Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
11 (See, I am writing this to you in big letters with my own hand.)
12 Some people want to do things that can be seen. They try to force you to be circumcised. They want to hide from trouble which would come to them if they talk about the cross of Christ.
13 Even those who are circumcised do not obey the law. But they want you to be circumcised. Then they can be proud that they made you do it.
14 But I will not be proud of anything but of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of it, the things of the world have become dead to me, and I have become dead to the world.
15 It does not matter if a person is circumcised or not, but he must become a new person.
16 May all who live by this rule have peace. And may God bless them. They are the true people of Israel and they belong to God.
17 From now on, please do not trouble me. For I have marks on my body that show I belong to the Lord Jesus.
18 My brothers, may the kindness and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ bless your spirit. May he do it!
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