed in, for God is able again to graff them in; 24. for if thou, out of the olive tree, wild by nature, wast cut out, and, contrary to nature, wast graffed into a good olive tree, how much rather shall they, who [are] according to nature, be graffed into their own olive tree?"

"25. For I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, of this secret, that ye may not be wise in your own conceits, that hardness in part to Israel hath happened till the fulness of the nations may come in; 26. and so all Israel shall be saved, according as it hath been written, 'There shall come forth out of Sion he who is delivering, and he shall turn away impiety from Jacob," (Romans 11:15-26, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.