I ask, then is the same formula with which Paul introduced verse 1.

When the Jews stumbled, did they fall to their ruin? is literally “did they stumble in order to fall?” The Good News Translation makes the pronominal subject of this sentence explicit, the Jews (so also Jerusalem Bible). As the commentators point out, the verb “to fall” is a biblical expression for final destruction (New English Bible “complete downfall”; New American Bible “forever fallen”; Jerusalem Bible “fallen for ever”; An American Translation* “absolute ruin”).

By no means! is the same answer Paul gave to his question in verse 1 (Certainly not!).

As in so many instances, an initial question and response may be turned into a strong affirmation—for example, “I declare therefore that though the Jews stumbled, they did not fall completely” or even “… fall with no chance to get up.” In order to indicate something of the absoluteness of the fall to which Paul refers, one may employ a number of different types of expressions—for example, “fall and not recover,” “fall and stay always fallen,” or “fall and never be able to rise again.”

The last part of this verse literally reads “but by their fall salvation to the Gentiles, in order to make them jealous.” The fall referred to is the rejection of the Christian message, and the Good News Translation transforms the noun phrase, “by their fall,” into a verb phrase, because they sinned. Along with most other translations, the Good News Translation also supplies the verb has come.

It is necessary to make clear the pronominal reference at the end of this verse, to make the Jews jealous of them (see Revised Standard Version “so as to make Israel jealous” and New English Bible “to stir Israel to emulation”), by adding a reference to those of whom they were made jealous: of them, that is, “of the Gentiles.” Paul, then, is saying that God had a purpose in letting Israel reject his message. As a result of their rejection of the Christian message, salvation has come to the Gentiles; and from this fact another result will follow: the people of Israel will be stirred up to jealousy, so that they too will be saved.

The rather complex relationships between the events in the latter half of verse 11 may be rendered as “because the Jews sinned, the Gentiles have come to experience salvation; this happened in order to make the Jews jealous of the Gentiles.” It may, however, also be possible to interpret the final phrase of verse 11, to make the Jews jealous of them, as representing result rather than simply purpose—for example, “Gentiles are now experiencing what it means to be saved, and as a result the Jews are jealous of them.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .