Romans 11:25

Romans 11:25

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

a. NLT: I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters,[fn] so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.

b. NIV: I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in,

c. YLT: For I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, of this secret -- that ye may not be wise in your own conceits -- that hardness in part to Israel hath happened till the fulness of the nations may come in;

d. Amplified Bible Classic: Lest you be self-opinionated (wise in your own conceits), I do not want you to miss this hidden truth and mystery, brethren: a hardening (insensibility) has [temporarily] befallen a part of Israel [to last] until the full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has come in,

e. Worrell Translation: For I do not wish you, brethren, to be ignorant of this mystery (lestye be wise in your own conceits), that a hardening, in part, has befallen Israel, until the fullness of the gentiles come in;

f. Wuest Translation: For I do not desire you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning this mystery, in order that you may not be wise in yourselves, that hardening in part has come to Israel until the fullness of he Gentiles has come in.

1. “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery…”

a. For [Strong: 1063 gar gar a primary particle; properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensification; often with other particles):--and, as, because (that), but, even, for, indeed, no doubt, seeing, then, therefore, verily, what, why, yet.]

b. I would [Strong: 2309 thelo thel'-o or ethelo eth-el'-o, in certain tenses theleo thel-eh'-o, and etheleo eth-el-eh'-o, which are otherwise obsolete apparently strengthened from the alternate form of 138; to determine (as an active option from subjective impulse; whereas 1014 properly denotes rather a passive acquiescence in objective considerations), i.e. choose or prefer (literally or figuratively); by implication, to wish, i.e. be inclined to (sometimes adverbially, gladly); impersonally for the future tense, to be about to; by Hebraism, to delight in:--desire, be disposed (forward), intend, list, love, mean, please, have rather, (be) will (have, -ling, - ling(-ly)).]

c. not [Strong: 3756 ou oo, also (before a vowel) ouk ook, and (before an aspirate) ouch ookh a primary word; the absolute negative (compare 3361) adverb; no or not:--+ long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, (can-)not, + nothing, + special, un(-worthy), when, + without, + yet but.]

d. brethren [Strong: 80 adephos ad-el-fos' from 1 (as a connective particle) and delphus (the womb); a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (much like 1):--brother.]

e. that ye [Strong: 5209 humas hoo-mas' accusative case of 5210; you (as the objective of a verb or preposition):--ye, you (+ -ward), your (+ own).]

f. should be ignorant [Strong: 50 agnoeo ag-no-eh'-o from 1 (as a negative particle) and 3539; not to know (through lack of information or intelligence); by implication, to ignore (through disinclination):--(be) ignorant(-ly), not know, not understand, unknown.]

g. of this [Strong: 5124 touto too'-to neuter singular nominative or accusative case of 3778; that thing:--here (-unto), it, partly, self(-same), so, that (intent), the same, there(-fore, -unto), this, thus, where(-fore).]

h. mystery [Strong: 3466 musterion moos-tay'-ree-on from a derivative of muo (to shut the mouth); a secret or "mystery" (through the idea of silence imposed by initiation into religious rites):--mystery.]

2. “…lest ye should be wise in your own conceits…”

a. lest [Strong: 3363 hina me hin'-ah may i.e. 2443 and 3361; in order (or so) that not:--albeit not, lest, that, no(-t, (-thing)).]

b. ye should be [Strong: 5600 o o, including the oblique forms, as well as es ace; e ay; etc. the subjunctive of 1510; (may, might, can, could, would, should, must, etc.; also with 1487 and its comparative, as well as with other particles) be:--+ appear, are, (may, might, should) be, X have, is, + pass the flower of her age, should stand, were.]

c. wise [Strong: 5429 phronimos fron'-ee-mos from 5424; thoughtful, i.e. sagacious or discreet (implying a cautious character; while 4680 denotes practical skill or acumen; and 4908 indicates rather intelligence or mental acquirement); in a bad sense conceited (also in the comparative):--wise(-r).]

d. in [Strong: 3844 para par-ah' a primary preposition; properly, near; i.e. (with genitive case) from beside (literally or figuratively), (with dative case) at (or in) the vicinity of (objectively or subjectively), (with accusative case) to the proximity with (local (especially beyond or opposed to) or causal (on account of):--above, against, among, at, before, by, contrary to, X friend, from, + give (such things as they), + that (she) had, X his, in, more than, nigh unto, (out) of, past, save, side...by, in the sight of, than, (there-)fore, with. In compounds it retains the same variety of application.]

e. your own conceits [Strong: 1438 heautou heh-ow-too' from a reflexive pronoun otherwise obsolete and the genitive case (dative case or accusative case) of 846; him- (her-, it-, them-, also (in conjunction with the personal pronoun of the other persons) my-, thy-, our-, your-) self (selves), etc.:--alone, her (own, -self), (he) himself, his (own), itself, one (to) another, our (thine) own(-selves), + that she had, their (own, own selves), (of) them(-selves), they, thyself, you, your (own, own conceits, own selves, -selves).]

3. “…that blindness in part is happened to Israel…”

a. that [Strong: 3754 hoti hot'-ee neuter of 3748 as conjunction; demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant); causative, because:--as concerning that, as though, because (that), for (that), how (that), (in) that, though, why.]

b. blindness [Strong: 4457 porosis po'-ro-sis from 4456; stupidity or callousness:--blindness, hardness.] [Thayer: the covering with a callus, obtrusiveness of mental discernment, dulled perception, the mind of one has been blunted, of stubbornness, obduracy.]

c. in [Strong: 575 apo apo' a primary particle; "off," i.e. away (from something near), in various senses (of place, time, or relation; literal or figurative):--(X here-)after, ago, at, because of, before, by (the space of), for(-th), from, in, (out) of, off, (up-)on(-ce), since, with. In composition (as a prefix) it usually denotes separation, departure, cessation, completion, reversal, etc.]

d. part [Strong: 3313 meros mer'-os from an obsolete but more primary form of meiromai (to get as a section or allotment); a division or share (literally or figuratively, in a wide application):--behalf, course, coast, craft, particular (+ -ly), part (+ -ly), piece, portion, respect, side, some sort(-what).]

e. is happened [Strong: 1096 ginomai ghin'-om-ahee a prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be ("gen"-erate), i.e. (reflexively) to become (come into being), used with great latitude (literal, figurative, intensive, etc.):--arise, be assembled, be(-come, -fall, -have self), be brought (to pass), (be) come (to pass), continue, be divided, draw, be ended, fall, be finished, follow, be found, be fulfilled, + God forbid, grow, happen, have, be kept, be made, be married, be ordained to be, partake, pass, be performed, be published, require, seem, be showed, X soon as it was, sound, be taken, be turned, use, wax, will, would, be wrought.]

f. to Israel [Strong: 2474 Israel is-rah-ale' of Hebrew origin (3478); Israel (i.e. Jisrael), the adopted name of Jacob, including his descendants (literally or figuratively):--Israel.]

4. “…until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”

a. until [Strong: 891 achri akh'-ree or achris akh'-rece; akin to 206 (through the idea of a terminus); (of time) until or (of place) up to:--as far as, for, in(-to), till, (even, un-)to, until, while.]

b. the [Strong: 3739 hos hos, including feminine he hay, and neuter ho ho probably a primary word (or perhaps a form of the article 3588); the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, that:--one, (an-, the) other, some, that, what, which, who(-m, -se), etc.]

c. fullness [Strong: 4138 pleroma play'-ro-mah from 4137; repletion or completion, i.e. (subjectively) what fills (as contents, supplement, copiousness, multitude), or (objectively) what is filled (as container, performance, period):--which is put in to fill up, piece that filled up, fulfilling, full, fulness.] [Thayer: that which is (has been) filled, a ship inasmuch as it is filled (i.e. manned) with sailors, rowers, and soldiers, in the NT, the body of believers, as that which is filled with the presence, power, agency, riches of God and of Christ, that which fills or with which a thing is filled, of those things which a ship is filled, freight and merchandise, sailors, oarsmen, soldiers, completeness or fulness of time, fulness, abundance, a fulfilling, keeping.]

d. [of] the [Strong: 3588 ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.]

e. Gentiles [Strong: 1484 ethnos eth'-nos probably from 1486; a race (as of the same habit), i.e. a tribe; specially, a foreign (non-Jewish) one (usually, by implication, pagan):--Gentile, heathen, nation, people.]

f. be come in [Strong: 1525 eiserchomai ice-er'-khom-ahee from 1519 and 2064; to enter (literally or figuratively):--X arise, come (in, into), enter in(-to), go in (through).]

1). Regarding the meaning of this phrase “the fulness of the Gentiles”, I had previously compared it to a verse in Luke.

a). Luke 21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

2). Some Bible versions (NIV) translate this phrase until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. This is unfortunate, and is more of a paraphrase than a translation.
*** If Paul had meant to say full number he could have used a different Greek word: ‘arithmou’, as in Revelation 7:4, the number of those who were sealed; or ‘telestoi’, “full number of days”, even as his student, Luke, used in Luke 1:43 (NASB).
*** Paul used the word ‘pleroma’, and it is never translated anywhere else as full number, but only as fullness (as 11:12). Paul meant fulfilled as in ‘complete, the state of being full.’ In its verb form pleroma means ‘to be full, or filled up’, thus the fullness of the Gentiles has come in refers to the yielding of Gentile believers to God’s will. The result of this will be the salvation of Israel. http://www.messianicassociation.org/ezine16-sn.fullness.htm

3). A Commentary On The Jewish Roots of Romans, Joseph Shulam & Hilary Le Cornu,

PP. 378, 379. “Paul understands that Israel’s redemption will come as a result not (merely) of breaking of the yoke of the Gentile nations but (also) through their faithfulness to God in Yeshua. Thus Israel’s redemption also becomes the redemption of the world (cf. verses 12 and 15). The “fullness of (the times of) the Gentiles” therefore refers to the period in which the Gentiles become faithful to Yeshua. In this “waiting” period, as it were, Israel’s partial hardening of heart prepares the Gentile nations for mercy and their inclusion in God’s kingdom. When the gentile nations become faithful they will provoke the people of Israel back to their own God through their jealously of the Gentile’s worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

4). In light of this it reminds me of another verse in 2 Peter that relates how our behavior can hasten or speed up the coming of Christ.

a). 2 Peter 3:10-12  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

b). 2 Peter 2:10-12 [New Living Translation] But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.

Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live,

Looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames.

c). 2 Peter 3:10-12 [NIV] But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives

as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.