Romans 2:28--3:2

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 ¹  by the Spirit ²  and not by the written code. ³  This person’s ⁴  praise is not from people but from God.

3:1 Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of circumcision? 3:2 Actually, there are many advantages. ⁵  First of all, ⁶  the Jews ⁷  were entrusted with the oracles of God. ⁸ 

Romans 4:11-12

4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, ⁹  so that he would become ¹⁰  the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, ¹¹  that they too could have righteousness credited to them. 4:12 And he is also the father of the circumcised, ¹²  who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised. ¹³ 

Deuteronomy 30:6

30:6 The Lord your God will also cleanse ¹⁴  your heart and the hearts of your descendants ¹⁵  so that you may love him ¹⁶  with all your mind and being and so that you may live.

Jeremiah 4:4

4:4 Just as ritual circumcision cuts away the foreskin

as an external symbol of dedicated covenant commitment,

you must genuinely dedicate yourselves to the Lord

and get rid of everything that hinders your commitment to me, ¹⁷ 

people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem.

If you do not, ¹⁸  my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you

that no one will be able to extinguish.

That will happen because of the evil you have done.”

Galatians 5:3-6

5:3 And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey ¹⁹  the whole law. 5:4 You who are trying to be declared righteous ²⁰  by the law have been alienated ²¹  from Christ; you have fallen away from grace! 5:5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait expectantly for the hope of righteousness. 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight – the only thing that matters is faith working through love. ²² 

Galatians 6:15

6:15 For ²³  neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for ²⁴  anything; the only thing that matters is a new creation! ²⁵ 

Ephesians 2:11-12

New Life Corporately

2:11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh – who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body ²⁶  by human hands – 2:12 that you were at that time without the Messiah, ²⁷  alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, ²⁸  having no hope and without God in the world.

[2:29]  ¹ sn On circumcision is of the heart see Lev 26:41; Deut 10:16; Jer 4:4; Ezek 44:9.

[2:29]  ² 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]  ³ tn Grk “letter.”

[2:29]  ⁴ 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.

[3:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “much in every way.”

[3:2]  ⁶ tc ‡ Most witnesses (א A D² 33 Ï) have γάρ (gar) after μέν (men), though some significant Alexandrian and Western witnesses lack the conjunction (B D* G Ψ 81 365 1506 2464* pc latt). A few mss have γάρ, but not μέν (6 1739 1881). γάρ was frequently added by scribes as a clarifying conjunction, making it suspect here. NA²⁷ has the γάρ in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[3:2]  ⁷ tn Grk “they were.”

[3:2]  ⁸ tn The referent of λόγια (logia, “oracles”) has been variously understood: (1) BDAG 598 s.v. λόγιον takes the term to refer here to “God’s promises to the Jews”; (2) some have taken this to refer more narrowly to the national promises of messianic salvation given to Israel (so S. L. Johnson, Jr., “Studies in Romans: Part VII: The Jews and the Oracles of God,” BSac 130 [1973]: 245); (3) perhaps the most widespread interpretation sees the term as referring to the entire OT generally.

[4:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “of the faith, the one [existing] in uncircumcision.”

[4:11]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “that he might be,” giving the purpose of v. 11a.

[4:11]  ¹¹ tn Grk “through uncircumcision.”

[4:12]  ¹² tn Grk “the father of circumcision.”

[4:12]  ¹³ tn Grk “the ‘in-uncircumcision faith’ of our father Abraham.”

[30:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “circumcise” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “will give you and your descendents obedient hearts.” See note on the word “cleanse” in Deut 10:16.

[30:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).

[30:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[4:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and remove the foreskin of your heart.” The translation is again an attempt to bring out the meaning of a metaphor. The mention of the “foreskin of the heart” shows that the passage is obviously metaphorical and involves heart attitude, not an external rite.

[4:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “lest.”

[5:3]  ¹⁹ tn Or “keep”; or “carry out”; Grk “do.”

[5:4]  ²⁰ tn Or “trying to be justified.” The verb δικαιοῦσθε (dikaiousqe) has been translated as a conative present (see ExSyn 534).

[5:4]  ²¹ tn Or “estranged”; BDAG 526 s.v. καταργέω 4 states, “Of those who aspire to righteousness through the law κ. ἀπὸ Χριστοῦ be estranged from Christ Gal 5:4.”

[5:6]  ²² tn Grk “but faith working through love.”

[6:15]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Grk “is.”

[6:15]  ²⁵ 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).

[2:11]  ²⁶ tn Grk “in the flesh.”

[2:12]  ²⁷ tn Or “without Christ.” Both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Because the context refers to ancient Israel’s messianic expectation, “Messiah” was employed in the translation at this point rather than “Christ.”

[2:12]  ²⁸ tn Or “covenants of the promise.”