circumcision

¹⁹Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; there is only the observance of the commandments of God.

⁴Be circumcised to the Lord, and take away the foreskins from your hearts, O men of Judah, O inhabitants of Jerusalem. Otherwise my indignation may burst forth and flare up like a fire. And then there will be no one who can extinguish it, because of the wickedness of your thoughts.

²Behold, I, Paul, say to you, that if you have been circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. ³For I again testify, about every man circumcising himself, that he is obligated to act according to the entire law. ⁴You are being emptied of Christ, you who are being justified by the law. You have fallen from grace. ⁵For in spirit, by faith, we await the hope of justice. ⁶For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision prevails over anything, but only faith which works through charity. ⁷You have run well. So what has impeded you, that you would not obey the truth?

⁴And he circumcised him on the eighth day, just as God had instructed him,

²⁵Certainly, circumcision is beneficial, if you observe the law. But if you are a betrayer of the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. ²⁶And so, if the uncircumcised keep the justices of the law, shall not this lack of circumcision be counted as circumcision? ²⁷And that which is by nature uncircumcised, if it fulfills the law, should it not judge you, who by the letter and by circumcision are a betrayer of the law? ²⁸For a Jew is not he who seems so outwardly. Neither is circumcision that which seems so outwardly, in the flesh. ²⁹But a Jew is he who is so inwardly. And circumcision of the heart is in the spirit, not in the letter. For its praise is not of men, but of God.

¹⁵For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision prevails in any way, but instead there is a new creature.

¹⁰This is my covenant, which you shall observe, between me and you, and your offspring after you: All the males among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, so that it may be a sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹²An infant of eight days will be circumcised among you, every male in your generations. So also servants born to you, as well as those bought, shall be circumcised, even those who are not of your stock. ¹³And my covenant shall be with your flesh as an eternal covenant. ¹⁴The male, the flesh of whose foreskin will not be circumcised, that soul shall be eliminated from his people. For he has made my covenant void.”

¹¹For he received the sign of circumcision as a symbol of the justice of that faith which exists apart from circumcision, so that he might be the father of all those who believe while uncircumcised, so that it might also be reputed to them unto justice,

⁶For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision prevails over anything, but only faith which works through charity.

³For we are the circumcised, we who serve God in the Spirit and who glory in Christ Jesus, having no confidence in the flesh.

³But even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Gentile, was not compelled to be circumcised,

¹And certain ones, descending from Judea, were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ²Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas made no small uprising against them, they decided that Paul and Barnabas, and some from the opposing side, should go up to the Apostles and priests in Jerusalem concerning this question. ³Therefore, being led by the church, they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles. And they caused great joy among all the brothers. ⁴And when they had arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the Apostles and the elders, reporting what great things God had done with them. ⁵But some from the sect of the Pharisees, those who were believers, rose up saying, “It is necessary for them to be circumcised and to be instructed to keep the Law of Moses.” ⁶And the Apostles and elders came together to take care of this matter.

¹⁶Therefore, circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and no longer stiffen your neck.

²¹And after eight days were ended, so that the boy would be circumcised, his name was called JESUS, just as he was called by the Angel before he was conceived in the womb.

²⁸For a Jew is not he who seems so outwardly. Neither is circumcision that which seems so outwardly, in the flesh.

³And on the eighth day, the little infant shall be circumcised.