What Does Romans 11:13 Mean?
For I speak to you, nations, inasmuch as I am the sent one to the nations, I give weight to my service.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:THE KEY
The apostle makes his service great by naming its reach: it is directed toward the nations.
THE MEANING
The verse places the nations in the address: this service is aimed toward people beyond the speaker’s own people. Its work is made visible through those it serves.
THE ROOT
μεγαλύνω
megalynō
GROWS FROM
μεγαλ-
megal-
Great, large; to μεγαλύνω is to make great, enlarge, or extol.
“give weight” in this verse is megalynō. The root names enlargement: “magnify” belongs to the same Greek family as “great” and “great things.” The line makes the scale of the service visible, so the office is understood by the reach of its work.
ALSO GROWS
megas: Great, large
μέγας
This is the root family’s basic sense: the service is made great in view.
megaleia: Great things, mighty deeds
μεγαλεῖα
The same family describes deeds of great scale, linking magnifying the office with making the work’s reach visible.
διακονία
diakonia
GROWS FROM
διακον-
diakon-
Service, ministry; work carried out for another.
“Office” can name a position, while διακονία names service in action. The same Greek word is translated “ministry” in Acts 20:24, holding the honor of the role together with the service it performs.
ALSO GROWS
diakoneō: To serve, minister
διακονέω
The verb shows διακονία as something enacted: service directed toward others.
diakonos: Servant, minister
διάκονος
The related noun names the one carrying out the service, joining the role to its work.
THE PATTERN
Service is enlarged when its work reaches beyond one people to others.
And he said, It is a light thing that you should be my servant, to stand up the tribes of Jacob, and to turn back the guarded ones of Israel. I will also set you as a light for the nations, that you may be my deliverance to the edge of the earth.But none of these things weigh with me, nor do I hold my living soul as precious to myself, so that I might finish my race with joy, and the service which I took from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the good news of the favor of God.As each has received a gift, serve it to one another as good stewards of the many-colored favor of God.THE THREAD
But none of these things weigh with me, nor do I hold my living soul as precious to myself, so that I might finish my race with joy, and the service which I took from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the good news of the favor of God.The same Greek noun, διακονία (diakonia, service or ministry), appears as “office” here and “ministry” in Acts. The shared root reveals the role as received service, made great through the work it carries out.
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