[Jer. 31:15], "A voice was heard in [the town of] Ramah [Note: This was a village near Jerusalem, where Rachel was buried], with crying and deep mourning. It was Rachel crying for her children [Note: Initially this was a reference to the Israelites who were taken to Babylonian captivity. See Jer. 29-31]. She refused to be comforted because they were dead."

Jesus listened to this reply, and was astonished, and said to the people following Him, "I solemnly tell you that in no Israelite have I found faith as great as this.

When they persecute you in one town, run to the next one, for it is true when I tell you, you will not have traveled through [all] the towns of the Israelites until the Son of man comes [i.e., in His kingdom].

And so it happened, when Jesus had finished instructing His twelve apostles, He left there [and went] to teach and preach in the [other] Israelite towns. [See 10:23]

He answered them, "I was sent only to the straying sheep of the Israelites."

so that the crowd marveled when they saw deaf-mutes talking, injured people healed, crippled people walking and blind people seeing. And they honored the God of the Israelites [for such great miracles].

They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries (tefillin) wide [to make them more conspicuous] and make their tassels long.

Then were fulfilled the words spoken by the Prophet Jeremiah, "And I took the thirty shekels, the price of the prized one on whom Israelites had set a price,

And Jesus answered, "The foremost one is this [Deut. 6:4-5], 'Hear this, you Israelites, the Lord our God is the only Lord,

And he will influence many Israelites to turn to the Lord their God.

(As He said to our forefathers), He has helped His servants, the Israelites, [showing] that He remembered to be merciful

"May the Lord be praised, [who is] the God of the Israelites, for He has come to [the aid of] His people and bought them back [i.e., from bondage].

So, the child [i.e., John] grew and became strong in [his] spirit and stayed in the desert until the day when he appeared publicly to the Israelites.

Now there was a righteous and devoted man named Simeon at Jerusalem, who was expecting the consolation of the Israelites [i.e., the coming of the Messiah to save them], and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

[to be] a light for revealing [God's way of salvation] to the [unconverted] Gentiles, and a [source of] glory to your people, the Israelites."

Then Simeon [asked God to] bless them and said to Jesus' mother Mary, "Look, many Israelites will be caused to fall [i.e., into spiritual ruin] or rise [i.e., to spiritual renewal] because of Him. And [He will be] a 'sign' [for people] to speak against,

And when Jesus heard these things, He was amazed and said to the crowd that was following Him, "I tell you, I have never found [anyone with] such great faith, not [even] among the Israelites."

But we had hoped that he was the one who would purchase the Israelites back [from their bondage]. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

[Then] He came to His own [world, while on earth], but His own [people, the Israelites] did not welcome Him.

And I would not have recognized Him, but I came immersing people in water so that He would become known to the Israelites."

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him, and said of him: Be hold, an Israelite in truth, in whom there is no guile.

Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of the Israelites and [yet] you do not understand these things?

Now it was almost time for the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles [Note: This was also called "Festival of Shelters," and was one of three principal, annual Jewish festivals and commemorated the occasion of the Israelites living in tents or shelters during their forty year wandering in the desert].

'Men, Israelites! hear these words, Jesus the Nazarene, a man approved of God among you by mighty works, and wonders, and signs, that God did through him in the midst of you, according as also ye yourselves have known;

and Peter having seen, answered unto the people, 'Men, Israelites! why wonder ye at this? or on us why look ye so earnestly, as if by our own power or piety we have made him to walk?

When they heard this, they entered the temple courts at daybreak and began teaching. Now when the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they summoned the Sanhedrin -- that is, the whole high council of the Israelites -- and sent to the jail to have the apostles brought before them.

and said unto them, 'Men, Israelites, take heed to yourselves about these men, what ye are about to do,

But God gave him no inheritance [here at that time], no, not even a place [of his own] to stand on. Yet God promised that He would [someday] give it to him and to his descendants after him [i.e., the Israelites], as a [permanent] possession, even though [at that time] he had no child yet.

But when he was about forty years old, it entered his mind to visit his fellow countrymen the Israelites.

And, seeing an Israelite ill-treated, he defended him, and avenged the man, who was being wronged, by striking down the Egyptian.

This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.'

But God turned [away from them] and allowed them to worship heavenly bodies [i.e., stars], just as it was written in the prophet [Amos 5:25ff], 'Did you offer me slain animals as sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness, you Israelites?

But the Lord replied to him, "Go on your way, for Saul is someone I have especially chosen to carry my name to the [unconverted] Gentiles, kings and the Israelites.

He sent His message [first] to the Israelites; [it involved] preaching the good news through Jesus Christ (who is Lord of all).

And Paul, rising up and making a sign with the hand, said, Israelites, and ye that fear God, hearken.

And then He destroyed seven nations in the country of Canaan and gave the Israelites the land as an inheritance for about four hundred and fifty years.

And after that the people asked for a king [to rule their nation] so God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, from the [Israelite] tribe of Benjamin, who ruled as king for forty years.

crying, Israelites, help! this is the man who teaches all everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place, and has brought Greeks too into the temple, and profaned this holy place.

It was for this reason that I requested to see you and talk with you, for I am wearing this chain because of the hope held by the Israelites."

For I could pray to be accursed from Christ on behalf of my brethren, my human kinsfolk--for such the Israelites are.

Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;

But it is not as if the word of God [i.e., His promise to Israel] has failed [in its fulfillment]. For not all those descended from the Israelites are [truly] Israelites [i.e., God's people].

And Isaiah declares about [the nation of] Israel [Isa. 10:22-23], "[Even] if the number of Israelites were [as many] as the grains of sand in the ocean, [still only] a small minority will be saved.

But the Israelites, who were attempting to become right with God by [conformity to] the law of Moses, never achieved [this righteousness] by that law.

Brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation.

But not everyone [of the Israelites] obeyed [that] good news. For Isaiah said [Isa. 53:1], "Lord, who has believed our message?"

But I ask [again], "Did not the Israelites understand [the message]?" In the first place, Moses said [Deut. 32:21], "I [i.e., God] will stir up you [Jews] to become jealous, by [favoring] a nation [i.e., the Gentiles] that is unworthy [of your approval]. [I will do it] by using a nation of fools to make you people angry."

But Isaiah said about the Israelites [Isa. 40:2], "I reached out all day long to [help] people who disobeyed and spoke against [me]."

I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

[I Kings 19:10], "Lord, they [i.e., the Israelites] have killed your prophets and have destroyed your altars; I am the only one left and they are trying to kill me, too."

What then? [Just this]: The very thing that the Israelites are looking for [i.e., a right relationship with God], they have not found. But God's selected ones obtained [this right relationship with Him] and the rest [of the Israelites] were made insensitive to God's call,

I ask then, has their stumbling led to their absolute ruin? By no means. Through their false step salvation has gone to the heathen, so as to make the Israelites jealous.

For I want you to know this secret, brothers, so you will not become conceited: Part of the Israelites have become [spiritually] insensitive [to God], [and will remain that way] until the fullness of the Gentiles occurs. [Note: As with verse 12, concerning the Jews, "fullness" here may mean either a large or the complete number of Gentiles who will be saved].

And so [i.e., in this way] all the Israelites will be saved. [Note: The "all" here is thought by many to refer to a large number of the physical Jews who will be saved, not necessarily to every single individual Jew]. Even as it is written [Isa. 59:20-21], "The Deliverer [i.e., Christ] will come from Zion [i.e., the city of Jerusalem, or from the nation of Israel]. He will take away the wickedness from Jacob [i.e., the Jews]."

For I want you to be [fully] aware, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud, and all of them passed [safely] through the [Red] Sea. [Note: This refers to God guiding the Israelites through the desert during the daytime by a cloud moving along above them . See Ex. 13:21-22].

[So], do not worship idols as some of them did, as it is written [Ex. 32:6], "The people sat down to feast and drink, then got up and played." [Note: This refers to the Israelites engaging in an orgy of dancing and sex. See Ex. 32:17-19].

Look at the Israelites--the nation and their ritual. Are not those who eat the sacrifices joint-partakers in the altar?

It is written in the law [Isa. 28:11f], "I [i.e., God] will speak to these people [i.e., the Israelites] by men with foreign languages and through the lips of strangers, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord."

Now if the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones [the covenant of the Law which led to death because of sin], came with such glory and splendor that the Israelites were not able to look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, [a brilliance] that was fading,

and we are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites would not gaze at the end of the glory which was fading away.

But the minds of the Israelites became dull for, to this very day, the same veil remains on them [i.e., figuratively] when the Old Agreement [Scriptures] are read. It is not being revealed to them that the Old Agreement is being abolished by Christ [i.e., by His death on the cross. See Col. 2:14].

Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.

This set of circumstances contains an illustration; for these two women [Hagar and Sarah] represent the two Agreements [between God and mankind]. The one [Agreement], given at Mount Sinai, represents Hagar, whose children became [the Israelites], enslaved under bondage [to the requirements of the law of Moses].

[I was] circumcised eight days after I was born; [I am] from the nation of Israelites; from the tribe of Benjamin and of Hebrew ancestry [i.e., an outstanding Hebrew]. As far as the law of Moses is concerned, [I am] a Pharisee [i.e., a strict sect of the Jewish religion].

He was faithful to God who appointed Him, just as Moses was [also] faithful in [serving] God's household [i.e., the Israelites].

Now Moses was a faithful servant among all of [those belonging to] God's household [i.e., the Israelites], as [one who gave] testimony about the things which [were to be] spoken [by him],

For indeed we have had the good news [of salvation] preached to us, just as the Israelites also [when the good news of the promised land came to them]; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not united with faith [in God] by those who heard.

For if Joshua had given the Israelites rest, God would not have spoken about another day later on [i.e., "Today" in Psa. 95:7].

So, we should do our best to enter into that state of rest, so that no one fails [to do so] by following the same example of disobedience [i.e., as seen in the Israelites. See verses 2, 6].

For indeed, the descendants of Levi, who are appointed to the priesthood, are commanded by the law of Moses to collect a tenth [of the income] of the Israelites, who are their brothers, even though these brothers are [also] descendants of Abraham.

And in the one case, men here [on earth, that is, the Levites] who die, collect a tenth [from the rest of the Israelites], but there [i.e., in the case of Melchizedek] it is collected by someone about whom it is declared [by Scripture] that he continues to live.

And, so to speak, Levi, who collected a tenth [from the Israelites], paid a tenth through Abraham,

For God found fault with the Israelites [or, possibly with the first Agreement], saying [Jer. 31:31ff], "Look, the Lord says, the time will come when I will make a New Agreement with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.

By faith Joseph, when he was dying, referred to [the promise of God for] the exodus of the sons of Israel [from Egypt], and gave instructions concerning [the burial of] his bones [in the land of the promise].

but chose rather to suffer mistreatment with God's people [i.e., the Israelites] than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a brief time.

Through faith he instituted the Passover, and the sprinkling with blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites.

By [having] faith, the Israelites passed [safely] through the Red Sea as if it were dry ground, but when the Egyptians attempted to do it, they were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days [by Joshua and the sons of Israel].

For you have not come [as did the Israelites in the wilderness] to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to gloom and darkness and a raging windstorm,

See to it that you do not refuse [to listen to] Him who is speaking [to you now]. For if those [sons of Israel] did not escape when they refused [to listen to] him who warned them on earth [revealing God’s will], how much less will we escape if we turn our backs on Him who warns from heaven?

For these [traveling missionaries] went out for the sake of the Name [of Christ], accepting nothing [in the way of assistance] from the Gentiles.

"But I have a few things against you because you have people there [in the church] who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumblingblock in front of the Israelites, [causing them] to eat food sacrificed to idols and to be sexually immoral [See Num. 23-24].

Then I heard the number of those who were sealed. [It was] one hundred forty-four thousand [in all] from every tribe of the Israelites [Note: This could refer to Christians of Jewish descent].

It had a very high wall [around it], with twelve angels [stationed] at its twelve gates. The names written on the gates were those of the twelve tribes of the Israelites.