Romans 11:18 (KJV)

What does Romans 11:18 mean?

Romans 11:18 warns non-Jewish believers not to look down on Jewish people who are pictured as branches removed from an olive tree. Paul’s image places the non-Jewish believers among the branches that depend on the tree’s root, rather than above the branches that were removed.

After describing a wild olive branch joined to the tree in verse 17, Paul addresses that branch as “thou,” an old English word for “you.” The picture draws on the practice of joining a branch from one tree to another, so that the added branch receives nourishment from the tree.

The Greek behind Romans 11:18

• “Boast … against” — κατακαυχάομαι (katakauchaomai): The Greek carries the sense of boasting over someone or treating someone as inferior. Paul’s warning concerns an attitude toward the other branches, not merely satisfaction with one’s own place.

• “bearest” — βαστάζω (bastazō): This word can mean to carry or support. In the tree image, the root supplies the support, reversing any idea that the added branch sustains the tree.

Why Romans 11:18 matters

• The removed branches represent people, not a discarded plant. In verses 19–20, Paul connects their removal with unbelief and addresses the added branch as standing “by faith,” meaning trust.
• The image has room for restoration. In verse 23, Paul says the removed branches can be joined back to the tree if they do not continue in unbelief.
• Paul’s picture has a shared source of nourishment. Verse 17 says the added branch shares in “the root and fatness,” or richness, of the olive tree.