Romans 2:25-29

2:25 For circumcision ¹  has its value if you practice the law, but ²  if you break the law, ³  your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcised man obeys ⁴  the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 2:27 And will not the physically uncircumcised man ⁵  who keeps the law judge you who, despite ⁶  the written code ⁷  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 ⁸  by the Spirit ⁹  and not by the written code. ¹⁰  This person’s ¹¹  praise is not from people but from God.

Genesis 25:32

25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” ¹² 

Ecclesiastes 6:8

6:8 So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? ¹³ 

And what advantage ¹⁴  does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive? ¹⁵ 

Ecclesiastes 6:11

6:11 The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. ¹⁶ 

How does that benefit him? ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 1:11-15

1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” ¹⁸ 

says the Lord.

“I am stuffed with ¹⁹  burnt sacrifices

of rams and the fat from steers.

The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats

I do not want. ²⁰ 

1:12 When you enter my presence,

do you actually think I want this –

animals trampling on my courtyards? ²¹ 

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless ²²  offerings;

I consider your incense detestable! ²³ 

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! ²⁴ 

1:14 I hate your new moon festivals and assemblies;

they are a burden

that I am tired of carrying.

1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,

I look the other way; ²⁵ 

when you offer your many prayers,

I do not listen,

because your hands are covered with blood. ²⁶ 

Malachi 3:14

3:14 You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped ²⁷  by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord who rules over all? ²⁸ 

Malachi 3:1

3:1 “I am about to send my messenger, ²⁹  who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord ³⁰  you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger ³¹  of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³²  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Hebrews 13:9

13:9 Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings. ³³  For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not ritual meals, ³⁴  which have never benefited those who participated in them.

[2:25]  ¹ 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]  ² tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.

[2:25]  ³ tn Grk “if you should be a transgressor of the law.”

[2:26]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “letter.”

[2:29]  ⁸ sn On circumcision is of the heart see Lev 26:41; Deut 10:16; Jer 4:4; Ezek 44:9.

[2:29]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “letter.”

[2:29]  ¹¹ 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.

[25:32]  ¹² tn Heb “And what is this to me, a birthright?”

[6:8]  ¹³ sn So what advantage does the wise man have over a fool? The rhetorical question in Hebrew implies a negative answer: the wise man has no absolute advantage over a fool in the sense that both will share the same fate: death. Qoheleth should not be misunderstood here as denying that wisdom has no relative advantage over folly; elsewhere he affirms that wisdom does yield some relative benefits in life (7:1-22). However, wisdom cannot deliver one from death.

[6:8]  ¹⁴ sn As in the preceding parallel line, this rhetorical question implies a negative answer (see the note after the word “fool” in the preceding line).

[6:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “ What to the pauper who knows to walk before the living”; or “how to get along in life.”

[6:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “The more the words, the more the futility.”

[6:11]  ¹⁷ tn Or “What benefit does man have [in that]?”

[1:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Why to me the multitude of your sacrifices?” The sarcastic rhetorical question suggests that their many sacrifices are of no importance to the Lord. This phrase answers the possible objection that an Israelite could raise in response to God’s indictment: “But we are offering the sacrifices you commanded!”

[1:11]  ¹⁹ tn The verb שָׂבַע (sava’, “be satisfied, full”) is often used of eating and/or drinking one’s fill. See BDB 959 s.v. שָׂבַע. Here sacrifices are viewed, in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion, as food for the deity. God here declares that he has eaten and drunk, as it were, his fill.

[1:11]  ²⁰ sn In the chiastic structure of the verse, the verbs at the beginning and end highlight God’s displeasure, while the heaping up of references to animals, fat, and blood in the middle lines hints at why God wants no more of their sacrifices. They have, as it were, piled the food on his table and he needs no more.

[1:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “When you come to appear before me, who requires this from your hand, trampling of my courtyards?” The rhetorical question sarcastically makes the point that God does not require this parade of livestock. The verb “trample” probably refers to the eager worshipers and their sacrificial animals walking around in the temple area.

[1:13]  ²² tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”

[1:13]  ²³ sn Notice some of the other practices that Yahweh regards as “detestable”: homosexuality (Lev 18:22-30; 20:13), idolatry (Deut 7:25; 13:15), human sacrifice (Deut 12:31), eating ritually unclean animals (Deut 14:3-8), sacrificing defective animals (Deut 17:1), engaging in occult activities (Deut 18:9-14), and practicing ritual prostitution (1 Kgs 14:23).

[1:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “sin and assembly” (these two nouns probably represent a hendiadys). The point is that their attempts at worship are unacceptable to God because the people’s everyday actions in the socio-economic realm prove they have no genuine devotion to God (see vv. 16-17).

[1:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”

[1:15]  ²⁶ sn This does not just refer to the blood of sacrificial animals, but also the blood, as it were, of their innocent victims. By depriving the poor and destitute of proper legal recourse and adequate access to the economic system, the oppressors have, for all intents and purposes, “killed” their victims.

[3:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “What [is the] profit”; NIV “What did we gain.”

[3:14]  ²⁸ sn The people’s public display of self-effacing piety has gone unrewarded by the Lord. The reason, of course, is that it was blatantly hypocritical.

[3:1]  ²⁹ tn In Hebrew the phrase “my messenger” is מַלְאָכִי (mal’akhi), the same form as the prophet’s name (see note on the name “Malachi” in 1:1). However, here the messenger appears to be an eschatological figure who is about to appear, as the following context suggests. According to 4:5, this messenger is “Elijah the prophet,” whom the NT identifies as John the Baptist (Matt 11:10; Mark 1:2) because he came in the “spirit and power” of Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:11-12; Lk 1:17).

[3:1]  ³⁰ tn Here the Hebrew term הָאָדוֹן (ha’adon) is used, not יְהוָה (yÿhvah, typically rendered Lord). Thus the focus is not on the Lord as the covenant God, but on his role as master.

[3:1]  ³¹ sn This messenger of the covenant may be equated with my messenger (that is, Elijah) mentioned earlier in the verse, or with the Lord himself. In either case the messenger functions as an enforcer of the covenant. Note the following verses, which depict purifying judgment on a people that has violated the Lord’s covenant.

[1:1]  ³² tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[13:9]  ³³ tn Grk “by diverse and strange teachings.”

[13:9]  ³⁴ tn Grk “foods,” referring to the meals associated with the OT sacrifices (see the contrast with the next verse; also 9:9-10; 10:1, 4, 11).