25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law,(A) but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.(B) 26 So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements,(C) will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?(D) 27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you(E) who, even though you have the[a] written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly,(F) nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.(G) 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart,(H) by the Spirit,(I) not by the written code.(J) Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.(K)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 2:27 Or who, by means of a

Circumcision of the Heart

25 For circumcision benefits you if you observe the law, but if you are a lawbreaker, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.(A) 26 Therefore if an uncircumcised(B) man keeps the law’s requirements,(C) will his uncircumcision not be counted as circumcision? 27 A man who is physically uncircumcised, but who fulfills the law, will judge you(D) who are a lawbreaker in spite of having the letter of the law and circumcision. 28 For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly,(E) and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. 29 On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly,(F) and circumcision is of the heart—by the Spirit, not the letter.[a](G) That man’s praise[b] is not from men but from God.(H)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 2:29 Or heart—spiritually, not literally
  2. Romans 2:29 In Hb, the words Jew, Judah, and praise are related.