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What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
Romans 11:7 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB What then? That which Israel seeks for, that he didn’t obtain, but the chosen ones obtained it, and the rest were hardened.
  • KJV What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
  • NKJV What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
  • NASB What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;
  • NLT So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened.

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

Israel as a whole did not obtain the righteousness it sought; the elect obtained it, while the rest were hardened.

Overview

Paul summarizes the situation: national Israel pursued righteousness yet missed it because it sought it by works rather than faith (Romans 9:31-32). The 'chosen ones' received it by grace, while 'the rest were hardened,' a sobering divine judicial act. The verse holds together human responsibility and God's sovereignty without resolving the tension into either fatalism or human autonomy.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 23

  • Rom 9:18Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.
  • 2 Cor 4:4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
  • Rom 11:5In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
  • Rom 11:25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
  • Rom 9:31–32but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
  • 2 Th 2:10–14and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.
  • Rom 9:23What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the vessels of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory—
  • 2 Cor 3:14But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed.
  • Rom 8:28–30And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
  • Eph 1:4For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love
  • 1 Cor 10:19Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?
  • Rom 10:3Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
  • Matt 13:14–15In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
  • Rom 3:9What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.
  • Phil 1:18What then is the issue? Just this: that in every way, whether by false motives or true, Christ is preached. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,
  • Rom 6:15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not!
  • Prov 1:28Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.
  • Isa 6:10Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
  • Isa 44:18They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand.
  • John 12:40“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.”
  • Luke 13:24“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.
  • 1 Pet 1:2according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
  • Heb 12:17For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. He could find no ground for repentance, though he sought the blessing with tears.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Romans videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Romans 11:7YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on RomansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 11:7 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.