⁶ Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,”^(A)

⁶ And he believed the Lord, and the Lord^[a] reckoned it to him as righteousness.

²¹ being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.^{(A) 22} Therefore “it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”

²³ Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,”^[a] and he was called the friend of God.^(A)

²⁴ but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe^[a] in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,^(A)

³ For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed^[a] God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”^{(A) 4} Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due.^{(B) 5} But to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness. ⁶ So also David pronounces a blessing on those to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:

⁹ Is this blessing, then, pronounced only on the circumcised or also on the uncircumcised? We say, “Faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.” ¹⁰ How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after but before he was circumcised. ¹¹ He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith^[a] while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the ancestor of all who believe^[b] without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them,^(A)

⁹ For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed.

¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,^[a] not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.^{(A) 20} So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God.^{(B) 21} For our sake God made the one who knew no sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.^(C)

³² Why not? Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,^{(A) 33} as it is written,