The Remnant of Israel
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I ask, then, 1has God rejected his people? By no means! For 2I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,a a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
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3God has not rejected his people whom he 4foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?
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5"Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life."
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But what is God's reply to him? 6"I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal."
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8But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
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What then? 9Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest 10were hardened,
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as it is written, 11"God gave them a spirit of stupor, 12eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day."
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And David says, 13"Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
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let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever."
Gentiles Grafted In
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So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass 14salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.
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Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusionb mean!
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Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as 15I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry
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For if their rejection means 17the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?
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18If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
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But if 19some of the branches were broken off, and you, 20although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing rootc of the olive tree,
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do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.
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Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."
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That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you 21stand fast through faith. So 22do not become proud, but 23fear.
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For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.
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Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, 24provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise 25you too will be cut off.
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And 26even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.
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For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
The Mystery of Israel's Salvation
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27Lest you be wise in your own sight, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers:d28a partial hardening has come upon Israel, 29until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
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And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, 30"The Deliverer will come 31from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob";
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As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are 34beloved for the sake of their forefathers.
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For just as 36you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience,
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so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may nowe receive mercy.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)