1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, ^tthe Jews were entrusted with the ^uoracles of God. 3 ^vWhat if some were unfaithful? ^wDoes their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written,

5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, ^ywhat shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could ^zGod judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And ^awhy not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

9 What then? Are we Jews¹ any better off?² No, not at all. For we have already charged that ^ball, both ^cJews and ^dGreeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:

19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are ^kunder the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For ^lby works of the law no human being³ will be justified in his sight, since ^mthrough the law comes knowledge of sin.

21 But now the ⁿrighteousness of God has been ^omanifested apart from the law, ^palthough the Law and the Prophets ^qbear witness to it— 22 the ^rrighteousness of God through ^sfaith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is ^tno distinction: 23 for ^uall have ^vsinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are ^wjustified ^xby his grace as a ^ygift, through the ^zredemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a ^apropitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine ^bforbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of ^cthe one who has faith in Jesus.

27 Then what becomes of our ^dboasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the ^elaw of faith. 28 For ^fwe hold that one is ^gjustified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 ^hOr is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since ⁱGod is one—^jwho will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 ^kDo we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

1 ^lWhat then shall we say was gained by Abraham, ^mour forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to ⁿboast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? ^o“Abraham believed God, and it was ^pcounted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now ^qto the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but ^rbelieves in¹ him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

9 Is this ^ublessing then only for the circumcised, ^vor also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received ^wthe sign of circumcision as a seal of the ^xrighteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

13 For the ^ypromise to Abraham and his offspring ^zthat he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 ^aFor if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but ^bwhere there is no law ^cthere is no transgression.

16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to ^dthe one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, ^e“I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God ^fin whom he believed, who ^ggives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ^h“So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith ⁱwhen he considered his own body, which was ^jas good as dead (since he was about ^ka hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness² of Sarah’s womb. 20 No ^lunbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was ^m“counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but ⁿfor ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in ^ohim who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up ^pfor our trespasses and ^qraised for our ^rjustification.