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Romans 11 General Notes
Structure and formatting
Some translations set each line of poetry farther to the right than the rest of the text to make it easier to read. The ULB does this with verses 9-10, 26-27, and 34-35, which are words from the Old Testament.
Special concepts in this chapter
Grafting
Paul uses the image of "grafting" to refer to the place of the Gentiles and Jews in the plans of God. Making one plant to be permanently part of another plant is called "grafting." Paul uses the picture of God grafting the Gentiles as a wild branch into his saving plans. But God has not forgotten about the Jews, who are spoken of as the natural plant. God will also save Jews who believe in Jesus.
Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter
"Did God reject his people? May it never be"
Whether Israel (the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) has a future in the plans of God, or if they have been replaced in the plans of God by the church, is a major theological issue in Chapters 9-11. This phrase is an important part of this section of Romans. It seems to indicate that Israel remains distinct from the church. Not all scholars arrive at this conclusion. Despite their currently rejecting Jesus as their Messiah, Israel has not exhausted the grace and mercy of God. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/christ and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/grace and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/mercy)