⁹ Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant,^(A) you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.^{(B) 10} This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.^(C)

¹⁶ Circumcise^(A) your hearts,^(B) therefore, and do not be stiff-necked^(C) any longer.

⁶ The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants,^(A) so that you may love^(B) him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized,^(A) every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.^(B) And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.^{(C) 39} The promise is for you and your children^(D) and for all who are far off^(E)—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

²⁸ A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly,^(A) nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.^{(B) 29} No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart,^(C) by the Spirit,^(D) not by the written code.^(E) Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.^(F)

¹¹ And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.^(A) So then, he is the father^(B) of all who believe^(C) but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹² And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

¹⁶ If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits^(A) is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁸ do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.^(A)

⁸ Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”^[a](A)