Galatians 5:2-3

5:2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all! 5:3 And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey ¹  the whole law.

Galatians 3:28

3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave ²  nor free, there is neither male nor female ³  – for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 6:15

6:15 For ⁴  neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for ⁵  anything; the only thing that matters is a new creation! ⁶ 

Romans 2:25-29

2:25 For circumcision ⁷  has its value if you practice the law, but ⁸  if you break the law, ⁹  your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcised man obeys ¹⁰  the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 2:27 And will not the physically uncircumcised man ¹¹  who keeps the law judge you who, despite ¹²  the written code ¹³  and circumcision, transgress the law? 2:28 For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something that is outward in the flesh, 2:29 but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart ¹⁴  by the Spirit ¹⁵  and not by the written code. ¹⁶  This person’s ¹⁷  praise is not from people but from God.

Romans 3:29-31

3:29 Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles too? Yes, of the Gentiles too! 3:30 Since God is one, ¹⁸  he will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 3:31 Do we then nullify ¹⁹  the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead ²⁰  we uphold the law.

Romans 3:1

3:1 Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of circumcision?

Colossians 1:19

1:19 For God ²¹  was pleased to have all his ²²  fullness dwell ²³  in the Son ²⁴ 

Colossians 3:11

3:11 Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave ²⁵  or free, but Christ is all and in all.

[5:3]  ¹ tn Or “keep”; or “carry out”; Grk “do.”

[3:28]  ² tn See the note on the word “slave” in 1:10.

[3:28]  ³ tn Grk “male and female.”

[6:15]  ⁴ tc The phrase “in Christ Jesus” is found after “For” in some mss (א A C D F G 0278 1881 Ï lat bo), but lacking in Ì⁴⁶ B Ψ 33 1175 1505 1739* and several fathers. The longer reading probably represents a harmonization to Gal 5:6.

[6:15]  ⁵ tn Grk “is.”

[6:15]  ⁶ tn Grk “but a new creation”; the words “the only thing that matters” have been supplied to reflect the implied contrast with the previous clause (see also Gal 5:6).

[2:25]  ⁷ sn Circumcision refers to male circumcision as prescribed in the OT, which was given as a covenant to Abraham in Gen 17:10-14. Its importance for Judaism can hardly be overstated: According to J. D. G. Dunn (Romans [WBC], 1:120) it was the “single clearest distinguishing feature of the covenant people.” J. Marcus has suggested that the terms used for circumcision (περιτομή, peritomh) and uncircumcision (ἀκροβυστία, akrobustia) were probably derogatory slogans used by Jews and Gentiles to describe their opponents (“The Circumcision and the Uncircumcision in Rome,” NTS 35 [1989]: 77-80).

[2:25]  ⁸ tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.

[2:25]  ⁹ tn Grk “if you should be a transgressor of the law.”

[2:26]  ¹⁰ tn The Greek word φυλάσσω (fulassw, traditionally translated “keep”) in this context connotes preservation of and devotion to an object as well as obedience.

[2:27]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the uncircumcision by nature.” The word “man” is supplied here to make clear that male circumcision (or uncircumcision) is in view.

[2:27]  ¹² tn Grk “through,” but here the preposition seems to mean “(along) with,” “though provided with,” as BDAG 224 s.v. διά A.3.c indicates.

[2:27]  ¹³ tn Grk “letter.”

[2:29]  ¹⁴ sn On circumcision is of the heart see Lev 26:41; Deut 10:16; Jer 4:4; Ezek 44:9.

[2:29]  ¹⁵ tn Some have taken the phrase ἐν πνεύματι (en pneumati, “by/in [the] S/spirit”) not as a reference to the Holy Spirit, but referring to circumcision as “spiritual and not literal” (RSV).

[2:29]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “letter.”

[2:29]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “whose.” The relative pronoun has been replaced by the phrase “this person’s” and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation.

[3:30]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “but if indeed God is one.”

[3:31]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “render inoperative.”

[3:31]  ²⁰ tn Grk “but” (Greek ἀλλά, alla).

[1:19]  ²¹ tn The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but since God is the one who reconciles the world to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), he is clearly the subject of εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen).

[1:19]  ²² tn The Greek article τό (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” BDAG 404 s.v. εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.

[1:19]  ²³ tn The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikhsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.

[1:19]  ²⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:11]  ²⁵ tn See the note on “fellow slave” in 1:7.