What do John 3:16 and Romans 11:26 have in common?

What do John 3:16 and Romans 11:26 have in common? Most Christians are familiar with John 3:16 which in the NIV reads,

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 11:26 in the NIV reads,

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
   “The deliverer will come from Zion;
    he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

Look only at the words to see what is in common; don't worry about anything else. There is one very innocent little word these two verses share in most English translations, including this 1994 NIV: "so". It seems a rather insignificant word. But now look at the 2010 NIV for the latter verse (emphasis added):

and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written:
   “The deliverer will come from Zion;
   he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

The NIV has changed. So what? Who gives a houtos? Let's take a closer look at the word so which just changed to in this way.

The Greek word here is οὕτως (houtos) which is an adverb meaning "in this manner". Sometimes the word "so" is used for this in English. For example, "Do it like so" means "Do it in this manner." The correct reading of John 3:16 should therefore begin, "For in this manner God loved the world..." In what manner? The answer comes from the previous two verses! In the same manner that Moses lifted up on a pole the serpent in the wilderness and everyone who looked to it was saved from the serpents (see Numbers 21:8-9), God would have Jesus lifted up on a cross, and everyone who looks to him will be saved from his sins.

So (no pun intended), John 3:16 is not saying that God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. It is saying that God loved the world so! (in the manner described in verses 14-15), giving his one and only Son in the same way. Yet the overwhelming majority of English translations continue with the traditional "For God so loved..." which is misleading to modern English speakers. The LEB and NET are two examples of modern translations that have forsaken the "so", producing "For in this way God loved..." and "For this is the way God loved..." respectively.

How do we apply this to Romans 11:26? We saw above that the 2010 NIV has made the change to "in this way" here, though not in John 3:16. Paul is arguing that the manner in which all Israel will be saved is through the partial hardening of Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in (into the Kingdom of God, that is, verse 25). I am not going to expound the scripture here, but the nutshell version is that the church in Rome was not to boast over Jews who didn't believe in Jesus and therefore had not entered into the Kingdom (verses 17-22). He says that God is able to restore Israel (bringing them to faith in Jesus), and that this will happen through the fullness of the Gentiles coming in (verses 23-25).

It is sad to see so many English Bibles using the word so when in this manner is clearly a better translation. One little word can make a world of difference!