The Jews and the Law

¹⁷ Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;^(A)

²³ You who boast in the law,^(A) do you dishonor God by breaking the law?

Stubborn Israel

³² Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.^(A)

⁴ the people of Israel.^(A) Theirs is the adoption to sonship;^(B) theirs the divine glory,^(C) the covenants,^(D) the receiving of the law,^(E) the temple worship^(F) and the promises.^{(G) 5} Theirs are the patriarchs,^(H) and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah,^(I) who is God over all,^(J) forever praised!^[a](K) Amen.

God’s Sovereign Choice

⁶ It is not as though God’s word^(L) had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.^{(M) 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.”^[b](N)

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)

⁴⁵ “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses,^(A) on whom your hopes are set.^(B)