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,^(A) by the Spirit,^(B) not by the written code.^(C) Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.^(D)

God’s Sovereign Choice

⁶ It is not as though God’s word^(A) had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.^(B)

⁷ Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”^[a](A)

¹⁶ Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to^[a] the Israel of God.