Romans 2:22-29

22 You say, "Do not commit adultery" - but do you commit adultery? You detest idols - but do you rob temples?
23 You boast about having God's law - but do you bring shame on God by breaking his law?
24 The scripture says, "Because of you Jews, the Gentiles speak evil of God." 1
25 If you obey the Law, your circumcision is of value; but if you disobey the Law, you might as well never have been circumcised.
26 If the Gentile, who is not circumcised, obeys the commands of the Law, will not God regard him as though he were circumcised?
27 And so you Jews will be condemned by the Gentiles because you break the Law, even though you have it written down and are circumcised; but they obey the Law, even though they are not physically circumcised.
28 After all, who is a real Jew, truly circumcised? It is not the man who is a Jew on the outside, whose circumcision is a physical thing.
29 Rather, the real Jew is the person who is a Jew on the inside, that is, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of God's Spirit, not of the written Law. Such a person receives praise from God, not from human beings. 2

Cross References 2

  • 1. 2.24Isaiah 52.5 (LXX).
  • 2. 2.29Deuteronomy 30.6.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.