I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
Parallel translations
- WEB I ask then, did God reject his people? May it never be! For I also am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
- KJV I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
- BSB I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
- NKJV I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
- NASB I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? Far from it! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
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
Paul asks whether God has rejected his people Israel and answers emphatically, May it never be, pointing to himself as a saved Israelite. God has not cast off his people.
Overview
Opening chapter 11, Paul confronts the obvious question raised by Israel's disobedience: has God abandoned his people? He firmly denies it, offering himself, a believing Israelite descended from Abraham through Benjamin, as living proof. His own salvation shows that God still saves Jews and preserves a remnant. This verse launches Paul's argument that God remains faithful to Israel and has a continuing purpose for them, grounded in his irrevocable promises.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 2 Cor 11:22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the offspring of Abraham? So am I.
- 1 Sam 12:22For Yahweh will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased Yahweh to make you a people for himself.
- Jer 33:24–26“Don’t consider what this people has spoken, saying, ‘The two families which Yahweh chose, he has cast them off?’ Thus they despise my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.”
- Phil 3:5circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;
- Acts 26:4“Indeed, all the Jews know my way of life from my youth up, which was from the beginning among my own nation and at Jerusalem;
- Amos 9:8–9Behold, the eyes of the Lord Yahweh are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the surface of the earth; except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” says Yahweh.
- Ps 94:14For Yahweh won’t reject his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.
- Acts 22:3“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict tradition of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are today.
- Hos 9:17My God will cast them away, because they did not listen to him; and they will be wanderers among the nations.
- Jer 31:36–37“If these ordinances depart from before me,” says Yahweh, “then the offspring of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever.”
- Rom 3:4May it never be! Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar. As it is written, “That you might be justified in your words, and might prevail when you come into judgment.”
- Rom 9:3For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brothers’ sake, my relatives according to the flesh,
- 2 Kgs 23:27Yahweh said, “I will also remove Judah out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’”
- Ps 89:31–37if they break my statutes, and don’t keep my commandments;
- Ps 77:7“Will the Lord reject us forever? Will he be favorable no more?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 11:1 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.