< Romans 4 >
1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, has discovered?
What, then, will we say Abraham our father to have found, according to flesh?
2 If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.
For if Abraham was declared righteous by works, he has to boast—but not before God;
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
for what does the writing say? “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness”;
4 Now the wages of the worker are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation.
and to him who is working, the reward is not reckoned of grace, but of debt;
5 However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
and to him who is not working, and is believing on Him who is declaring righteous the impious, his faith is reckoned for righteousness—
6 And David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
even as David also speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
“Blessed [are] they whose lawless acts were forgiven, And whose sins were covered;
8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”
Blessed [is] the man To whom the LORD may not reckon sin.”
9 Is this blessing only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.
[Is] this blessedness, then, on the circumcision, or also on the uncircumcision—for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness?
10 In what context was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before.
How then was it reckoned? He being in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision;
11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.
and he received a sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faith in the uncircumcision, for his being father of all those believing through uncircumcision, for the righteousness also being reckoned to them,
12 And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
and father of circumcision to those not of circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of faith, that [is] in the uncircumcision of our father Abraham.
13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
For not through law [is] the promise to Abraham, or to his seed, of his being heir of the world, but through the righteousness of faith;
14 For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith is useless and the promise is worthless,
for if they who are of law [are] heirs, faith has been made void, and the promise has been made useless;
15 because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression.
for the Law works wrath; for where law is not, neither [is] transgression.
16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
Because of this [it is] of faith, that [it may be] according to grace, for the promise being sure to all the seed, not to that which [is] of the Law only, but also to that which [is] of the faith of Abraham,
17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist.
who is father of us all (according as it has been written: “A father of many nations I have set you,”) before Him whom he believed—God, who is quickening the dead, and is calling the things that are not as being.
18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”
Who, against hope, believed in hope, for his becoming father of many nations according to that spoken: “So will your seed be”;
19 Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb.
and having not been weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already become dead (being about one hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb,
20 Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,
and at the promise of God did not stagger in unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, having given glory to God,
21 being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised.
and having been fully persuaded that what He has promised He is also able to do:
22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”
for this reason also it was reckoned to him for righteousness.
23 Now the words “it was credited to him” were written not only for Abraham,
And it was not written on his account alone that it was reckoned to him,
24 but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
but also on ours, to whom it is about to be reckoned—to us believing on Him who raised up Jesus our Lord out of the dead,
25 He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.
who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous.