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What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
Romans 11:7 · New King James Version
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.
  • BSB What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
  • 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 9:18So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.
  • 2 Cor 4:4in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them.
  • Rom 11:5Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
  • Rom 11:25For 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,
  • Rom 9:31–32but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, didn’t arrive at the law of righteousness.
  • 2 Th 2:10–14and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
  • Rom 9:23and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory,
  • 2 Cor 3:14But their minds were hardened, for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains, because in Christ it passes away.
  • Rom 8:28–30We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.
  • Eph 1:4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love;
  • 1 Cor 10:19What am I saying then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
  • Rom 10:3For being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they didn’t subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
  • Matt 13:14–15In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive:
  • Rom 3:9What then? Are we better than they? No, in no way. For we previously warned both Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin.
  • Phil 1:18What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. I rejoice in this, yes, and will rejoice.
  • Rom 6:15What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? May it never be!
  • Prov 1:28Then will they call on me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me;
  • Isa 6:10Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.”
  • Isa 44:18They don’t know, neither do they consider: for he has shut their eyes, that they can’t see; and their hearts, that they can’t understand.
  • John 12:40“He has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and would turn, and I would heal them.”
  • Luke 13:24“Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in, and will not be able.
  • 1 Pet 1:2according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
  • Heb 12:17For you know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for a change of mind though he sought it diligently 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.