Bible Strands
Romans 11:19
You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul anticipates the argument of Gentile believers regarding the temporary removal of unbelieving Israel. He addresses them immediately after warning against boasting over the broken branches.
The words — ἐγκεντρισθῶ (egkentristhō) means may be grafted in, and ἐξεκλάσθησαν (exeklasthēsan) means were broken off. These agricultural terms describe the physical removal of branches and the insertion of a wild shoot.
The thread — The grafting imagery appears in Romans 11:17, where a wild olive shoot is inserted among the cultivated branches. Romans 11:23 later notes that God can graft the broken branches back in if they cease unbelief, while Romans 11:11 records the initial trespass that enabled Gentile salvation.
Why it lands — The text records the expected claim that branches were removed to make room for the speaker. The surrounding context immediately counters that claim by establishing that the root sustains the grafted shoot and that standing requires ongoing faith, not permanent status.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Cross-references
- Romans 11:23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
- Romans 11:17 Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root,
- Romans 11:11 I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.