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;
Parallel translations
- WEB 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;
- BSB Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root,
- NKJV And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,
- NASB 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 rich root of the olive tree,
- NLT But 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Gentile believers are like a wild olive branch grafted into the cultivated tree, sharing its rich root.
Overview
Paul pictures the people of God as an olive tree rooted in the patriarchal covenant promises. Some natural (Jewish) branches were broken off through unbelief, and believing Gentiles, a 'wild olive,' were grafted in to share the tree's nourishing root. The image stresses that Gentile salvation is participation in promises made to Israel, fulfilled in Christ, not a separate or superior status.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Eph 2:11–13Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
- Eph 3:6That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
- Jer 11:16The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
- Matt 21:43Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
- John 15:2Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
- Ps 52:8But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
- Col 2:13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
- Acts 2:39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
- Judg 9:8–9The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.
- Isa 27:11When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.
- Ezek 15:6–8Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
- Matt 8:11–12And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
- Jonah 1:16Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.
- Gal 2:15We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
- Deut 8:8A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;
- Zech 4:3And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
- Isa 6:13But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
- Rev 11:4These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
- John 15:6If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
- Ps 80:11–16She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 11:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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