ROM 11:20 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Well you’re right. They were broken off because of their unbelief, and it’s true that you’re there because of your faith. But don’t get a big head—maintain your reverence for God,

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT That is true. They were broken off in unbelief, but you yourself stand firm in faith. Do not think arrogant things, but fear!

UST I would reply by saying that what you said is correct. God removed some of the Jewish people from being his people, as a farmer breaks off unfruitful branches because they were unfaithful. However, you non-Jewish people who trust in Jesus remain part of God‘s people by trusting in him. Do not arrogantly think that you are better than unbelieving Jewish people! Rather, fear God!

BLB Rightly so: They were broken off by the unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be high minded, but be afraid.

AICNT That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear;

OEB True, it was because of their want of faith that they were broken off, and it is because of your faith that you are standing. Do not think too highly of yourself, but beware.

WEBBE True; by their unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by your faith. Don’t be conceited, but fear;

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Granted! They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear!

LSV By unbelief they were broken off, and you have stood by faith; do not be high-minded, but be fearing;

FBV All well and good—but they were broken off because of their failure to trust in God, and you stay there because you trust in God. So don't think highly of yourselves, but be respectful,

TCNT Right! They were broken off because of unbelief, but yoʋ stand because of faith. So do not be arrogant, but be afraid.

T4T I would reply that this is true. However, it is because the Jews did not believe in Christ that they were rejected [MET] {that God rejected [MET] them}. As for you, it is only because you believe in Christ that God has accepted you! So do not any of you become proud, but instead beware of what could happen to you

LEB Well said! They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand firm because of faith. Do not think arrogant thoughts, but be afraid.

BBE Truly, because they had no faith they were broken off, and you have your place by reason of your faith. Do not be lifted up in pride, but have fear;

Moff Granted. They were broken off — for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted.

Wymth This is true; yet it was their unbelief that cut them off, and you only stand through your faith.

ASV Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

DRA Well: because of unbelief they were broken off. But thou standest by faith: be not highminded, but fear.

YLT by unbelief they were broken off, and thou hast stood by faith; be not high-minded, but be fearing;

Drby Right: they have been broken out through unbelief, and thou standest through faith. Be not high-minded, but fear:

RV Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
(Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou/you standest/stand by thy/your faith. Be not highminded, but fear: )

SLT Well; for unbelief were they broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but do thou fear:

Wbstr Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear:

KJB-1769 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
(Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou/you standest/stand by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: )

KJB-1611 Well: because of vnbeliefe they were broken off, and thou standest by fayth. Be not high minded, but feare.
(Well: because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou/you standest/stand by faith. Be not high minded, but fear.)

Bshps Well: because of vnbeliefe, they were broken of, and thou stodest stedfast in fayth. Be not hye mynded, but feare.
(Well: because of unbelief, they were broken of, and thou/you stoodst steadfast in faith. Be not high minded, but fear.)

Gnva Well: through vnbeliefe they are broken off, and thou standest by faith: bee not hie minded, but feare.
(Well: through unbelief they are broken off, and thou/you standest/stand by faith: be not high minded, but fear. )

Cvdl Thou sayest well. They are broken of because off their vnbeleue, but thou stondest thorow beleue
(Thou/You sayest/say well. They are broken of because off their unbelief, but thou/you standest/stand through believe)

TNT Thou sayest well: because of vnbeleve they are broken of and thou stondest stedfast in fayth. Be not hye mynded but feare
(Thou/You sayest/say well: because of unbeleve they are broken of and thou/you standest/stand steadfast in faith. Be not high minded but fear )

Wycl Wel, for vnbileue the braunchis ben brokun; but thou stondist bi feith. Nyle thou sauere hiye thing,
(Well, for unbelief the branches been broken; but thou/you stondist by faith. Not/Don’t thou/you savere high thing,)

Luth Ist wohl geredet. Sie sind zerbrochen um ihres Unglaubens willen; du stehest aber durch den Glauben. Sei nicht stolz, sondern fürchte dich.
(Is probably/well talked. They/She are broken around/by/for theirs/hers disbelief will; you(sg) standst but through the faith. Be not proud, rather fear(v) you/yourself.)

ClVg Bene: propter incredulitatem fracti sunt. Tu autem fide stas: noli altum sapere, sed time.[fn]
(Well: because disbelief fracti are. You(sg) however with_faith stas: don't high to_be_wise, but time. )

11.20 Fide stas. Dei est beneficium quod tu stas, non tuum meritum. Sed time. Ne tantæ gratiæ beneficium amittas, et in supplicium incidas. Castus enim timor est cum cavet anima ne Deus illam desertus deserat.

11.20 Fide stas. of_God it_is benefit that you(sg) stas, not/no your(sg) merit/reason. But time. Don't tantæ thanks benefit amittas, and in/into/on supplicium incidas. Castus because fear it_is when/with cavet the_soul not God her desertus deserat.

UGNT καλῶς, τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἐξεκλάσθησαν, σὺ δὲ τῇ πίστει ἕστηκας. μὴ ὑψηλὰ φρόνει, ἀλλὰ φοβοῦ.
(kalōs, taʸ apistia exeklasthaʸsan, su de taʸ pistei hestaʸkas. maʸ hupsaʸla fronei, alla fobou.)

SBL-GNT καλῶς· τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἐξεκλάσθησαν, σὺ δὲ τῇ πίστει ἕστηκας. μὴ ⸂ὑψηλὰ φρόνει⸃, ἀλλὰ φοβοῦ·
(kalōs; taʸ apistia exeklasthaʸsan, su de taʸ pistei hestaʸkas. maʸ ⸂hupsaʸla fronei⸃, alla fobou;)

RP-GNT Καλῶς· τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἐξεκλάσθησαν, σὺ δὲ τῇ πίστει ἕστηκας. Μὴ ὑψηλοφρόνει, ἀλλὰ φοβοῦ·
(Kalōs; taʸ apistia exeklasthaʸsan, su de taʸ pistei hestaʸkas. Maʸ hupsaʸlofronei, alla fobou;)

TC-GNT Καλῶς· τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἐξεκλάσθησαν, σὺ δὲ τῇ πίστει ἕστηκας. Μὴ [fn]ὑψηλοφρόνει, ἀλλὰ φοβοῦ·
(Kalōs; taʸ apistia exeklasthaʸsan, su de taʸ pistei hestaʸkas. Maʸ hupsaʸlofronei, alla fobou; )

11:20 υψηλοφρονει ¦ υψηλα φρονει CT

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

TTN Tyndale Theme Notes:

Jews and Gentiles

One of the key themes of the New Testament is that God has incorporated Gentiles into the people of God while remaining faithful to his promises to Israel. In Romans 11:11-32, Paul describes God’s plan to save all nations in four distinct stages:

1. The Good News is proclaimed to the Jews, who respond (mostly) with unbelief. Using the metaphor of an olive tree, Paul says that “some of these branches from Abraham’s tree . . . have been broken off” (11:17). This stage was already a matter of history and personal experience for Paul—although he shared the Good News with Jews in synagogues all over the eastern Mediterranean basin, many Jews rejected the message (see Acts 13:42-49; 18:4-6; 28:23-28).

2. Many Gentiles respond to the message with faith. As the natural branches were broken off, “branches from a wild olive tree have been grafted in” (Rom 11:17). After being resisted in the synagogues, Paul and the other apostles offered salvation to the Gentiles, and many responded affirmatively (see Acts 13:48-49; 26:15-18). By the time Paul wrote Romans, the church in Rome was largely a Gentile community.

3. Many Jews respond to the Good News with faith. The natural branches are able to be “grafted in again” (Rom 11:23). Paul argues that the Jews are not “beyond recovery” and are capable of turning to Christ (11:11). Paul’s hope is that, as Gentiles enjoy the blessings of salvation, Jews would become jealous and respond to the Good News (11:11-15).

4. God pours out great blessing on the world, including the resurrection from the dead. Paul indicates that when the Jews turn to the Lord in greater numbers, it will be a tremendous blessing for the world (11:12, 15). Those who accept God’s offer of salvation—both Jew and Gentile—experience new life (see 11:15) and in the future will experience the resurrection from the dead (see 1 Cor 15:20-26). The end of history will see a great community of both Jews and Gentiles praising God for his mercy. Then all people will see and understand the great wisdom and love of God (Rom 11:33-36).

Passages for Further Study

Deut 7:7-8; 32:19-21; Isa 9:1-3; 49:6; Matt 4:15-16; 8:10-12; 15:21-28; Luke 21:20-24; Acts 2:38-39; 10:45-46; 11:12-18; 13:42-49; 18:4-6; 26:15-18; 28:23-28; Rom 1:5-6, 16-17; 2:9-10, 24-27; 3:9, 29-30; 9:25-33; 10:11-13; 11:11-36; 15:7-13, 27; 1 Cor 12:13; Gal 2:8-21; 3:8-9, 26-29; Eph 2:11-22; 3:6; Col 3:11

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 11:11–24: Do not be arrogant toward Jews who do not believe in Jesus

In this section, Paul asked his readers if God has rejected the Jews forever. He answered his own question, indicating that God has not. At that time many Jews rejected Jesus as the Christ/Messiah. As a result, God made the message about Jesus known to people who were not Jews. But God will one day include the Jews and save them through Jesus too.

Paul then spoke directly to the believers who were not Jews. He said that he boasted about his ministry to the non-Jews so as to make the Jews jealous of the results of his ministry among the Gentiles. Then maybe some would be curious and begin believing in Jesus. When God accepts their faith in Jesus, it will be like they rose from the dead.

Paul then used some metaphors to illustrate his point that God has not rejected forever the Jews who, at that time, did not believe in Jesus as the Christ. He showed that if some Jews were holy, then all were, in the same way that a part of a batch of dough represents the whole batch. And the branches of a tree that is holy are themselves holy, even if they have been broken off to allow branches from a different tree to be joined into the trunk. He used the picture of the branches of that different tree to represent the believers who were not Jews.

He reminded the believers who were not Jews of God’s kindness toward them. He told them to always be mindful of that kindness rather than being proud of themselves. He warned them that God is able to do to them as he did to the Jews who do not believe in Jesus, if they became proud of themselves.

Here are other possible headings for this section:

Do not look down on Jews who have not accepted Jesus as the Christ

Many Gentiles believing in Jesus will make the Jews want that blessing too

11:20a

That is correct:

Good.
I say yes, but,
My answer is this: What you^(plur) say is true. But think of this:

That is correct: The Greek word here means “good” or “well” or “appropriate.” Scholars believe it indicates here agreeing in part.See Moo (page 704), Dunn (page 663), or Schreiner (page 607). Cranfield (page 568) calls it “a dangerous half-truth,” that is, something true but misleading if taken by itself. Morris (page 414) says it is somewhat ironic, but BDAG (page 506) does not list this verse under its “in irony” sense. 11:20b–d then explains what he means by saying That is correct. Here are other ways to translate the Greek word:

Yes, but remember— (NLT)

AdmittedlyTagbanwa Back Translation on TW.

Yes, those words are true.

This is true butYongkom Back Translation, by author, Papua New Guinea, unpublished manuscript.

With these words Paul began his response to the quoted words in 11:19. In some languages this must be made explicit for clear and natural communication of the meaning. For example:

My answer/response is this:

That is indeed true, relatives. But remember:Uma Back Translation on TW.

11:20b

They were broken off because of unbelief,

They were broken off of the tree because they did not believe,
they did not believe in Christ, and so God broke them off.

They were broken off: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

God broke them off

because of unbelief: The words because of introduce the reason why the branches were broken off. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

because they did not believe (GNT)

because they did not have faith (CEV)

unbelief: The word “their” is clearly implied here. Because of this, some English versions add this word. For example:

their unbelief (ESV)

It may be more natural in your language to follow the ESV or the examples in the previous note. The word unbelief refers to not believing in Jesus as the Christ, the one appointed by God to save his people. Some languages must say what the belief is in. For example:

did not believe in Jesus

didn’t believe in Christ (NLT)

11:20c

but you stand by faith.

but you yourself stand strong because you believe.
But as for you^(plur), you stand/remain well in your faith because you continue to believe in Jesus.

you: The Greek word is emphatic here. For example:

as for you, you

stand by faith: Here this phrase refers to remaining strong in what the person believes. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

stand fast (ESV)

are established (NJB)

stand strong in faith

by faith: This phrase indicates that this person is able to stand strong because they continue believing in Jesus. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

because you do believe (GNT)

because of faith (NABRE)

11:20d

Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.

You must not be proud about yourself. Instead, be afraid.
Therefore, do^(plur) not be proud. Fear that for yourselves,

Do not be arrogant: The connection of “therefore/so” is implied here. For example:

So, do not become proud (ESV)

be afraid: Here it is unclear what the object of this be afraid might be. Many scholars think it means “respect/revere God.”For example, Moo (page 705), Morris (page 415), and Cranfield (page 569). But some scholars think it means “be afraid of being broken off like them.”For example, see Jewett (page 688), who says the next verse make this clear. The BSB and other English versions are perhaps more clear that it means be afraid, but many versions are not clear with just the word “fear.” On the whole it seems like this interpretation is more likely, because 11:21 seems to explain what to fear.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

καλῶς

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καλῶς τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἐξεκλάσθησαν σύ δέ τῇ πίστει ἕστηκας Μή ὑψηλά φρόνει ἀλλά φοβοῦ)

This sentence introduces Paul’s response to the statement in the previous verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [I would respond by saying that what you said is true]

Note 2 topic: writing-pronouns

τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἐξεκλάσθησαν

˱by˲_their unbelief ˱they˲_˓were˒_broken_off

They and their in this verse refer to the Jewish people who do not believe in Jesus. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [The unbelieving Jews were broken off in unbelief]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / exmetaphor

ἐξεκλάσθησαν

˱they˲_˓were˒_broken_off

See how you translated were broken off in [11:17](../11/17.md).

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ

˱by˲_their unbelief

This phrase indicates the reason why the unbelieving Jews were broken off. Use a natural way in your language for indicating a reason. Alternate translation: [due to unbelief]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / youcrowd

σὺ & ἕστηκας &

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καλῶς τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἐξεκλάσθησαν σύ δέ τῇ πίστει ἕστηκας Μή ὑψηλά φρόνει ἀλλά φοβοῦ)

See how you translated you in the previous three verses.

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

σὺ & ἕστηκας

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καλῶς τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἐξεκλάσθησαν σύ δέ τῇ πίστει ἕστηκας Μή ὑψηλά φρόνει ἀλλά φοβοῦ)

Paul speaks of Gentile believers remaining part of God’s people as if they were standing firm. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [you yourself remain among God’s people]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τῇ πίστει

˱by˲_their ¬the ˱by˲_faith

The phrase in faith could indicate: (1) the means by which Gentile believers should stand firm. Alternate translation: [by means of faith] (2) the reason why Gentile believers should stand firm. Alternate translation: [because of faith]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τῇ πίστει

˱by˲_their ¬the ˱by˲_faith

See how you translated faith in [1:5](../01/05.md).

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ὑψηλὰ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καλῶς τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἐξεκλάσθησαν σύ δέ τῇ πίστει ἕστηκας Μή ὑψηλά φρόνει ἀλλά φοβοῦ)

Here, arrogant things refers to the arrogant thoughts that a Gentile Christian might have against the Jews. Specifically, they might think that they are better than Jews who are not Christian, as indicated by the previous verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [arrogantly against unbelieving Jews]

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

φοβοῦ

˓be˒_fearing

Paul is leaving out a word that a clause would need in many languages to be complete. If it would be helpful in your language, you could supply this word from the next verse, as in the UST.

Parallel ROM 11:20

Section 11:11–24: Do not be arrogant toward Jews who do not believe in Jesus

11:20a

11:20b

11:20c

11:20d