Romans 11:26

King James Version (KJV)

And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

And so all Israel shall be saved - Shall be brought into the way of salvation, by acknowledging the Messiah; for the word certainly does not mean eternal glory; for no man can conceive that a time will ever come in which every Jew then living, shall be taken to the kingdom of glory. The term saved, as applied to the Israelites in different parts of the Scripture, signifies no more than their being gathered out of the nations of the world, separated to God, and possessed of the high privilege of being his peculiar people. And we know that this is the meaning of the term, by finding it applied to the body of the Israelites when this alone was the sum of their state. See the Preface, Part II.

As it is written - The apostle supports what he advances on this head by a quotation from Scripture, which, in the main, is taken from Isaiah 59:20; : The Deliverer shall come out of Zion, and turn away ungodliness from Jacob. Now this cannot be understood of the manifestation of Christ among the Jews; or of the multitudes which were converted before, at, and for some time after, the day of pentecost; for these times were all past when the apostle wrote this epistle, which was probably about the 57th or 58th year of our Lord; and, as no remarkable conversion of that people has since taken place, therefore the fulfillment of this prophecy is yet to take place. In what manner Christ is to come out of Zion, and in what way or by what means he is to turn away transgression from Jacob, we cannot tell; and to attempt to conjecture, when the time, occasion, means, etc., are all in mystery, would be more than reprehensible.

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

And so - That is, in this manner; or when the great abundance of the Gentiles shall be converted, then all Israel shall be saved.

All Israel - All the Jews. It was a maxim among the Jews that “every Israelite should have part in the future age.” (Grotius.) The apostle applies that maxim to his own purpose; and declares the sense in which it would be true. He does not mean to say that every Jew of every age would be saved; for he had proved that a large portion of them would be, in his time, rejected and lost. But the time would come when, as a people, they would be recovered; when the nation would turn to God; and when it could be said of them that, as a nation, they were restored to the divine favor. It is not clear that he means that even then every individual of them would be saved, but the body of them; the great mass of the nation would be. Nor is it said when this would be. This is one of the things which “the Father hath put in his own power;” Acts 1:7. He has given us the assurance that it shall be done to encourage us in our efforts to save them; and he has concealed the time when it shall be, lest we should relax our efforts, or feel that no exertions were needed to accomplish what must take place at a fixed time.

Shall be saved - Shall be recovered from their rejection; be restored to the divine favor; become followers of the Messiah, and thus be saved as all other Christians are.

As it is written - Isaiah 59:20. The quotation is not literally made, but the sense of the passage is preserved. The Hebrew is, “There shall come to Zion a Redeemer, and for those who turn from ungodliness in Jacob.” There can be no doubt that Isaiah refers here to the times of the gospel.

Out of Zion - Zion was one of the bills of Jerusalem. On this was built the city of David. It came thus to denote, in general, the church, or people of God. And when it is said that the Redeemer should come out of Zion, it means that he should arise among that people, be descended from themselves, or should not be a foreigner. The Septuagint, however render it, “the Redeemer shall come on account of Zion.” So the Chaldee paraphrase, and the Latin Vulgate.

And shall turn away … - The Hebrew is, “to those forsaking un godliness in Jacob.” The Septuagint has rendered it in the same manner as the apostle.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

Of all judgments, spiritual judgments are the sorest; of these the apostle is here speaking. The restoration of the Jews is, in the course of things, far less improbable than the call of the Gentiles to be the children of Abraham; and though others now possess these privileges, it will not hinder their being admitted again. By rejecting the gospel, and by their indignation at its being preached to the Gentiles, the Jews were become enemies to God; yet they are still to be favoured for the sake of their pious fathers. Though at present they are enemies to the gospel, for their hatred to the Gentiles; yet, when God's time is come, that will no longer exist, and God's love to their fathers will be remembered. True grace seeks not to confine God's favour. Those who find mercy themselves, should endeavour that through their mercy others also may obtain mercy. Not that the Jews will be restored to have their priesthood, and temple, and ceremonies again; an end is put to all these; but they are to be brought to believe in Christ, the true become one sheep-fold with the Gentiles, under Christ the Great Shepherd. The captivities of Israel, their dispersion, and their being shut out from the church, are emblems of the believer's corrections for doing wrong; and the continued care of the Lord towards that people, and the final mercy and blessed restoration intended for them, show the patience and love of God.

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

26. And so. Gr. kai houtÅÂs, “and thus,” “and in this way.” The adverb expresses manner, not conclusion, or time.

All Israel. That Paul is not teaching universal salvation for either Gentiles or Jews has already been shown (see on v. 25). Furthermore, why should only the generation of Jews living in the time of the end be assured of salvation by some kind of divine decree? Paul has expressed his hope that “some of them” (v. 14) might be saved. It seems evident from this that he believed that many would reject all efforts to save them, and that accordingly he never envisioned the conversion of the entire nation.

Some commentators hold that the faithful remnant (see on v. 5) to which are added those Jews who accept Christ during the Christian Era, constitute the “all Israel” who will be saved. This view is based on the observation that Paul’s burden in ch. 11 is the salvation of his fellow Israelites. He contrasts their salvation with that of the Gentiles. The two groups are distinguished throughout the chapter by the Jews’ being referred to in the third person and the Gentiles in the second. The salvation of the former is described by the expression “all Israel shall be saved”; that of the latter by “the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”

Other commentators hold that “all Israel” represents spiritual Israel. This view is based on the belief that Paul is here completing his illustration of the olive tree. He has shown how the branches representing the unbelieving Jews were broken off, and the wild olive shoots, representing the Gentiles, grafted in. He has shown, also, how the severed branches could be reunited with the parent stock. By the grafting in of these branches the tree representing spiritual Israel would again be made whole. “All Israel” would thus represent the totality of those saved, Jews and Gentiles, who together constitute “all” of true Israel (Rom. 2:28, 29; Gal. 6:15, 16).

As it is written. The quotation is from Isa. 59:20, 21; 27:9, agreeing more with the LXX than with the Hebrew. Instead of the LXX “for Zion’s sake,” Paul’s quotation reads, “out of Sion.” The modification may have been suggested by such passages as Ps. 14:7; 50:2; 53:6; Isa. 2:3; Micah 4:2.

Sion. Or, “Zion,” that is, Jerusalem (see on Ps. 48:2).

Deliverer. The Hebrew of Isa. 59:20 reads go’el, “redeemer” (see on Job 19:25; cf. Deut. 25:5-10; Ruth 3:12, 13; 4:7-10).

Ungodliness. Gr. asebeia, “ungodliness in thought and deed,” “impiety.” Isaiah’s prediction expressed the hope that a revival would sweep the ranks of apostate Israel and that the nation would at long last fulfill her divine destiny. Paul shows how the prophecy will meet its fulfillment not with the nation of the Jews, but with individual Jews accepting Jesus as the Messiah and being grafted into the stock of true Israel (see v. 23).

Jacob. That is, Israel (see Num. 23:21; Ps. 78:5; Micah 3:8).

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

26. And so. Gr. kai houtÅÂs, “and thus,” “and in this way.” The adverb expresses manner, not conclusion, or time.

To edification. That is, to benefit the neighbor spiritually and to help him in his growth to perfection. Paul does not mean that the strong should please the weak by agreeing with their opinions and practices or by feebly complying with what they may mistakenly think is good.