Romans 4:9-15

Context

4:9 Is this blessedness¹ then for² the circumcision³ or also for⁴ the uncircumcision? For we say, “faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.”⁵ 4:10 How then was it credited to him? Was he circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised! 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,⁶ so that he would become⁷ the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised,⁸ that they too could have righteousness credited to them. 4:12 And he is also the father of the circumcised,⁹ 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.¹⁰

4:13 For the promise¹¹ to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 4:14 For if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified.¹² 4:15 For the law brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression¹³ either.

[4:9] ¹tn Or “happiness.”

[4:9] ²tn Grk “upon.”

[4:9] ³sn See the note on “circumcision” in 2:25.

[4:9] ⁴tn Grk “upon.”

[4:9] ⁵sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[4:11] ⁶tn Grk “of the faith, the one [existing] in uncircumcision.”

[4:11] ⁷tn Grk “that he might be,” giving the purpose of v. 11a.

[4:11] ⁸tn Grk “through uncircumcision.”

[4:12] ¹¹tn Grk “the father of circumcision.”

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

[4:13] ¹⁶sn Although a singular noun, the promise is collective and does not refer only to Gen 12:7, but as D. Moo (Romans 1-8 [WEC], 279) points out, refers to multiple aspects of the promise to Abraham: multiplied descendants (Gen 12:2), possession of the land (Gen 13:15-17), and his becoming the vehicle of blessing to all people (Gen 12:13).

[4:14] ²¹tn Grk “rendered inoperative.”

[4:15] ²⁶tn Or “violation.”